Members of Swedish music band ABBA arrive for the opening performance of the “ABBA Voyage” concert in London, Britain, May 26, 2022. Image: Reuters/Henry Nicholls
LONDON—ABBA members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus have dismissed a reunion at next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in their native Sweden, which will also mark the 50th anniversary of when the supergroup won the competition with “Waterloo.”
In an interview with Britain’s BBC Newsnight on Wednesday evening, the pair ruled out taking to the stage with fellow members Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad for the occasion.
Sweden’s Loreen won Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool, northern England, this month, meaning the Nordic country will host next year’s contest.
“I don’t want to and if I don’t want to, they won’t go. It’s the same for all four of us—someone says ‘no,’ it’s a no,” Andersson said.
“We can celebrate 50 years of ABBA without us being on stage,” Ulvaeus added.
Formed in 1972, ABBA won legions of fans around the world after triumphing at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, with their enduring hits such as “Dancing Queen” and “Fernando.”
The foursome, who split in the early 1980s, have sold an estimated 385 million records.
Last year they launched a London concert residency as digital avatars—versions of themselves from their 1970s heyday thanks to motion-capture technology. AP