Waterloo will have the ABBA museum in honor of the city’s “unofficial anthem” of Eurovision

The Battle of Waterloo Memorial Museum, which commemorates the end of Napoleon’s Empire, will pay tribute to the group ABBA for giving new meaning to this Belgian city and for elevating the song to the “unofficial Eurovision anthem” category, by of using his name the title song for which the Swedish quartet rose to fame at the 1974 festival.

“The Belgian Eurovision presenter told me that every year, before the tournament starts and the TV comes out, they always play the song. Waterloo Y the whole audience sang ita ”, assures the museum’s head of dissemination, Marine Cailliau, who is temporarily taking on cultural management tasks.

And he added: “We don’t know if, without Eurovision, ABBA would be what it is today. But clearly Eurovision wouldn’t be the same without ABBA. Waterloo is a mystical song for Eurovision. Maybe because everyone was shocked, saw a strange group, strangely dressed, with a catchy song. “

A pop group in a museum

To learn more about the relationship between ABBA, Eurovision and Waterloo, the museum of the battle that in 1815 led to the surrender of the French emperor Napoleon will place, from October 2023an exhibition that will not only feature historical anecdotes from ABBA, but also their costumes and lots of music, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the group’s creation.

“We like that when people leave the exhibition, they leave infected with the atmosphere of the 70s and with ABBA songs in their minds,” Cailliau said of this project, which is currently looking for sponsors.

To accomplish this, the Waterloo memorial has the help of ABBA’s official biographer in French-speaking countries, Jean-Marie Potiez, who accepted the commission to be curator of an exhibition that, according to himself, aims to attract public. of “between seven and 77 years”.

Suitable for the youngest

“New generations have discovered ABBA’s songs thanks to the films of Mama Mia and in versions made by many artists. ABBA’s popularity in the music world is extraordinary. The secret is in the fun that their songs keep, we need this kind of music, ”Potiez said.

For the organizer of the exhibition, the group achieved success thanks to its “ambitious” character, because, as he explained, from the beginning, the four members were determined to “conquer the world with their lyrics”, and saw at Eurovision the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself across Sweden, your home country.

After winning the 1974 festival with WaterlooPotiez estimates that ABBA has sold between seven and eight million copies of the album, in addition to reaching number one in the United Kingdom and number six in the United States, according to music magazine Billboard.

The history of the title

However, the title of the song may be very different, because, at first, the idea was to call it that Honey Pie (Honey Cake), but, as he explained, the group’s adviser suggested the name of Waterloo.

“He saw it looking in an encyclopedia. He was looking for a short and understandable title in different languages. And he found Waterloo. He suggested it to the band and they started writing a love story, if where a woman said their romance was over. as Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo “, Potiez said.

But then Waterloonot everyone is a bed of roses, because, according to this ABBA biographer, the group needs to “work hard to show that they can do more than one success” in a sector where, he laments, the international music was “dominated. by British and American gangs”.

Finally, 50 years after two music-loving couples founded ABBA in Stockholm, the four’s lyrics still play today on radio and television, because “the magic” of their tunes, says Potiez, this is in fact. as if they were “timeless”, and they still wanted people to dance and sing like it was just the first day.

source EFE

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