Eurovision marks 50 years since Abba’s win with ‘Abba-tar’ appearance
The Eurovision Song Contest has marked 50 years since Abba’s signature win with an appearance from the Swedish group’s Voyage avatars.
The live concert, located at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, features younger “Abba-tars” of the quartet, performing songs from their back catalogue with a live 10-piece band.
The evening’s hosts, Petra Mede and actress Malin Akerman, announced Eurovision would be heading to London before digital versions of the famous foursome appeared on screen.
Mede said: “They (Abba) didn’t just win the competition – they conquered the entire planet, leaving a legacy of hit songs that would live on forever.
“And 50 years later, they are as relevant and popular as ever.”
The Abba-tars reflected on their win, with Bjorn Ulvaeus saying: “I remember the UK jury and what they thought about us – they gave us zero points.”
The Swedish pop supergroup won the competition with their smash hit Waterloo on April 6 1974 at Brighton Dome’s Concert Hall.
This year’s annual music contest took place in Sweden after Loreen won last year’s contest in Liverpool with her song Tattoo.
Following the avatar’s appearance, Charlotte Perrelli, Carola and Conchita Wurst, who are all past contestants from Eurovision, took to the stage to sing Waterloo.
Some fans who had hoped Abba would take to the stage in Malmo for a live performance on Saturday night expressed their disappointment.
“I really thought I was going to see Abba,” wrote one on X, formerly Twitter.
Another wrote: “The Abba no show at #Eurovision is the biggest pop culture let down since bad Star Wars films.”
