With Eurovision set to return to Sweden next year, in what will mark the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s game-changing win, fans of the contest have been speculating about whether the group will be putting in an appearance to mark the occasion.
Following Loreen’s historic victory in Liverpool, the contest will be heading back to the Scandinavian country for the seventh time in 2024, but anyone hoping to see the Dancing Queens back together again might want to prepare themselves for some disappointment.
Asked by BBC Newsnight whether we could count on ABBA appearing on stage in their home territory next year, musician Benny Andersson said simply: “I don’t want to.
“And if I don’t want to, the others won’t. It’s the same for all four of us – [if] someone says, ‘no’, it’s a no.”
Björn Ulvaeus added: “We can celebrate 50 years of Abba without us being on stage.”
Along with fellow winner Céline Dion, ABBA are undoubtedly one of the most successful acts to ever come out of Eurovision, and have never shied away from their history at the contest.
Their current Voyage concert experience in London includes a section devoted to their 1974 win for Waterloo, while Björn also recorded a video message for Eurovision fans for a special that aired in place of the regular show in 2020.
“When I watch that clip from the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, 1974, I find it hard to believe [that’s me] as well,” he said.
“But then, the ESC is one hell of a launching pad, and it still remains one of the most genuinely joyous events of the TV year. And it’s so disarmingly European. It so allows you to escape and be happy.”
“Long live the Eurovision Song Contest,” he concluded at the end of the clip.
ABBA previously reunited to release their first album in almost 40 years, Voyage, back in 2021, which coincided with their virtual concert show of the same name.