ABBA News Archive 2016

• BAO's album "Mitt Hjärta Klappar För Dig" has been nominated for the Swedish Grammis award in the category "Dance band of the year". Frida Hyvönen, the only artist on Benny and Ludvig's label Riksmixningsverket, is nominated in the categories album, composer and lyrics writer of the year. The Grammis gala takes place at Konserthuset in Stockholm on February 28, 2017.
  
  Thanks to Pentti Koponen.
  

• We are very sad to tell you that the wonderful photographer Torbjörn Calvero died at the age of only 67 years. He took many great and famous shots of ABBA, mainly in 1978 and 1979. Our deepest condolences go to his family. Here are two photos of him talking about his photos at ABBA The Museum in 2015.
  
  
  © Maik Dünkel
  



• The new smaller scale version of Chess på svenska premieres at Kristianstads Teater on September 23 next year. The cast and crew has now been announced.
  • Anatoly: Johan Wikström
  • Florence: Frida Modén Treichl
  • Freddie: Patrick Martinsson
  • Svetlana: Hanna La Fleur
  • Molokov: Peter Jernstedt
  • The Arbiter: David Rix
  • Conductor: Ebert Ankarblom
  • Director: Ola Hörling
  
  Chess has mostly been performed as concert version because it is arranged for a huge orchestra and choir. There are not many theatre houses in Sweden that can stage this big production. Benny and Björn want Chess to be produced as stage version more often, not just in concert form. So they hired Anders Eljas to re-arrange the music for an orchestra with 13 musicians. Kristianstad's theatre has 397 seats.
  
  Thanks to Pentti Koponen.
  

• ABBA No. 79 has now been printed and is being mailed to all fan club members worldwide. As a special bonus this issue has 40 pages - it is in full colour A4 size. This time we have 2 exclusive posters for you. In the new issue we celebrate Björn & Benny's 50th anniversary plus Arrival's 40th anniversary. As always, the magazine includes many previously unpublished photos, interviews and special reports.
  
  Contents:
  • News Extra with all news about releases, ABBA, Agnetha, Benny, Björn, Frida, ABBA related artists and ABBA The Museum
  • Benny Anderssons Orkester on tour 2016
  • Book review "We All Love ABBA", including an interview with the author Stany Van Wymeersch and great photos
  • Our ABBA competition
  • Exclusive interview with Swedish radio presenter Ulf Elfving, who has interviewed all four ABBA members several times
  • Special report "Björn & Benny - Thank You For The 50 Years of Music"
  • Special report "40 Years Arrival"
  • Reader's Stories with wonderful contributions by our members and exclusive Frida photos
  • 2 A3 size posters - one with an exclusive funny Björn & Benny photo; one with an exclusive ABBA photo from 1975
  
     
  
     
  
     
  
  We hope you enjoy this issue and look forward to your feedback. Thank you as always for your wonderful support!
  



• On December 4th, Systerpolskan performed their very first concert where they presented songs from their album "Randig kjortel" (Striped Skirt) which was released earlier this year during September. It was foremost produced by Benny Andersson who also played some instruments on a couple of songs. He joined the group that Sunday evening for the entire concert in Stockholm when they performed in front of an enthusiastic audience.
  
  
  Photos © Micke Bayart
  



• Frida attended Olivia Newton-John's show at the Flamingo in Las Vegas.
  
  
  Photo © Marlen Landin
  

• Arturo Sandoval’s new album "Duets" is scheduled to be released in February 2017 and will include a duet with Frida Lyngstad, among other artists like Josh Groban, Pharrell Williams, Placido Domingo, Al Jarreau and many more! Frida and Arturo were very excited to record ABBA's 'Andante, Andante' together in Spain as his manager Melody Lisman told us.
  



• Per Sundin from Universal Sweden told the magazine Musikindustrin how he took a photo of Benny, Björn, Max Martin and Shellback in Los Angeles: "That was a little special. We were in Max Martin's studio in West Hollywood when Shellback suddenly came up with 'Oh, we must take a photo.' There was a wonderful respect for each other, they almost seemed to be proud to be pictured together. Afterwards I think I should have asked for an own photo together with these legends. It would have been something to put on the wall."
  



• Sundin does not want to talk about the virtual ABBA before he has something concrete to tell. The reaction to the news has been enormous, to Sundin's surprise mostly in Japan.
  



• The programme "Moraeus med mera" with BAO, which was recorded in June, will be screened December 3 at 8 PM Swedish time.
  



• Marie-Louise Ekman staged her version of Utvandrarna (novel series which Kristina från Duvemåla is based on) at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm a couple of years ago. Benny's existing music (not from Kristina) was rearranged for the play. The production was filmed and SVT2 will show it on November 26 and 27.
  
  Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
  

• Benny is a mentor for the new music scene's network UTOM, Unga Tankar Om Musik (Young thoughts about music). The project now includes 17 people from the music business (professional musicians, agents, producers etc.) aged 25-40, in the end there will be 40 members. During the next four years their attempt is to get musicians from different genres together and work together for a "music scene of the future".
  Benny said: "UTOM will be a new constructive force in the cultural debate. I am convinced that Unga Tankar Om Musik will become an obvious genre crossing workshop in the music scene."
  Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
  

• Universal Music has announced that a cooperation between the ABBA members and music producer Simon Fuller will lead to a new kind of entertainment experience using Virtual Reality. From the press release:
  
  "Together with Universal Music Group and world-famous entertainment entrepreneur Simon Fuller, the ABBA members present a pioneer project using the newest digital and Virtual Reality technology. The aim is to create an unique entertainment experience with the Swedish superstars so that new generations of fans can see, hear and feel ABBA in a way never imagined before.
  Simon Fuller is investing in Virtual Reality technology and the development of hyper-realistic digital humans for the entertainment business. The collaboration with the members of ABBA is a key moment on the way to develop the full possibilities of Virtual Reality changing the image of entertainment.
  The ABBA members will be involved during the whole creative process, so the result will match their original vision."
  
  More information will be announced in 2017 - but we can already say that this will not be a live reunion of the group members. Virtual Reality means a computer simulation of the real world, mostly using a helmet or special glasses with high-resolution displays showing a 3D image of the simulated world where you can look and walk around and interact with simulated objects and persons. Today it is often used for computer games, driving simulators, presentations etc.
  We will keep you informed!
  

• Benny has contributed music to several TV, film and theatre productions by Marie-Louise Ekman. The next one is the theatre play "Försökskaninerna" (Guinea-pigs) which opens March 30, 2017 on the main stage of Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. It has not been announced if the music is specially written for the play or they are using old material.
  Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
  

• Thanks to Pentti Koponen who sent us these nice photos of Benny from yesterday's concerts with Gustaf Sjökvists Kammarkör at Eric Ericssonhallen in Stockholm.
  
  
  



• Björn and Benny were among the persons who got Stockholm City's Culture Prize a couple of months ago. Björn has decided to give his part, 50.000 Crowns, to the organization Women's Network (Kvinnornas nätverk) which fights against honor-related violence and oppression.
  



• Thanks to Pentti Koponen who met Benny unexpectedly in Stockholm on October 6, 2016 and took this beautiful photo of him.
  
  
  

• Benny Andersson and Gustav Sjökvists Kammarkör performed in Uppsala last Thursday. Cecilia Rydinger Alin conducted the choir, which performed these songs by Benny: 'Anthem', 'The Story of Chess' (in Swedish), 'Innan gryningen', 'Kärlekens tid', 'Lilla skara', 'Down to the Sacred Wave', 'De flyendes kör, En skrift i snön', 'O klang och jubeltid', 'Vilar glad. I din famn' and Thank You For The Music.
  The tour continues in Gävle (23rd) and Västerås (25th) before concluding in Stockholm (9th October).
  Special thanks to Micke Bayart.
  
  
  

• Here is the press text about the new Arrival releases:
  
  Originally released in October 1976, ABBA's Arrival was an instant classic that made the Swedish four-piece a household name across the world. Four decades later, it remains both faultless and timeless – and will be reissued on 7 October in a stunning half-speed mastered double-vinyl pressing.
  With high-definition audio, the album will have never sounded so good, and the 2LP reissue comes with a certificate officially declaring that its half-speed remastering took place at the legendary Abbey Road Road Studios in London. With new liner notes written by Swedish journalist Jan Gradvall and a new interview with Michael B Tretow, ABBA's producer and "fifth member", this lovingly put together reissue is a fitting celebration of one of the most important albums that ABBA ever released.
  In addition to the double-vinyl reissue of the album, a limited edition 7" box set, Arrival: The Singles, will collect the album's three singles, 'Dancing Queen', 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' and 'Money, Money, Money', along with the non-album release 'Fernando', on coloured vinyl, while each single will also be released as separate picture discs. For ABBA collectors, this is a mouth-watering array of releases that revels in the brilliance of Arrival, an album that topped the charts in 10 countries around the world, including England, Germany and New Zealand, and which also took the group to the No.1 spot at home for the third time.
  
  Arrival half-speed mastered 2LP tracklisting:
  LP1 Side A
  'When I Kissed The Teacher', 'Dancing Queen', 'My Love, My Life'
  Side B
  'Dum Dum Diddle', 'Knowing Me, Knowing You'
  
  LP2 Side A
  'Money, Money, Money', 'That's Me', 'Why Did It Have To Be Me?'
  Side B
  'Tiger', 'Arrival'
  
  
  Arrival: The Singles coloured vinyl box set tracklisting:
  Disc 1 'Dancing Queen', 'That's Me'
  
  Disc 2 'Fernando', 'Hey, Hey Helen'
  
  Disc 3 'Knowing Me, Knowing You', 'Happy Hawaii'
  
  Disc 4 'Money, Money, Money', 'Crazy World'
  

• We have received many messages regarding a possible release of an "Arrival" Deluxe Edition later this year. Universal just told us that more information will be published on www.abbasite.com soon. We will keep you informed!
  Regarding the vinyl release of "Djupa andetag", Universal hasn't set the date.
  



• After just over four years at ABBA The Museum & Pop House, marketing and sales director Catarina Falkenhav is moving on to new endeavours within the framework of her own company.
  "I'm delighted to have made this journey with ABBA The Museum and my colleagues – both inside and outside the establishment. I've been part of many fun and unique events during my time here, which will naturally be hard to beat. However, I think the time is right now to move on to new ventures, particularly as things are going so well for the business," said Catarina Falkenhav.
  "Thanks to Catarina's extensive expertise in the field of brand and communications, the ABBA museum got off to a dream start with impressive attendance figures. I'm happy to have worked with her for so many years and can only congratulate her future clients," said Björn Ulvaeus.
  Museum Director Ingmarie Halling says: "It doesn’t matter how good an exhibition, film, theatre, etc. you set up – if you don't have the ability to find the right channels to communicate it to your audience. Catarina has been the perfect strategist for this. Finding a worthy replacement will be a tough job and I will miss our collaboration very much, even if our paths will cross again in the Barnfilmbyn project."
  
  Special thanks to Catarina for her assistance through all these years from ABBA Fan Club. It was a great pleasure to work with her. We wish her all the very best for her future projects.
  
  

• Here you can see the photos from the new wonderful ABBA Calendar 2017 published by Heel. We will have some calendars to give away in our next competition in ABBA No. 79.
  
  
  



• Arturo Sandoval mentioned in an interview that he is working on a new album, which will be his first duet album. Frida will be one of his duet partners!
  
  
  



• The successful BAO tour came to an end in Stockholm last Saturday. Many thanks to Maik Dünkel for the nice photos.
  
  
  

• German VOX TV will have an ABBA Night on July 28. It starts with "Mamma Mia! The Movie" at 20:15 local time and the new documentary "ABBA - Die Story geht weiter" will follow at 22:15. ABBA editor Regina will appear in the documentary as well. Read more about it here.
  



• Åland Post is now taking pre-orders for Björn's stamp. Read more about the stamp here.
  

• A new video of Frida and Agnetha performing 'The Way Old Friends Do' has appeared online. Watch it here!
  

• As announced, all four ABBA members attended the 50th anniversary party of Björn & Benny's friendship. Agnetha and Frida went on stage to perform "The way old friends do" with Björn and Benny turning up to also sing a few lines.
  Among the guests were Lasse Berghagen, Peter Jöback, Janne Schaffer, Lena Philipsson, Helen Sjöholm, Tomas Ledin, Marie Ledin, Tommy Körberg etc.
  
  A report about it can be found here.
  
  Here are a few photos, taken from Instagram with thanks to Niklas Strömstedt and Pernilla Wahlgren.
  
  
  

• All four members of ABBA are at Björn & Benny's 50th anniversary party in Stockholm right now. Björn told us in an interview that they are celebrating with people that he and Benny worked with along the way.
  



• 50 years ago, on 5th June 1966, Benny Andersson met Björn Ulvaeus - and so began an incredible partnership!
  



• "En natt i Köpenhamn" by BAO is released as a single now: Mono Music MMCDS-144
  
  You can also get it here on Spotify.
  

• ABBA No. 78 has now been printed and is being mailed to all of our members worldwide! It is a very special issue, dedicated to ABBA’s surprise appearance in public together in Stockholm earlier this year. We have an extensive, detailed feature about the opening of Mamma Mia! The Party including a lovely personal message from Björn to all ABBA Fan Club members! The issue also features an exclusive interview with Björn for .
  
  No. 78 is again in full colour with 36 pages, A4 size. Here’s what you will find it in No. 78:
  
  
  • News Extra featuring all the latest news on new releases, Agnetha, Benny, Björn, Frida, ABBA-related artists, and ABBA The Museum
  • Report on Björn awarding the Charlemagne Medal to the Eurovision Song Contest in Aachen, Germany, including an exclusive interview with Björn for ABBA and many exclusive photos
  • Large and exclusive report on the opening of Mamma Mia! The Party with many exclusive photos and a personal handwritten message from Björn to our fan club members!
  • Our ABBA Competition
  • Report about Björn appearing on TV show Skavlan earlier this year
  • Report about artist Lars Lerin’s meeting with Frida in Mallorca for SVT
  • Report on the new book “Agnetha Fältskog – The girl with the golden hair” including an exclusive interview with the author
  • A3 Poster with one of the latest ABBA shots from January 2016
    
    

   

   

   

We hope you enjoy this issue and look forward to your feedback. Thank you as always for your wonderful support!

May 19, 2016

• The new album by Benny Anderssons Orkester: "Mitt hjärta klappar för dig" (MMCD 034) will be released on June 10. It will also be available on vinyl LP (MML 034) from July 15. The tracklist:
  
  
  • En natt i Köpenhamn
  • Bara bara du
  • Hem till mamma
  • Minnena bleknar med tiden
  • Summa summarum
  • Timmarna går så fort när man har roligt
  • En svala gör ingen sommar
  • Smoochy
  • Isabella Rahm
  • Mitt hjärta klappar för dig
  • Ticka ticka väckarklocka
  
  BAO will go on a summer tour in July:
  21. Gothenburg, 22. Helsingborg, 23. Kalmar, 24. Linköping, 27. Leksand, 28. Uppsala, 29. Trosa, 30. Stockholm.
  
  Thanks to Dmitriy Shipov and Görel Hanser!
  

• Today saw the the opening of the new exhibition "Good Evening Europe!" – celebrating 60 years of Eurovision Song Contest at ABBA The Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Björn was being interviewed on stage about the importance of the ESC along with other guests including Swedish singer and ESC winner Carola and Ingmarie Halling from the museum, to name but a few. The former winners Loreen, Herreys and Måns Zelmerlöw joined everyone on stage towards the end.
  
  Special Thanks to Micke Bayart for the wonderful photos!
  
  
  



• German ZDF TV's "Fernsehgarten" on Sunday, May 15 at 12:05 local time will be all about Sweden. Regina from the ABBA Fan Club has been invited to the live broadcast. She will talk about her collection and her love to ABBA and she will demonstrate the 2013 crispbread bet from "Wetten dass...." together with her husband Ralf. Here is a little report.
  

• Yesterday Björn visited Aachen in Germany to give the "Médaille Charlemagne pour les Médias Européens" to the Eurovision Song Contest. He made the laudatory speech and took part in the discussion with Nicole, the German winner from 1982, Ingrid Deltenre (EBU General Director), Jon Ola Sand (EBU) and Thomas Schreiber (NDR). More infos will follow in our next ABBA Magazine.
  Here and here are two videos.
  
  
  

• German Heel publishing company will publish another ABBA calendar 2017. Here is the temporary cover!
  
  
  



• Swedish Singer Julia Lindholm will release her album "Super Trouper" on April 29, 2016 in Germany. It will contain 12 ABBA songs sung in German - some of them are German versions from the 70's and 80's (as sung by Marianne Rosenberg etc.) and some of them are taken from the musical "Mamma Mia!". More infos about the album in our next ABBA Fan Club Issue. We will also have some CDs for our next prize competition!
  You can already listen to Julia's version of "Super Trouper" in German here.
  

• On April 28, 2016 the Karl Medal for European Media, the "Médaille Charlemagne pour les Médias Européens" will be awarded for the 16th time in Aachen (Germany). This year's winner of the award will be the Eurovision Song Contest. The board of the association "Médaille Charlemagne" is honouring the Eurovision Song Contest as trans-national or trans-European event. Björn will make the laudatory speech.
  
  The ABBA Fan Club will have tickets for this award ceremony to be won. All members will receive an e-mail.
  



• Anders Eljas, who has worked on ABBA's "If it wasn't for the nights", ABBA's Japanese tour and the musicals Chess and Kristina, was awarded with the medal "Litteris et Artibus" (Science and Arts) in the category "Conductor and Arranger" by King Carl Gustaf XVI and Queen Silvia on February 4, 2016.
  Many thanks to Heiko Siekmann!
  
  

• News from ABBA The Museum:
  ABBA The Museum and the European Broadcasting Union are excited to announce the opening of a new exhibition, dedicated to The Eurovision Song Contest. The interactive "GOOD EVENING EUROPE!" exhibition will celebrate the history of the world's longest running annual television competition that was first held in 1956. On May 7, 2016 the exhibition has its premier with international and national guests attending. The project has been initiated by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus together with the EBU's Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor, Jon Ola Sand.
  
  Here is a short clip with Björn who invites you to ABBA The Museum in May.
  

• We are very sad to tell you that Josefin Nilsson has passed away. The wonderful Swedish singer died at the age of only 46. She had a lot of success as an artist, with the Ainbusk Singers (incl. their smash hit "Lassie") and also recorded one album with Björn and Benny in 1993, "Shapes", with single releases like "Heaven and hell" and "Surprise Surprise".
  Our thoughts are with her family and friends!
  Here we have two lovely photos of her, taken in April 27, 1993 near Mono Music when one of her videos for "Shapes" was filmed (one of the photos with Benny).
  
  
  
  Photos © Pentti Koponen
  



• A dinner and concert, quite unusual for Swedish conditions, will be given on March 3 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The host is KMH, and around 150 prominent friends of music and higher education will participate as guests and concert audience. The visitors have contributed with donations to the KMH Music Fund, which supports KMH and finances the event. They also come to learn more about the KMH new campus and the college's future as an international meeting place for education and research in music.
  "The dinner is part of fundraising activities that we are still quite unaccustomed to in Sweden", says KMH Vice-Chancellor Cecilia Rydinger Alin. She will represent the KMH at the event together with, among others, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor Staffan Scheja (who also will appear as pianist), composer Benny Andersson, composer and musician Lena Willmark and several other prominent artists related to KMH, including several current students. Honorary members of the newly formed KMH Music Fund are Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson, Stefan Persson and Peter Wallenberg Jr.
  
  
  

• Just over 30 years to the day since they were last photographed standing together in public (on January 16, 1986), and to the utter surprise and delight of fans worldwide, the four members of ABBA stood together again this evening at the grand opening of Björn's new venture, Mamma Mia! - The Party. Agnetha, Frida and Benny accepted Björn's invitation and all four members attended the event – Agnetha with former ABBA tour producer Thomas Johansson, Frida with her partner Henry Smith, Benny with his wife Mona, and Björn with his wife Lena. Although the four did not pose for the press together, they appeared briefly on stage next to each other to much applause and fanfare.
  
  You can see our editor Regina interviewing Benny on the blue carpet below!
  
  Watch the BBC's report with footage of the members arriving here. A 15-second video of ABBA on stage is here.
  
  Many more photos and exclusive reports in our next issue!
  
  Special thanks to Micke Bayart!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Björn has given a large interview for the magazine of Östermalm Market Hall. Björn has been buying food there for decades and says that it is one of the few places in Stockholm where one can eat a good lunch. The location has great historical atmosphere and Björn hopes it will remain after the building is refurbished from 2016-2018.
  The Ulvaeus family with 15 persons get together for dinner as often as possible. Björn himself doesn't cook often and when asked which food he is good in making, he answers beef stew and hash.
  If Björn has to pick a favourite food style then it is Italian, but he adds that he is one of the few persons who loves the German, more robust food like Sauerkraut and Schweinshaxe. He also likes Japanese and French food.
  If a friend is asked to describe Björn with three words, he thinks they would be generous, curious and engaged. If there was more time, Björn would be interested in hiking in the Alps and Andes. Being asked when he was very happy for the last time, he tells about a trip to Teneriffa with all 15 family members. They stayed at the same hotel and spent time together at the pool and it was fantastic. The last time when Björn was very sad was two years ago when an old friend passed away and Björn still misses him. His dream duet partner would be Karen Carpenter.
  
  Photos: Magnus Elgquist
  
  
  



• Lineah Svärd who played Sofie in the Helsinki production of Mamma Mia! has given an interview for Swedish newspaper NWT. Björn saw Lineah on stage and liked her so much that B&B asked her to come to an audition as understudy for Maria Ylipää playing Kristina at Cirkus. Lineah auditioned privately for Benny and Björn in Stockholm. After half an hour she got a call that B&B wanted her for the Cirkus. They tried to find a solution to combine the major role in Helsinki and understudy in Stockholm, but it turned out to be impossible.
  
  Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
  
  
  

• Björn was guest on the Scandinavian TV show ’Skavlan’ which was recorded in Stockholm today and will be aired tomorrow. He talked about the upcoming Mamma Mia! The Party and that an invitation had been sent to all ABBA members. However, he didn't reveal which of the other three members might be showing up on the opening night. He also talked about politics, getting older, his views on death support and that 'Our Last Summer' and 'Slipping Through My Fingers' are his two most personal ABBA songs lyric wise.
  
  With special thanks and photos © Micke Bayart.
  
  
  
  



• As announced in No. 77, SVT1 will be airing a new television series featuring Swedish author and artist Lars Lerin called "Vänlingen Lars Lerin". Lars visited Frida in Mallorca and did a great interview with her which will be shown on January 13, 2016. Special thanks to Evelyn Nuyens for the beautiful photos.
  
  
  
  

• An UK TV special called "The ABBA Christmas Party" by ITV on Christmas Eve included an interview with Björn recorded at the Tyrol in Stockholm, where Mamma Mia! The Party will be performed from January 20.
  Björn said about songwriting:
  "Some people accused us of being a hit factory. They said, you have a formula, it's not a problem for you, you know how to churn out songs. It's absolutely not true. For every song we wrote, we never knew how the audience would receive it. We were just lucky that millions of other people had the same taste as well but there was absolutely no formula, the songs are so different. I mean it's not like after Fernando, we released another type of Fernando song. After Fernando came Dancing Queen!"
  
  Thanks to Peter Dyke!
  
  
  



• Some advice for ABBA fans preparing for Mamma Mia! The Party and everyone else travelling to Sweden!
  
  We want to inform you about a fact that seems to be widely unknown.
  New banknotes have been introduced in October 2015 and the current banknotes will become invalid in 2016 and 2017!
  Here is the schedule from Riksbank (in English).
  
  A summary:
  • October 1, 2015: New banknotes 20 kr, 50 kr, 200 kr, 1000 kr
  • June 30, 2016: Old banknotes 20 kr, 50 kr, 1000 kr become invalid
  • October 3, 2016: New banknotes 100 kr, 500 kr, new coins 1 kr, 2 kr, 5 kr
  • June 30, 2017: Old banknotes 100 kr, 500 kr and coins 1 kr, 5 kr become invalid
  
  Redeeming invalid banknotes is only possible via mail to Riksbank and is difficult and expensive.
  Invalid coins will not be redeemed at all.
  So please check your Swedish cash and try to use up your old banknotes on your next visit to Sweden.
  



• The second round of Kristina från Duvemåla came to an end when the very last performance took place at the Cirkus on January 3. For Kristina actress Maria Ylipää the finale was her 300th time on stage while Robert Noack was seen 311 times as Karl Oskar. After the show a bus took the ensemble to hotel Rival for a party.
  Benny was in a hurry when he arrived at the theatre but kindly posed for a quick photo. Inside the theatre, Björn was surrounded by people after the interval and he patiently wrote autographs. B & B and Lars Rudolfsson did not come on stage after the show.
  
  Svenska Teatern in Helsinki has published details of the success of Mamma Mia!
  Around 138.000 people saw the musical during 280 performances. Both numbers are all time records for the theatre.
  
  Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
  
  
  

• During the same week, two B&B musicals close in Scandinavia. On December 31, Mamma Mia! was performed for the last time at Svenska Teatern in Helsinki. After the end of the show the theatre director made a speech and the ensemble and audience sang "Happy New Year" together. In the heart of Helsinki it is not allowed to have fireworks at New Year's eve but Svenska Teatern had got a special permission to celebrate Mamma Mia! so fireworks were shot from the roof of the theatre. A video can be found here.
  



• In Stockholm the third last performance of Kristina took place on New Year's Eve. The ensemble also sang "Happy New Year". A video is here and the last show will be played on January 3.
  



• Aftonbladet has published a new interview with Björn where he talks about his friendship to Benny, Mamma Mia! The Party, friendship with the ABBA members etc.
  
  Special thanks to Pentti Koponen!
  



• We have deleted some old messages. If you found this page by a search engine, don't miss the whole site!
  
  You will find the old messages from the last years in our News Archive 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004.