This article was originally published in English
By royal designation, Swedish supergroup ABBA has finally been recognized for its musical contribution to Sweden and international culture with a knighthood for its pop career that began at Eurovision.
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Sweden has thanked its most famous pop exporters for music: ABBA. The supergroup has been awarded one of the most prestigious awards in the country, lto Order of the Vasa.
It is the first time it has been granted in almost half a centuryin recognition of ABBA’s “very outstanding efforts in Swedish and international musical life.”
The group, made up of Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, rose to international stardom when win the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with their infectious love song “Waterloo.”
Cultural commanders
The victory at Eurovision made ABBA in a pop monster and, without a doubt, the most successful group to win the pan-continental musical competition. ABBA’s melodic disco pop sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide. The musical ‘Mamma Mia!‘, based on his songs, has turned 25 years old and has given rise to two films.
Although the members of the Swedish band They haven’t performed together live for four decades.in 2021 they released a comeback album, ‘Voyage’, and a year later the ‘ABBA-tars’ digital room opened in London.
Royal recognition as “Commander First Class” It is one of several Swedish orders, including the Royal Order of the Seraphim which is awarded to heads of state and foreign royalty, and the Royal Order of the North Star which is awarded to foreign citizens and stateless persons.
The Royal Order of Vasathat is awarded in recognition of personal efforts for Sweden or Swedish interestsas well as for the satisfactory performance of public duties and tasks, was inactive until the end of 2022, when it was reactivated after the regulations reopened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens.
Earlier this year, candidates were proposed by the public and the Swedish Government and King Carl XVI Gustaf They approved the nominees that included all four members of ABBA.
This year’s Eurovision was coincidentally held in Sweden and was won by Swiss singer Nemowith ‘The Code’, an operatic pop-rap ode to the singer’s journey towards adopting a non-sexist identity.
