Waterloo 50th / BBC Documentary / Other Anniversary Events

Almost sold out already. I'm going!

He has no respect for the fans if he is manipulating. Just like Gorel.

⬆️ If you haven't bought a ticket for the gala yet, it's resolved. There are none left.

The question is what you expect of the two events. Voyage is definitely a much better entertainment than listening to Swedish artists doing ABBA covers (there are some I'm really looking forward to though, such as Helen Sjöholm or Peter Jöback - not that it's confirmed they will be here but I expect them to be).

However, if you're hoping to catch a glimpse of the ABBA members, than it's much more likely at the gala I think. I can't imagine they would turn down the official invitation in their hometown and fly to London instead. Unless some of them make appearance in London and some attend the event in Stockholm.

Also, if there are any official announcements concerning the anniversary, I would bet they will be done at the televised and live-streamed gala.

Alan, have you resigned yourself to nothing coming this year aside from waterloo re re re re releases?

Looking back at 2014 there was a.o.:
- The official photo book, with price ranging from "normal" to very expensive "Super Trouper Edition"
- Waterloo Deluxe CD/DVD, normal pricing
- Waterloo 7" picture disc, normal pricing
- The Singles Box Set, quite expensive
- 2cd Live At Wembley Arena, normal pricing
- Gracias Por La Musica Deluxe CD/DVD, normal pricing
- 2cd 40/40 The Best Selection (Japan only)
- 8lp box The Studio Albums quite expensive
- 3cd Gold, 40th Anniversary edition
- 5cd The Classic Collection - Reader's Digest (Australia only)

I wonder if that was the first year so many releases, esp. expensive ones, were released with just selling the same old stuff over and over again.

Besides the halfspeed Waterloo releases maybe they'll release halfspeed "ABBA" as well so that series is complete and they can try another series without releasing anything new but still asking full price for everything.

In the past we've had series / collections like:
- Deluxe cd/dvd editions, many with unfortunately not the best audio
- remasters (the 2001 are the latest ones; they don't include all the songs and don't have the best audio)
- halfspeed lp series
- picture disc lp
and probably more I can't think of at the moment.

I don't think there will be (many) new official books because the author will get the profits and not ABBA/Universal so no use for them to release them.

It would be great if they would do an interview with Skavlan, talking in Swedish so they can talk freely and add subtitles later. Something they should have done when Voyage released imo. Just the four of them with Skavlan and maybe a small crowd (of fans).

Maybe they'll release a 2024 blu ray of ABBA Gold with the HD remastered video clips and those eh lovely lyric videos...

Or maybe, just maybe they'll give something away for free (yeah right!)
Where are the freebies from ABBA/Universal like wallpapers from large (computer screens) to small (mobile phones)?

Maybe ABBA are keeping their powder dry until the Gala... but those of us who can't go could really do with some kind of sweetener. For all the "fun" we've been told we'll be having this year, it seems very odd that not so much as a hint about anything has emerged yet.

Depending on what's in the works, I would hope that something would emerge on or around 6 April. If there is new/revised/unreleased material to be included in an album/compilation/anthology; and if any of it is to be unveiled at the gala, then maybe there'll be a rush of excitement at that time.

It'd make some sense to release the Waterloo half-speed, box set and picture discs close to the anniversary: but wouldn't we be encouraged to pre-order now if they were coming in April? The sleeves above are warning enough that it might not be the most handsome of sets, so I'm not terribly excited.

If there's a new celebratory compilation/anthology, I would have thought they'd pop it out in Q4 of the year so that it's added to Santa lists, etc., in the hopes of rounding off the year with a number one album....?

That still leaves several months in which "fun" is supposed to happen. The Gala thingy could be great: I wonder if it might be some variation of the cancelled TV special that was originally envisaged to launch Voyage and the two comeback singles? If the featured artists are all/mostly Swedish - and if the broadcast itself is in Swedish - then it's going to have very limited appeal outside of Scandinavia. In the absence of any other announcements, I guess I'm most looking forward to the documentary that was mentioned.

I'm curious about events in the ABBA Arena on 6 April. Maybe withholding tickets was a way of helping to ensure that fans could get together on the anniversary? But a drink and a keyring seems like a curiously damp squib for such an auspicious date. If there are any setlist changes/additions, or maybe a special video from the ABBA members to mark the anniversary, then we should have some information after the matinée show.

I believe that IF there is something "big" happening this year (such as new music released), it will be announced at a special event again. And the SVT gala may be the right place and time - it will be broadcast but also streamed live, so the potential audience is very large. On the other hand, if they wanted a maximum impact, they would have to hint that something would happen during the gala. It's too early for that though, I think.

I believe that the most we will get by 6th April are the Waterloo re-issues. There's still time to announce them. Anything else would come later, in my opinion.

It will be the Swedish Polar artwork they will use for Honey Honey. That’s the whole purpose of these. The only exception in this series (beginning with Arrival in 2016) was Lay All Your Love on Me, as it wasn’t released as a single by Polar.

And it will be 70s artwork as, again, that’s the whole point. The Danish artwork for Waterloo would seem to be the most likely as it was also Polar, but we’ll see what they do. I really hope it’s not two company sleeves.

The 2004 issue was ugly, I agree. They were still using the original West German artwork (as with the 1999 CD singles box). The Polar artwork may look a bit dated, but it’s better than what most other countries came up with.

Waterloo is my fave track bar none :-). Edges out The Visitors...

Not necessarily. I know it’s different, but the Ring Ring album was released on 26 March, and the vinyl anniversary issues weren’t released until 19 May last year. They were announced for pre-orders on 23 March.

Personally I’m hoping they do get delayed a bit! With one lot released in May and another in December last year (The Visitors) it is starting to feel like they’re being rushed out. I’d like a bigger gap before Waterloo!

If they announced it now, it’s old news by 5 April. It could be that day that they announce it for pre-orders and unveil artwork etc.

Yep! Going on how it was with Ring Ring, an announcement might not take place until 1 or 2 April. That would be assuming they have nothing else to announce.

I caught a bit of Zoë Ball earlier and they were talking about Eurovision and whether ABBA would appear. They seemed to think it was possible - presumably they haven’t heard the official line that they won’t be doing anything.

Of course, if they then do appear at something, it will be a complete surprise and they’ll have done their best at quashing speculation.

Prior to the Voyage album announcement (when there were rumours of five songs or a full album, with Björn being coy and neither confirming nor denying) wasn’t Benny adamant that there was no album? Or am I making that up?

Both of them spout such rubbish at times that it is difficult to know what to believe.

Agnetha mentioned in her interview for A+ last year that it was best to stay quiet on the subject of ABBA. I’m inclined to agree. At least Agnetha and Frida haven’t talked any nonsense to the media.

Oh and in other news SVT have suggested there will be more programmes after April 6th regarding ABBA , the details of which will be revealed "later".

Agree on both counts, Alan. With regard to Agnetha's comment, my sense was that she was afraid she might let something slip. And that seemed like an appropriate, good-natured bit of teasing. We're already six weeks into the anniversary year with no real sense of what we might expect and, unfortunately, I think that might be fanning a bit of unnecessary pessimism.

On the topic of the Waterloo coloured-vinyl singles, two red discs in one under-crowded box seems like overkill. I'd like to think they'd use the green variant of the Waterloo sleeve with a matching green vinyl. Then we could have that red-dominated Honey, Honey sleeve with matching red vinyl. If I'm remembering things correctly, the Swedish version of Waterloo was backed with the Swedish Honey, Honey? If so, that "garland" company sleeve could house a clear vinyl (possibly even with red and green splashes?). That sleeve could be made into a picture disc like the one from the Ring, Ring set, which turned out to be my favourite in the set. I'm sure the graphics crew could edit things so that the word Polar was placed nicely in the layout.