TRANSCRIPT
It's been 50 years since Swedish group Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest, with Waterloo.
The 50th anniversary of their victory is especially significant, because the competition has now returned to the shores of Sweden.
This year's Contest will be held in the southern city of Malmo - and in honour of the occasion, the city is hosting an experience that's dedicated especially to the supergroup.
Mia Segolsson is the general manager of Polar Music.
“We are showcasing every part of the ABBA World right now. So, we work closely together. So, this is an opportunity for us to show all the fans what we're doing... You can see actually Benny's boots that he wore on stage when they won with Waterloo. And you can also see the original costumes from ABBA Voyage, Dolce & Gabbana costumes. And you can also see parts from Mamma Mia! shows and, yeah, bits and pieces.”
Mia says ABBA is always a popular drawcard.
“Wherever we do something with ABBA, people from all over the world turns up. From Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, everywhere. And the Englishmen, of course. So this is great. You know, it connects the fans all over the world.”
The Eurovision contest itself is also naturally drawing plenty of attention.
Malmo is Sweden's third largest city, and has a large Muslim population.
Malmo resident Olma Kadoura says much of the attention is already on Israeli contestant Eden Golan, with some locals preparing to protest her presence in the competition.
"The feeling regarding Israel's participation in the Eurovision competition - it's a very difficult feeling, with a number of layers, including a feeling of anger, of sadness, a feeling of injustice and a lack of humanity within the European societies and societies in general around the world.”
Malmo Police Chief Petra Stenkula says there will be heightened security, not just because of the planned Israel demonstrations, but because of the new geo-political climate Sweden has been in, ever since it joined NATO.
“The situation around the world is complex and also the security for Sweden is different but we've lived with this last year and a couple of years now and we are ready for anything that can happen. But we hope this will be a party, a music party, and the police will look forward to it.”
Also preparing for Eurovision is Ukraine’s entrants: the female duo of rapper Alyona Alyona and singer Jerry Heil.
Ukraine has long used Eurovision as a form of cultural diplomacy, a way of showing the world the country’s unique sound and style.
This year, their entry is joining with charity fundraising platform United 24 to raise money to rebuild a school in the village of Velyka Kostromka in southern Ukraine that was destroyed by a Russian rocket in October 2022.
Jerry Heil says that makes their presence even more significant.
“We need to be visible for the world. We need to show that even now during the war our culture is developing and that Ukrainian music is something waiting for the world to be discovered, still.”
Also preparing for Eurovision is the Australian duo Electric Fields, comprised of Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross.
Their song is a unique blend of Aboriginal culture, electronica and soul - and Zaachariaha says they cannot wait to take the stage.
“It's really exciting for the Yankunytjatjara language to be... and it's only one word and it means a lot and I just think that the song in itself is just so special. We're going to dominate and play with the energy of Oneness and togetherness.”
Ebba Adielsson is the executive producer of the Eurovision Song Contest for Swedish broadcaster SVT.
She also hopes the music will be something that brings everyone together.
“You can expect three fantastic shows during our show week in May. It's the seventh time we are producing the Eurovision Song contest, and we've done it two years in the near background and a lot of the team members are people who's been working with it before and have a lot of experience so we have a great team and you can expect some smashing, fantastic shows.”
