ABBA - Eurovision Waterloo50th

 

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upload april2025: interviews - stories

https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discovery/history-stories/abba-one-week-in-brighton-exhibition-extras/

ABBA World

 

News 2024- Malmo abba world

Ahora se abre ABBA World en Malmö

El lunes se estrena ABBA World, donde diferentes partes del universo Abba colaboran en una experiencia de dos niveles.

For two weeks only, 'ABBA World' is opening its doors in the Host City for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, Malmö.

Placed in the central parts of Malmö, ABBA World will be open for visitors for two weeks only at Södergatan 28 between 29th of April and 12th of May (source: instagram eurovisionstarscom)

abba world Site: https://abbaworld.unitedtickets.se/timeslot/abba-world

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Calling all ABBA fans around the world - for two weeks only, ABBA World opens its doors in this year’s Eurovision city, Malmö! Opening its doors on the 29th of April, ABBA World invites both new and old fans to explore parts of ABBA The Museum, ABBA Voyage, Mamma Mia!, Mamma Mia! The Party and Polar Music International all at once.

 Spread across two floors, this mini-exhibition and pop up experience will create a space for ABBA fans across the globe to meet, share and create memories together showcasing both the past and present of ABBA. Placed in the central parts of Malmö, ABBA World will be open for visitors for two weeks only at Södergatan 28 between 29th of April and 12th of May source: instagram eurovisionstarscom

(source: instagram eurovisionstarscom)

photos: https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2024-04-27/nu-oppnar-abbas-varld-i-malmo-folj-med-pa-en-smygtitt

 

For two weeks only, 'ABBA World' is opening its doors in the Host City for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, 50 years after ABBA’s international breakthrough at the Eurovision Song Contest, when the band won for Sweden with Waterloo, the foursome want to celebrate this milestone together with everyone that's heading to Malmö for the Contest in 2024

For the very first time, fans will now be able to enjoy all aspects of the ABBA experience during the two weeks that the Eurovision Song Contest will be in town, in Malmö in the south of Sweden.

Opening its doors on Monday 29 April, ABBA World invites fans both old and new to explore parts of ABBA The Museum, ABBA Voyage, Mamma Mia!, Mamma Mia! The Party and Polar Music International all at once.

Spread across two floors, this mini-exhibition and pop-up experience will create a space for ABBA fans across the globe to meet, share and create memories together, while showcasing both the past and present of ABBA.

Placed in the central parts of Malmö, ABBA World will be open for visitors for two weeks only at Södergatan 28, between Monday 29 April and Sunday 12 May.

The 5 elements included in ABBA World will be:

ABBA The Museum

ABBA The Museum is no ordinary museum. It’s not just about the original costumes, gold records and other wonderful items – it’s about you! Feel what it’s like to be onstage with ABBA, to sing in the Polar Studio or try your knowledge in an ABBA quiz. Walk In. Dance Out.

ABBA Voyage

ABBA Voyage opened in May 2022 at the purpose-built ABBA Arena, located at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. Blending cutting edge technology, spectacular lighting and some of the most beloved songs ever written, ABBA take to the stage as digital avatars, backed by today’s finest musicians.

The ABBA Voyage experience opened in May 2022

Mamma Mia!

Since opening in London’s West End, the exhilarating smash-hit musical Mamma Mia! has become a global phenomenon and been turned into two record-breaking films – Mamma Mia! The Movie and its sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Whatever age you are, you can’t help but have the time of your life at Mamma Mia!.

Mamma Mia! The Party

In 2016, Mamma Mia! The Party had its world premiere in Stockholm. Some years later, it opened in London and in September 2024 it’s time for Rotterdam. With over a million guests already having been enchanted by sold-out party nights, immerse yourself in an evening of singing, dancing and dining, all set to the tunes of ABBA.

Polar Music International

With over 60 years in the music business, Polar Music acts as the guardian of ABBA’s catalogue. ABBA’s music is enjoyed around the clock, all over the world. Not a bad result for a tiny label that started out with a group of Swedish folk musicians in the early 1960s!

Tickets go on sale on Friday 22 March at 10:00 CET. And if you'd like to receive more information on joining in on the celebration of Waterloo in Malmö this spring, ABBA World has its own mailing list that fans can sign up to.

https://eurovision.tv/story/abba-world-malmo-eurovision

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eIEWC8Krnk

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“I Gave ABBA 'Nul Points’ at the 1974 Eurovision”

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODOen7MjkA8

Eurovision judge who gave Abba’s Waterloo ‘nul points’ doesn’t regret decision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etC56eDqZ7M

"The last surviving member of the jury I talked to interviewed, and he said that the UK gave us nil point and I always thought it was 12."

Just another bubblegum band’: the day Abba won Eurovision

 

Just another bubblegum band’: the day Abba won Eurovision

Despite receiving ‘nul points’ from five countries, the Swedish foursome defied the odds 50 years ago with their hit Waterloo

Etan Smallman

5 April 2024 • 7:00am

Related Topics

Winners take it all: Abba performing during the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974

Winners take it all: Abba performing during the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 CREDIT: Olle Lindeborg/AFP via Getty Images

My, my! It’s 50 years since Europe did surrender… to the charms of a Swedish foursome clad in shiny orange and blue costumes and towering silver platform boots.

On April 6 1974, at the Brighton Dome, Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest with a zany track about the 1815 Battle of Waterloo that would pave the way for them to conquer not just a continent but an entire planet.

Those who were there share their memories of the night a pop phenomenon was born…

The Lead Up… ‘Abba who?’

No-one outside of Sweden had heard of Abba pre-1974. Even in their own country, they were considered “just another bubblegum band who’ll be gone tomorrow”, says Sheffield-born bass player Mike Watson, who first came across Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson while they were all on the road in various bands in the mid-1960s. 

By 1972, Watson was recording with the quartet – still going by the name Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida – and in February 1974, he was given a crucial job for what would be the cover of Waterloo, their first album as Abba. “Yeah, that’s me dressed up as Napoleon in the background, with my back to the camera, in an old castle, about 100km from Stockholm,” says the 77-year-old. “That was my modelling career – just the one time.” 

Agnetha, right, and Frida, in a London hotel room after their victory

Agnetha, right, and Frida, in a London hotel room after their victory CREDIT: TT News Agency / Alamy Stock Photo

Essex-born Ireen Sheer had been invited to represent Luxembourg with Bye Bye I Love You after having a hit in the country. “The first time I heard of Abba was when I was sitting on a plane next to a Swedish couple. They said, ‘A good band is singing for Sweden this year.’ I said, ‘I’m singing for Luxembourg.’ They said, ‘Oh, that’s a pity – because they’re going to win.’” She would have the challenge of following the group in the running order.

Over in Brighton on that spring day, “there was quite a surreal atmosphere”, according to Nick Ingman, 75, who orchestrated, arranged and conducted Long Live Love, the song for the UK entrant, Cambridge-born Olivia Newton-John. “It was the height of the IRA troubles and therefore Brighton was under huge security and there were literally tanks in the streets.” 

Despite Abba’s obscurity in Britain, John Henty, a presenter for BBC Radio Brighton, remembers the “gorgeous guys” and their “amazing gear” having “quite an impact” around the town. They were making less of a mark on the airwaves of the local station, however, after the manager banned Waterloo from his playlist, having deemed the record “too ’eavy, mate”. “I think he meant it had too much of a heavy beat, I suppose. Obviously, in our little ‘gram’ library, we most certainly did listen and probably silently cursed the manager for not being able to play it. We thought it was terrific, fresh and new.”

In the afternoon, 17 acts took part in the dress rehearsal, at which Abba decided to perform in their native tongue. From a cellar inside the BBC’s Broadcasting House, Britain’s 10 jurors – selected from the public – watched and took notes. “They followed two other Europop songs,” recalls Basil Herwald, then a 20-year-old student. “And I have no other memory of it, other than that it was clear that none of us was intending to vote for them [Abba].”

The Performance… ‘The event was a sort of BBC civil service’

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Ingman remembers the event being “very slightly sort of BBC civil service, rather strait-laced. We were all dressed in dinner jackets.” Then, in marched Abba’s bicorne hat-wearing conductor, Sven-Olof Walldoff, kitted out as Napoleon. “It immediately struck an atmosphere of, let’s break the mould here,” says Ingman. “I will take some credit for actually voting for Abba maximum points,” says Henty. In the second row of the balcony, with VIP tickets, Carol Theobald was sitting with her husband, Geoffrey, chairman of a local council committee. They, too, awarded Sweden full marks. “Immediately they came on to that stage, their appearance, their dress and their first few steps, I just thought ‘They’re going to win this,’” says Geoffrey. 

The Results… ‘Olivia Newton-John said that it serves the UK right’

An hour and 40 minutes into the show, the BBC’s Katie Boyle received the final votes, from Italy, and announced: “Good night, Rome. There’s no doubt about it, the winning song of the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest… c’est la Suède, avec Waterloo, chanté par Abba!” Italy came second, followed by  the Netherlands.

The UK was joint fourth with Luxembourg and Monaco. “It didn’t help that the public chose this very crass bang, bang, bang song and Olivia absolutely hated it,” says Ingman.

Sheer, 75, remembers her friend Olivia being “very disappointed. Olivia said, ‘It serves them right for choosing that song.’ Bless her.”

Herwald says: “We were surprised,” as the jury he was on in London failed to award Abba a single point, giving half of their 10 points to Italy. “Of course, Björn had this conspiracy theory that we’d failed to vote for Sweden to allow Olivia Newton-John to win.” (In 2021, he said he suspected “something cunning”.)

Swedish pop group Abba in Brighton for the Eurovision Song Contest, 1974

Swedish pop group Abba in Brighton for the Eurovision Song Contest, 1974 CREDIT: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

Waterloo was voted the best song in the history of Eurovision when the competition marked its half-century in 2005.

But, says Herwald: “It’s really important that I point out they made no impression on the Greek jury, the Monégasque [Monaco] jury, the Belgian jury and the Italian jury, who gave them nought. So, as I pointed out to Björn when I spoke to him in December 2022, he managed to win with no points from five of the 17 countries and the lowest number of points ever anyway.”

However, the moment of victory is engraved on Henty’s mind. “You can imagine our delight when the record effectively banned by the local radio station won the Eurovision Song Contest,” he says, still chuckling at the thought today. And the station manager? “He obviously had to – literally – change his tune.”

The Aftermath… ‘I’m still living down my nul points’

For Carol and Geoffrey Theobald, the party was far from over. They were invited to a reception at the Royal Pavilion, where they chatted to Newton-John. “She asked if she could get into a nightclub,” recalls Carol. “My husband and I belonged to the King’s Club and we knew the owners and the doorman. I said, ‘We’ll certainly get you in there.’”

Sheer bumped into Abba when they appeared together on various TV shows across Europe. She was sitting at the bar with Ulvaeus when he said he wanted to write a song for her.

“I gave him my telephone number and I think he did phone but I was out on the road.”

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Mike Watson continued playing bass on almost all of Abba’s albums and witnessed the superstardom that quickly came their way, as they notched up nine UK No 1 singles and 10 chart-topping albums, including Abba Gold, the second biggest-seller of all time. 

“They were as big as Queen, the Beatles, the Stones.”

Abba has also been a boon for Watson in his late 70s. He still lives in Sweden – his home since 1964 – and says: “I’m very lucky to be able to tour the world with the tribute bands. And I never get tired playing the songs.”

Meanwhile, Herwald is still living down his jury’s notorious “nul points”.

“I was in a pub a year or so ago and I was queuing at the bar when Waterloo came on over the speakers. I suppose I must have winced slightly and this older lady came up to me and said: ‘What’s the matter with you? Don’t you like Abba?’”

‘When Abba Came to Britain’ will air on BBC Two on Saturday April 6, at 9.35pm; Eurovision 2024 runs from May 7-11, in Malmö, Sweden

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2024/04/05/when-abba-came-to-britain-bbc-two-eurovision-song-contest/

2 EBU broadcasters unite for new documentary: ABBA – Against The Odds

 

2 EBU broadcasters unite for new documentary: ABBA – Against The Odds

By Andreas Kalaitzis18 March 2024 

This year marks 50 years since ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 in Brighton with the song "Waterloo." This will be celebrated in a unique collaboration in a documentary titled "ABBA – Against The Odds."

The documentary will be shown in more than 15 countries in the weeks leading up to Eurovision 2024 in Malmö.

The story of the group that became one of the world's biggest and best-selling music groups of all times includes rare clips and exclusive interviews. It's directed by James Rogan and produced by Dan Hall.

Unique collaboration

The documentary was developed by Danish DR and Swedish SVT, and the concept originated from the EBU Documentary Group. It is the largest ever collaboration of EBU members on a documentary production.

Matthew Trustram, Head of Television, EBU says:

– This is something of a landmark production for European public-service broadcasters, who have pulled together their biggest collaboration to date in the documentary space, to celebrate the music and influence of ABBA, a true European cultural phenomenon. By working together, the broadcasters have been able to deliver truly ambitious and impactful storytelling to their audiences.

Anders Bruus, Commissioning Editor, DR says:

– Never have so many TV stations collaborated to unfold the story of ABBA and their cultural significance. And when an idea from DR and SVT ends up engaging so many European TV stations in telling the story of a Swedish pop group, it shows the significance of ABBA over 50 years.

Axel Arnö, Head of Documentary, SVT says:

– The documentary is not only a celebration of ABBA's iconic music but also showcases the importance of our shared cultural heritage. The collaboration between so many European TV stations demonstrates how we can be united through music, art, and storytelling. ABBA's breakthrough in the Eurovision Song Contest 50 years ago and the current collaboration between TV stations are pivotal in bringing nations together then and now.

The documentary will premiere at Copenhagen's CPH:DOX on 23 March 2024, and will be broadcast in more than 15 countries throughout Europe ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö in May.

ABBA World in Malmö

Fans will be able to experience all the different parts of ABBA under one roof during Eurovision in Malmö, Sweden. Opening its doors on 29 April, ABBA World invites both new and old fans to explore parts of ABBA The Museum, ABBA Voyage, Mamma Mia!, Mamma Mia! The Party, and Polar Music International all at once.

Spread across two floors, this mini-exhibition and pop-up experience will create a space for ABBA fans to meet, share, and create memories together showcasing both the past and present of ABBA. Placed in the central parts of Malmö, ABBA World will be open for visitors for two weeks only at Södergatan 28 between 29 April and 12 May.

ABBA has been described as one of the world's most popular bands, and so far they've sold more than 150 million records worldwide.

The group released nine studio albums, two live albums, seven compilation albums, and 50 singles.

The major international breakthrough came in 1974 in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 when they won with Waterloo.

https://eurovisionworld.com/esc/new-documentary-abba-against-the-odds