The four members of ABBA have been honoured with one of their country’s most prestigious orders for their contributions to music.
For the first time in almost 50 years, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf handed out the Order of the Vasa.
Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad became “Commanders of the First Class” of the order for “very outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music life”.
Sweden has several orders, including the Royal Order of Seraphim, which is awarded to heads of state and foreign royals, and the Royal Order of the Polar Star which is given to foreign citizens and stateless persons.
The Royal Order of Vasa is given in recognition of personal efforts for Sweden or Swedish interests as well as the successful performance of public duties and assignments. It was dormant until late 2022 when it was reactivated after regulations opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again.
Earlier this year, candidates were nominated by the public and the Swedish government and the king approved the nominees that included the four ABBA members.
The orders were awarded during a solemn ceremony at the Royal Palace in the gilded Vita Havet Assembly Rooms. The monarch handed each of the pop stars the order in a red box, while a diploma was given to them by Queen Silvia.
“The order you get today is Sweden’s thanks for your exceptional efforts,” the monarch said before handing out orders to “13 exceptional Swedes”.
Mr Andersson, Ms Faltskog, Ms Lyngstad – who now uses the surname Reuss and walked up using a cane – and Mr Ulvaeus received the order in an event that was aired live on Swedish media.
The Eurovision victory turned ABBA into a pop juggernaut, by far the most successful band to win the pan-continental music contest.
ABBA’s melodic disco pop sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide. The stage musical Mamma Mia! based on its songs is 25 years old and spawned two movies.
Coincidentally, the 2024 Eurovision was held in southern Sweden. Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th contest with The Code, an operatic pop-rap ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing a nongender identity.
The Swedish band members have not performed together live for four decades but released a comeback album, Voyage in 2021. The digital “ABBA-tars” opened in London for the Abba Voyage show in 2022.
Other recipients were two 2023 Nobel Prize winners: French-Swedish physicist Anne L’Huillier, and Svante Pääbo, who won the coveted award in physics and medicine. They were both made Commander Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star for “outstanding research efforts”.
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