50 years since ABBA Eurovision win
April 6, 2024 marks 50 years since Swedish pop group ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest held in Brighton, England, with a performance of the song “Waterloo.”
The band became hugely successful after their victory, embarking on worldwide tours. In the decades that followed, the band's enduring popularity produced multiple films including, "ABBA: The Movie" (1977), "Mamma Mia!" (2008), and "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" (2018), a hit musical of the same name, and most recently, "ABBA Voyage", a virtual version of the band.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida) and Agnetha Faltskog, from the Swedish pop group ABBA, sing during the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest at the Brighton Dome in England on April 6, 1974. (AP Photo/Robert Dear)
Swedish pop group ABBA celebrate winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest on stage at the Brighton Dome in England with their song Waterloo, April 6, 1974. From left, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida), Agnetha Faltskog, and Bjorn Ulvaeus. (AP Photo/Robert Dear)
Members of Swedish group ABBA and close associates celebrate the victory of their song Waterloo in the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, England on April 6, 1974. The four members of ABBA, Benny Andersson, left, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, third left, Agnetha Faltskog, second right, and Bjorn Ulvaeus, right. (AP Photo)
Members of the Swedish pop group ABBA pose together in London, where they will be attending the premiere of their first movie "ABBA - The Movie," February 16, 1978. From left: Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus. (AP Photo)
Swedish pop group ABBA are pictured during rehearsals for the "Olivia! TV Special," with fellow pop stars Olivia Newton-John, right and Andy Gibb, background left, May 1, 1978. From left: Benny Andersson, Andy Gibb, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, unidentified, Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, and Olivia Newton-John. (AP Photo/George Brich)
Assembled before giant photo mural are, from left, Rita Coolidge, four members of ABBA, John Denver, Olivia Newton-John, Andy Gibb. They are shown at United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday evening, January 9, 1979 in New York, during taping of NBC-TV Special, "The Music for UNICEF concert." (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)
Members of the pop group ABBA try old-style Japanese umbrellas, made of bamboo frame and coarse oil paper, in a light spring rain at their hotel's Japanese garden, March 14, 1980. From left: Benny Andersson, Agnetha Foltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. (AP Photo/Tsugufumi Matsumoto)
Swedish pop group ABBA, from left to right, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Bjorn Ulvaeus, pictured in London, Nov. 5, 1982, as they celebrated their tenth year together as a group. (AP Photo/John Glanvill)
The stars of the new Broadway musical "Mamma Mia!", from left, Louise Pitre, Karen Mason and Judy Kaye, pose in front of the Winter Garden Theatre in New York Oct. 5, 2001. The show, which uses music by the Swedish pop group ABBA, opens Oct. 18. (AP Photo/Jim Cooper)
Former ABBA group member Bjorn Ulvaeus signs autographs for fans on his arrival at the Prince Edward Theatre in London for the fifth anniversary of the musical "Mamma Mia!" in London's West End, Tuesday, April 6, 2004. (AP Photo/Richard Lewis)
ABBA group member Anni-Frid Lyngstad, right, poses with show producer Judy Krammer, left, on her arrival at the Prince Edward Theatre in London for the fifth year anniversary of "Mamma Mia!" in London's West End, Tuesday, April 6, 2004. (AP Photo/Richard Lewis)
In this July 3, 2008 file photo, actor Pierce Brosnan, left, and actress Meryl Streep attend the photocall for "Mamma Mia! The Movie" at the Adlon Hotel in Berlin. A sequel to the ABBA-packed film musical "Mamma Mia!" will hit theaters on July 20, 2018. Universal Pictures said Friday, May 19, 2017, that "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!" will see the return of the film's original cast and feature a soundtrack of ABBA songs not included in the first. (AP Photo/Miguel Villagran, File)
Former member of Swedish music group ABBA Benny Andersson, right, and Australian singer Kylie Minogue embrace during the "Thank You For The Music: A Celebration of the Music of Abba" concert in London's Hyde Park, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009.(AP Photo/Akira Suemori)
Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid 'Frida' Synni Lyngstad, former members of the Swedish pop group ABBA, sit by their outfits from the 1974 winning Eurovision song contest performance of 'Waterloo' in Brighton, at the ABBA World exhibition in Earls Court, London, Tuesday, January 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)
Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad of the band ABBA accept their trophies during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York, Monday, March 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Bjorn Ulvaeus, former band member of the group ABBA, poses for photographers in a recreation of the Polar recording studio in Sweden, where the group recorded many of their notable albums including Super Trouper. The photo call is to promote the exhibition 'ABBA: Super Troupers', in London, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Members of the group ABBA, Benny Andersson, right, and Bjorn Ulvaeus pose for photographers upon arrival at the World premiere of the film 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again', in London Monday, July 16, 2018. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Fans outside the ABBA Arena in London, ahead of the ABBA Voyage concert, Thursday May 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Members of ABBA, from left, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson arrive for the ABBA Voyage concert at the ABBA Arena in London, Thursday May 26, 2022. ABBA is releasing its first new music in four decades, along with a concert performance that will see the quartet going entirely digital. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Text and photo curation by Kathryn Bubien