ABBA star Björn Ulvaeus admits his bandmates may never been seen together publicly again.
The musician most recently reunited with Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad to receive the Royal Vasa Order from King Carl XVI Gustaf of the Swedish royal family for their contribution to music.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast, Björn says the group – all of whom are in their 70s – had a moment of realisation that their days together may be numbered.
He told host Gyles Brandreth: “We stood there quietly, accepting it out of the king’s hand and him saying a few words. It was a very quiet and very elegant ceremony.
“All four of us of course were there. In public we see each other very rarely, and Frida said to me afterwards, ‘This might be the last occasion’.”
He added: “Very sad, and I thought about that afterwards, but we’re not getting any younger.”
His comments follow reports that ABBA are set to sign a multi-million deal to take ‘ABBA Voyage’ to Las Vegas as the show continues to wow crowds in London.
“ABBA has been secretly in talks for a while about getting a deal in Vegas,” insiders shared. “The music of ABBA is well liked in the US.
“And the unique selling point of avatars makes it more than an ABBA show as the spectacular is something that could well wow audiences.”
It was previously reported that the group – who this year celebrate 50 years since their Eurovision win with Waterloo – were in discussion with MGM Resorts, Caesars Palace and Resorts World to bring the show to the US, where it would be the first of its kind.
Having opened in May 2022, performances of the show – which sees the Swedish supergroup recreated as digital avatars – currently take place exclusively at the ABBA Arena in Stratford, east London.
The venue is purpose built for the show, which offers a 360-degree immersive experience, and speaking to RETROPOP following its launch producer Ludvig Andersson suggested the band was working on creating similar arenas around the world.
“The biggest dream is to stay in London and we build another one somewhere else,” he said. “Where that would be – I’d like to go places that are maybe not the obvious ones. It would be nice to take it to places that aren’t always visited by the big bands.
“The dream would be to have one somewhere in South America, one somewhere in Southeast Asia, one in North America. Who knows? But that’s the plan and we’re working on that already.”
‘ABBA Voyage’ currently features 20 songs, including global chart hits and fan favourites, which the group performed on a soundstage wearing motion capture suits to recreate their movements.
Recalling the sessions, Ludvig confirmed additional performances were filmed, meaning the setlist can be changed and adapted as time passes.
“We did more songs than we knew we were going to use,” he teases. “So there is more material.
“If this keeps running and people keep wanting to come and see it, we are intending to change a song out or update the show – because that’s also fun to do.”
