Mamma Mia! 19 Amazing Facts About Stockholm’s ABBA The Museum with Expert Helena 

It’s one of the most famous acronyms in the world, let alone in the music business. Made up of Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad, ABBA shot to fame when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Waterloo’. Since then they have gone on to become one of the most successful groups of all time, amassing no less than 72 million record sales. 

And nowhere knows the ABBA story like ABBA The Museum in Stockholm. To find out more about the iconic band (and glean some particularly incredible facts). we spoke to the museum’s marketing coordinator Helena. 

Meet Helena from ABBA The Museum

“I’ve been working at the museum since we opened 11 years ago,” says Helena. “I started in 2013 in April, to open up the museum.” Helena started on the floor, working her way up to marketing coordinator throughout the years. It’s not just a professional passion for her though. “I grew up with ABBA. It’s my anthem. I think it caught the everyday life in a beautiful way.”  

Facts about ABBA The Museum with Expert Helena

ABBA The Museum is the only ABBA museum 

The museum opened in Stockholm on 7th May 2013. “We are the only official ABBA museum,” says Helena. “Of course, anyone can create an exhibition, but you cannot profit from the ABBA brand without a license that we have.” 

The museum goes through ABBA’s story chronologically 

Everything is in chronological order in the permanent exhibition area, so you can travel along the band’s journey from inception to when they took their ‘break’. “We start from the 60s and the Folk Park, and then heading into our 50-year anniversary of Waterloo this year,” says Helena. Despite its name, the permanent exhibition does change from year to year, “so it’s still the same story but with little twists.”

Photocred: Katla Studios/ABBA The Museum

You also get to see the Polar Studio where ABBA recorded a lot of their music, with a unique chance to see and feel items like the mixing desk used. Finally, make your way to Hawaii’s Big Island where the three band couples (including their manager and his wife) had summer vacation homes. “Everything’s built up, like in one small environment,” says Helena. 

Catch the temporary exhibition 

Every few years ABBA The Museum changes its temporary exhibition. The current exhibition has been there since May 2023 and spotlights all things ABBA Voyage. “Before that we had the Mamma Mia ‘Behind the Movie Magic’ exhibition,” says Helena. The temporary exhibition currently shows the making of ABBAs latest album and the ground-breaking virtual concert experience, inclduing exclusive interviews and footage, stage costumes by B Åkerlund in collaboration with leading designers such as Dolce Gabbana and Michael Schmidt. 

The ABBA Voyage costumes are in the museum 

Although it’s a virtual show, to create ABBA Voyage the team had to create the avatar’s costumes in real life in order to create digital versions of them. “We have the physical costumes, it’s really cool,” says Helena. “When you see the show, you’ve seen that actual costume in real life, and now you see it on an ABBA member.”

Photocred: ABBA The Museum

ABBA The Museum is the “road to London” 

“I usually say Stockholm is the road to London,” explains Helena. “You see the history first and get a glimpse of ABBA voyage at the ABBA Museum. Then you go to London and have the whole concert experience.” Think of ABBA The Museum has the first step in beginning your ABBA journey; learn the backstory, get a taste of the experience, and then the next logical step is to head to London for the full show. 

Look the ABBA members in their (Angel)eyes 

The devil is in the detail, and ABBA The Musem misses nothing – the life-size figures of the ABBA members are as lifelike as it gets. “We didn’t have them when we opened in 2013,” says Helena. “They came along in 2015 because they took so long to create. They’re created here in Stockholm by Effektstudion under the guidance of Göran Lundström – he’s won two Oscars.” Each strand of hair was added by hand, casts were taken of the hands of each member, and hundreds of photographs were referenced. 

“They’re silicone and not wax, because silicone is more lifelike. When you see them, you’re waiting for them to move,” says Helena. “You can stare into their eyes, and they look like they’re staring into your soul. When we turn off the lights, after 10 years it hasn’t got any less creepy!” 

Gimme gimme gimme… original artefacts! 

As the only official ABBA museum, it’s home to countless original items and costumes. “We pride ourselves with a lot of original items in what we call the Gold Room. We do not add replicas to those areas,” says Helena. You can lay eyes on the original Waterloo costumes, kimonos from the Japan tour, and the iconic white and gold costumes from the 1977 Australian tour, to name a few. “It’s super fun seeing to see people and our visitors get up close and see them, because the only thing between you and the costume is glass.” 

You can learn about the individual band members 

“Since 2018 we’ve shown the full story, adding the post-ABBA exhibition area,” says Helena. With 10 years in the band and another 40 doing their own thing, there’s a lot to cover across each member’s individual projects – from Benny and Björn’s Chess musical to Agnetha and Frida’s solo careers. You can learn more about Chess the musical along with an interactive feature where you can conduct the orchestra virtually. 

Become a dancing queen on stage 

What really draws people to ABBA is the music, and there’s no better feeling than singing and dancing along to your favorite ABBA song. On the fifth member stage, you can get a taste of what it would be like to party with the band themselves! “I always go back to the fifth member stage,” says Helena. Become the dancing queen across the big hologram-stage together with the four members. 

Photocred: Love Krok Attling/ABBA The Museum

The museum is totally immersive 

What’s more, you can see what the real room looked like on photos above these replicas. In the Polar Studio replica, almost everything is original. Benny’s piano, Björn’s guitars, Frida’s and Agnetha’s microphones, note stands and much more. In our Gold Room, you’ll find the members’ spectacular stage outfits, gold records and record covers – all originals! 

Everything has to be approved by ABBA  

As you walk the floors of ABBA The Museum, you can appreciate each fact and artefact knowing that everything has been approved by the ABBA band. “All four members have a veto.” Helena explains. 

ABBA is only getting more popular 

“We’re making our record year this year,” Helena says. “Our previous record year was in 2019. It’s very important for us to spread the Alba legacy to the next generation. It’s a lot of fun to see kids or young adults coming in who’ve grown up with Mamma Mia realizing this is Abba.” 

The museum honors the fans too 

“We end the exhibition with a wall of fans, because we wouldn’t be here without them,” says Helena. “It’s also thanks to the gay communities around the world that ABBA got their second revival in the early ‘90s.” It’s the week of Stockholm Pride when we speak, and the team are getting the museum ready and decorated for Pride. 

Speaking of fans, it would be remiss not to mention the Official International ABBA Fan Club, founded in 1986 after the band took their break. “They created it because they didn’t want to forget about ABBA,” says Helena – it looks like they were successful. 

Walk through the same halls as some famous faces 

ABBA The Museum has had its fair share of celebrity visits, but Helena’s hands are tied: “I can only mention the official ones!”  

One of her favorite (official) visits was Pet Shop Boys, who Helena personally guided through the museum. “The Queen of Sweden actually visited incognito during our opening hours,” Helena continues. “It was an unofficial visit; you can’t find record of it anywhere.” 

“We’ve had a lot of unofficial visits as well, of course. And a lot of people visit during their downtime if they’re coming to Stockholm for a show. They can visit when the museum is open and just be – Swedes are very respectful in that way.” 

Needless to say, ABBA members are among the star-studded visitors – in particular Björn is a regular guest, taking a look round the museum whenever he has a meeting with the team. 

Mick Jagger was one of the first visitors 

Mick Jagger visited ABBA The Museum the first summer it opened it 2013, after closing hours, “because he wanted some inspiration for the Rolling Stones exhibition,” Helena says. “That made it into the gossip magazines here in Sweden!” 

DISCOVER MORE ON

Northern Capitals TOUR

View Tour

People come from across the globe 

“What we pride ourselves in is that visit people visit from all over the world,” Helena says, “We have over around 150 countries represented and 80% of our visitors are from outside of Sweden.” Stockholm is one of the most museum-friendly places in the world with over 100 museums, but in ABBA The Museum’s customer survey last year, when asked about their main reason for visiting Stockholm, over 30% of people said the museum was the main draw.  

There’s no age limit 

Wondering if ABBA The Museum is for you? The good news is there’s absolutely no age limit. “The youngest visitor I have personally met was three weeks old, and the eldest was 102,” says Helena. “Everyone is just having fun, singing, dancing – our motto is, walk in, dance out.” 

Everything is fact-checked with an ABBA historian 

There’s even an ABBA historian – a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. “We have a very close bond with the ABBA historian, called Carl Magnus Palm,” says Helena. “A lot of times like the Abba members themselves don’t remember exactly what happened!”  

Walk in, dance out… in costume 

Instead of exact replicas, the team have brought the classic ABBA costumes into 2024 and made them wearable. “This year is the Waterloo 50th anniversary, so of course we had to do our take on the Waterloo costumes,” Helena says. But you can also find Mamma Mia-themed outfits, clothes from different tours, and even ABBA cat-themed costumes. 

“We are very lucky that a lot of people working with or around ABBA have contributed so much to this museum, giving us the opportunity to showcase original items and memorabilia, creating this amazing experience,” says Helena. 

Take a chance next time you’re in Stockholm with Insight Vacations and step into a world of musical history as you visit ABBA The Museum. All the facts can’t prepare you for singing and dancing on stage with the ABBA avatars.