Chiquitita, Dancing Queen, Mamma mia, Super Trouper… ABBA’s songs have left an indelible mark on our vital soundtracks and, even if we are not fans of seventies pop, it is impossible not to have sung one of their songs at the top of our lungs in karaoke. or a party. Although in their country of origin, Sweden, they were already recognized artists, it was not until their victory in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest that they became known in the rest of the world. Next April 6 marks exactly half a century since Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid entered our lives to stay.
For all those who are still as excited as the first day of the iconic band’s music, we propose four amazing experiences to delight in their songs, their extravagant outfits and get to know in depth who ABBA were and how they reached the top of the music industry. .
You can get the full experience of watching ABBA perform live without actually doing it. Thanks to holographic technology, a return to the past of the four members of the group who are rejuvenated thanks to AI in a compilation concert of their greatest hits, accompanied by live musicians, the digital versions of Agnetha, Frida, Björn and Benny -the baptized as ABBAtars, a mix between the group’s name and avatar, they perform their classics and, although the real ABBA artists are not present on stage, they have collaborated in the selection of the songs as if they were from a concert of theirs. treat.
The performance lasts an hour and a half and, if you arrive early, you can kill time with a drink or a quick bite to eat in the Oceanbird lounge at the ABBA Arena, the purpose-built stadium in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. For an even more special experience, you can reserve one of the eight dance booths available, where you’ll have more space to dance and move than on the floor, plus an area to sit when you need a break.
Located in Stockholm, the group’s city of origin, ABBA The Museum is not your average museum, despite what its name says. From its extensive collection of carefully preserved original costumes, to life-size recreations of emblematic places in the band’s history – you can walk through the Folkpark, where Benny and Björn began their friendship in 1966 – to sewing workshops taught by their costume designer and stylist, Owe Sandström, or a stage where you can get up and sing their songs with digital versions of the group members.
Within the immense facilities you will also find a cinema, a recording and music production studio – and you can use it as if you were the next best-selling star – and a dressing room that recreates the one ABBA had backstage for the spectacular makeovers necessary. in their concerts.
In addition to the permanent exhibition, from last year until next year, ABBA The Museum hosts a special exhibition on the group’s latest album, the ninth of their career, which they released in 2021. It also offers a tour of the ABBA Voyage, from when the idea began to develop until its birth.
The domain of the Battlefield of Waterloo, in Braine-l’Alleud (Belgium) is a huge museum complex dedicated to the memory of the combat that the French empire of Napoleon Bonaparte faced against the Seventh Coalition in June 1815. This same battle It was the one that inspired the piece that ABBA presented to Eurovision, with which they not only won the contest that year, but also their worldwide fame.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the song, the Waterloo 1815 memorial presents a journey through the history of the four members of the group, from their beginnings as soloists in the sixties to the present. The exhibition features an extensive display of iconic dresses, suits and accessories from ABBA’s golden years, thanks to Swedish stylist Richard Gyver, who has made and loaned to the museum several exact replicas of the extravagant costumes that the artists wore on stage. Visitors will be able to learn first-hand how the most international Swedish group was born thanks to unpublished objects from collectors around the world.
One of the most notable contributions to entertainment culture from ABBA’s repertoire is, without a doubt, that of the musical Mamma mia!, with the title of one of their songs and which adapted the group’s greatest hits into a beautiful love story set on the Greek islands. First there was the play, then the film version – with a sequel included – and now comes a third of the most special part. Mamma mia! The party, an immersive experience in the imagination of the work in which the audience is in the center of the room.
This adaptation, by the English writer Sandi Toksvig, takes us to the island of Skópelos, where Nikos’s tavern is the protagonist. It has been built especially for the occasion in the O2 stadium in London and every detail has been worked on so that you feel like you are in a true Helena square. Romance, an authentic Greek dinner to accompany it and, of course, ABBA’s best-known songs that come together for a unique evening.
After dinner, which offers vegan options for those who want them, the party begins in true Mamma mia! style, with more live music and a cocktail menu. A unique event where you will laugh, dance and sing non-stop. And if you are left wanting more after the four hours of the show, at the end the dance floor opens to continue the party to the rhythm of the group’s music.
