winner, 1974
ABBA
ABBA represented Sweden at Eurovision 1974 in Brighton with “Waterloo”, and won.
- what
- Swedish pop quartet
- contest
- 1974
- win
- 1974
- music
- pop, pop rock, Europop, Eurodisco, dance
- plays
- guitar, piano, electronic keyboard, accordion
- active
- 1972 to 1982
- record labels
- Polydor Records, Polar, Atlantic Records, Epic Records, Universal Music Group
- members
- Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad past and present
- sang for
- Sweden
Biography
ABBA were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. In 1974 the group won the contest in Brighton with “Waterloo”, which was voted the best song in the contest’s history at its fiftieth anniversary in 2005. ABBA went on to become one of the most commercially successful groups there has been.
The group broke up in December 1982. Andersson and Ulvaeus went on to write for the stage and for film, while Fältskog and Lyngstad made solo records. Ten years after the split the compilation ABBA Gold became a worldwide best-seller, and in 1999 the songs were turned into the stage musical Mamma Mia!
Written by ESC Predictions, 8 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, “ABBA”.
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The act’s own accounts, as listed on Wikidata. If one is wrong or out of date, tell us and we’ll take it down.
At Eurovision
One song, and what became of it.
-
1974 Brighton
“Waterloo”
Winner Won the contest with 24 points, ahead of 16 other songs.
- Sung in
- English
- Written by
- Stig Anderson, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
- Conductor
- Sven-Olof Walldoff
- Running order
- 8th of 17
Play: ABBA — “Waterloo”, the winning performance at Eurovision 1974 hear it YouTube the contest’s channel Spotify search Apple Music search
The story of Eurovision 1974: Waterloo, a funeral and a song that started a coup
Away from Eurovision
Other contests and shows
- Melodifestivalen 1973
- Melodifestivalen 1974
- Music for UNICEF Concert
Awards
- Rockbjörnen for the century's Swedish group/artist 1999
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2010
- Musikexportpriset 2021
As recorded on Wikidata, which is rarely the whole list.
In the drama file
The scene from our index of scandals, mishaps and lore that ABBA is part of.
- 1974 Waterloo Moments people still talk about
In our contest stories
What we wrote about ABBA, year by year. Follow a link for the rest of that night.
- 1974
More happened around the 1974 contest than at almost any other. It launched ABBA. One country pulled out for a state funeral, one refused to broadcast its own song, and the entry that finished joint last helped to bring down a dictatorship eighteen days later.
- 1974 Waterloo
The four members of ABBA had been trying to get here for years. Anni-Frid Lyngstad came fourth in the Swedish selection in 1969; Benny Andersson wrote the song that came second the same night. He and Björn Ulvaeus wrote the third-placed song in 1972. In 1973 all four entered together, under their first names, with "Ring Ring". Third again.
- 1974 Waterloo
For 1974 they hesitated between two songs. "Hasta Mañana" was closer to what usually did well at the contest. "Waterloo" was not like anything else that would be there, and all four of them could sing on it. They chose "Waterloo".
- 1975
ABBA had given Sweden its first contest, and Swedish television was not sure it wanted one.
Results as published by the European Broadcasting Union. Biographical details from Wikidata. The photo is from Wikimedia Commons and is credited beside it. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.