Legendary pop group ABBA made a rare public appearance last Friday (May 31) to receive one of Sweden's most prestigious awards. Band members Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and Björn Ulvaeus were honored with a knighthood by King Carl XVI Gustaf, recognizing their cultural importance and worldwide impact.
During a ceremony at Stockholm’s Royal Palace, ABBA was awarded the Royal Vasa Order for “distinguished contributions within Swedish and international music life,” according to The Guardian. This honor, which had not been bestowed for 50 years, was reinstated in 2022, making ABBA some of the first recipients since its revival.
Candidates for the Royal Vasa Order were nominated by both the Swedish public and government, with the final decision made by the monarch himself.
ABBA rose to global fame after winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Waterloo'. They followed this with a string of major hits, including ‘Money, Money, Money’ (1976), 'Dancing Queen’ (1976), ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’ (1979), and ‘The Winner Takes it All’ (1980).
Despite their enduring popularity, ABBA hasn’t performed together since 1982, following the break-up of both couples in the band. However, they appeared in public in 2022 to announce their Voyage Concert Tour, sparking excitement among fans worldwide.
Swedish supertroupers Abba received one of their country’s most prestigious awards, after being feted with an honour of chivalry that was last handed out by their monarch almost 50 years ago.
The band, comprising Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and Björn Ulvaeus, made a rare public appearance together in Stockholm, where they were knighted with the Royal Order of Vasa for “outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music”.
Abba’s rare public appearance comes after their “Abbatars” made an appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö last month, which marked 50 years since their historic win with “Waterloo”.
Despite not performing live since 1982, Abba remain one of the world’s most successful pop acts, selling more than 400 million albums and singles. In 2022, they became the focus of a purpose-built arena in London where the Abba Voyage concerts use digital avatars of the musicians.
At a London Q&A on 30 March celebrating the two-year anniversary of Abba Voyage, which took seven years and $175m (£138m) to develop, Andersson and Ulvaeus said it was “very hard” to emotionally grasp the impact of their music around the world.
“It’s very, very hard to grasp emotionally that we wrote these little songs and it gave rise to this, and the millions of people we have touched,” Andersson said.
“We know it’s true, but it’s very hard to understand. Maybe impossible.”
Ulvaeus added: “I’ve seen the show so many times and I think we look good up there. But I have no idea what it really is that makes people have it in them to want to listen to music that was done 50 years ago, 40 years ago, 30 years ago.”
During a ceremony at Stockholm’s Royal Palace, ABBA was awarded the Royal Vasa Order for “distinguished contributions within Swedish and international music life,” according to The Guardian. This honor, which had not been bestowed for 50 years, was reinstated in 2022, making ABBA some of the first recipients since its revival.
Candidates for the Royal Vasa Order were nominated by both the Swedish public and government, with the final decision made by the monarch himself.
ABBA rose to global fame after winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Waterloo'. They followed this with a string of major hits, including ‘Money, Money, Money’ (1976), 'Dancing Queen’ (1976), ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’ (1979), and ‘The Winner Takes it All’ (1980).
Despite their enduring popularity, ABBA hasn’t performed together since 1982, following the break-up of both couples in the band. However, they appeared in public in 2022 to announce their Voyage Concert Tour, sparking excitement among fans worldwide.
Swedish supertroupers Abba received one of their country’s most prestigious awards, after being feted with an honour of chivalry that was last handed out by their monarch almost 50 years ago.
The band, comprising Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and Björn Ulvaeus, made a rare public appearance together in Stockholm, where they were knighted with the Royal Order of Vasa for “outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music”.
Abba’s rare public appearance comes after their “Abbatars” made an appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö last month, which marked 50 years since their historic win with “Waterloo”.
Despite not performing live since 1982, Abba remain one of the world’s most successful pop acts, selling more than 400 million albums and singles. In 2022, they became the focus of a purpose-built arena in London where the Abba Voyage concerts use digital avatars of the musicians.
At a London Q&A on 30 March celebrating the two-year anniversary of Abba Voyage, which took seven years and $175m (£138m) to develop, Andersson and Ulvaeus said it was “very hard” to emotionally grasp the impact of their music around the world.
“It’s very, very hard to grasp emotionally that we wrote these little songs and it gave rise to this, and the millions of people we have touched,” Andersson said.
“We know it’s true, but it’s very hard to understand. Maybe impossible.”
Ulvaeus added: “I’ve seen the show so many times and I think we look good up there. But I have no idea what it really is that makes people have it in them to want to listen to music that was done 50 years ago, 40 years ago, 30 years ago.”
