Free speech is in danger, says Abba star
Natasha Leake — T
The 80-year-old Dancing Queen singer said he worried about the “rise of the autocrat” in an interview promoting his “democracy education programme for schools”.
Mr Ulvaeus told The Times there was now a “fear of violence” if creators were to “make Monty Python’s Life of Brian in a Muslim context”, as an example.
“I find it demeaning to not be able to say this or that. Free speech is in danger. And I really feel, with autocrats on the rise, even in America, Europe needs to step up and unite,” he added, alluding to the increase in leaders with absolute power.
Mr Ulvaeus, one quarter of Abba, found fame after winning Eurovision in 1974 alongside his former wife Agnetha Faltskog.
The singer, who has made a “democracy education programme for schools” set to launch in June, now wants to teach children “freedom is at threat”.
“I want children to realise this thing that we breathe every day – freedom, respect for institutions – is at threat,” he said.
“Imagine the world these dictators want: you lose your job because you complain about the government. You pay taxes but they are stolen or you can’t get justice because the law has become an untrustworthy institution. We are closer to this than we know.”
He indicated that he thought it might be time to introduce national service, which he undertook as a teenager.
“I am a proud European,” he said. “And now it seems we are the last bastion of liberal democracy. Let’s face it: we are alone and I think we should build a European defence force.”
Elsewhere in the interview he admitted to drinking between 15 to 20 cups of coffee a day, adding that he doesn’t eat until midday and works out with a crosstrainer, TRX suspension cables and a “vibrator plate” to stay healthy despite his age.
Mr Ulvaeus married Danish national Christina Sas, 51, in Copenhagen in a small ceremony in front of family and friends in September last year.
‘Love at first sight’
He described meeting his third wife as “love at first sight”, but said he had “severe concerns” about the age difference of thirty years.
“When a man or a woman meets someone much younger and falls in love they think, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ But in the end I just gave up. I decided, ‘It’s up to her – if she wants to live with someone older and we love each other…’ Age doesn’t come between us now – we rarely even talk about it,” he said.
Mr Ulvaeus announced he had split from his second wife of 41 years, Lena Kallersjo in 2022, four months before revealing he and his current wife were a couple.
Ms Kallersjo shares two daughters, Emma, 42, and Anna, 38, with Mr Ulvaeus. They agreed to split their £100 million in assets equally.
From 1971 to 1979, Ulvaeus was married to his bandmate and first wife Ms Faltskog. They had two children, Linda, 51, and Peter, 46.
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