Don’t expect to see ABBA reunite on stage for the 2024 Eurovision, which is set to take place in their native Sweden. ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus told BBC in a recent interview that a reunion is not happening and reiterated his stance not to perform live with the group again.
Swedish singer Loreen won this year’s Eurovision, meaning that Sweden will host the competition next year. 2024 will be the 50th anniversary since ABBA won Eurovision themselves with the hit track “Waterloo,” sparking rumors that the group might use the opportunity to take the stage together once again.
When asked about the rumors during an appearance on BBC Newsnight, Andersson made sure to leave no room for doubt.
“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,” said Andersson.
Ulvaeus said he shares Andersson’s opinion.
“We can celebrate 50 years of ABBA without us being on stage,” Ulvaeus added.
ABBA had its last show on December 11, 1982. Since then, there have been many attempts to tempt the group to perform live again, including a reported $1 billion offer, but ABBA’s members showed no interest in doing that.
Despite retiring from live performances, ABBA released an album in 2021 titled Voyage. The group also launched a project called ABBA Voyage that sees virtual avatars of the group members performing their hits.
