The world's first museum dedicated to Sweden's iconic disco group ABBA is set to open in Stockholm on Tuesday, offering visitors a chance to get up close and personal with the 1970s foursome with a little help from modern technology.
In Stockholm, rental bikes and cars brandishing the museum's logo have been criss-crossing the city for weeks. Ads have been running in newspapers and on television, and some of the band's costumes are even on display at Stockholm's Arlanda airport arrivals hall to promote the capital's newest cultural institution.
At "ABBA - The Museum" - a wink to the title of the 1977 film "ABBA - The Movie" - visitors can pretend to be the fifth member of the band, appearing on stage with the quartet and recording a song with them thanks to a computer simulation.
Another room dedicated to the song "Ring, Ring" features a 1970s telephone, to which only four people have the phone number: ABBA members Agnetha Faeltskog, Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad, Benny Andersson and Bjoern Ulvaeus. They are expected to occasionally call to speak live with museum visitors.
The group dominated the 1970s disco scene with their glitzy costumes, kitsch dance routines and catchy melodies such as "Voulez Vous", "Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo", the song that won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and thrust the band onto the international scene.
They have sold some 378 million albums worldwide, outdone only by Elvis Presley and the Beatles.
Their popularity has continued to grow over the years, with the 1999 hit musical "Mamma Mia" and the 2008 film of the same name starring Meryl Streep.
The focus will be on letting visitors "experience how the ABBA members' lived their lives", museum curator Ingmarie Halling, who was the band's stylist from 1976 to 1980, told AFP in a recent interview.
The four will recount their stories in the museum's audio guide. All the band members participated in the creation of the museum, donating items and working closely with Halling.
Ulvaeus, 68, has been the most active, serving as financial guarantor for the project and as chairman of the board.
"I had my doubts about becoming a museum relic before my death... But now I understand that... Together we created a lot," he told reporters in October when plans for the museum were revealed.
The museum will feature five floors of band memorabilia, including costumes, instruments, gold records and recreations of their recording studios and dressing rooms.
