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In 1974 an anti-nobility law was passed in the Swedish government which barred Royal Orders (aka knighthoods) from being conferred onto Swedish subjects. Foreigners could still be knighted; no, I can’t make it make sense. After decades of handing out top honors to the rest of the world, Sweden recently passed a new law so that her own citizens can once again be named to one of the Orders of the Seraphim, Sword, Polar Star, or Vasa. (Sidenote: these order names are so much better than England’s ‘Order of the Garter,’ which sounds like an uptight lingerie party.) And so last Friday in Stockholm the members of ABBA became the first Swedes in 50 years to be named to the Order of the Vasa by King Carl XVI Gustaf. The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself!
The winners take it all: The pop legends were recognised by King Carl XVI Gustaf on Friday for their cultural impact, which has taken Swedish pop music to a huge global audience. The group — Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Björn Ulvaeus — made a rare public appearance together in Stockholm where they were given the Royal Order of Vasa for “outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music”. Sweden stopped awarding royal orders to its citizens in 1975, but continued to award royal orders to foreigners. However, the country’s parliament reinstated the practice in 2022, and Friday’s ceremony marked the first time the orders had been awarded to Swedes in half a century.
Where they play the right music: Abba are still one of the biggest pop acts in the world, even though they have not played live since appearing on Noel Edmonds’ The Late, Late Breakfast Show on the BBC in 1982. … They have sold more than 400m albums and singles and were the first Swedes to clinch a Eurovision victory, while digital versions of the group, known as “Abbatars”, are playing to sold-out crowds in London as part of Abba Voyage. The show, which plays in a purpose-built venue in east London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, took seven years and $175m to develop, with more than 1 million people having bought tickets since its launch.
Here we go again: Abba’s popularity was rekindled by the Mamma Mia! musical and subsequent film adaptation, which introduced the group’s music to new generations. The Abba name is still a huge draw and in January this year Andersson and Ulvaeus shared in a dividend of nearly £1m after a surge in profits at the production company behind the Mamma Mia! stage musical and film adaptations. Andersson, Lyngstad and Ulvaeus attended the first anniversary of the Abba Voyage show in east London but quickly dismissed rumours of a reunion for this year’s Eurovision, which marked 50 years since their breakout win in 1974 with Waterloo.
Oh by the way, some Nobel prize winners were honored too: In total, 13 Swedes were honoured at the ceremony at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, including two Nobel prize winners: the geneticist Svante Pääbo and the French-Swedish physicist Ann L’Huillier.
Congrats to the baker’s dozen of Swedes who were singled out for the momentous occasion! (And yes, I had to include the mention of the geneticist and physicist, because the way The Guardian tagged it on at the end like a throwaway line just cracked me up.) Whether you’re a fan of pop/disco music or not (I’m a fan!), ABBA’s reach across the globe would make any nation proud. But I also have a theater geek lurking inside me, so I cannot miss this opportunity to say: when are we getting a Chess movie?! Or at least a revival?! I cannot be the only one out there yearning to see a 2-3 hour musical about chess grandmasters, set against the backdrop of Cold War era US vs USSR tensions? And even if I am, take a chance on me! (Nope, not sorry, had to do it. Ba ba ba ba baa, ba ba ba ba baa…)
Photos via Instagram. Frontpage photo is a screenshot from YouTube
