The Swedish king awarded ABBA with the highest civil order

Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf awarded members of the ABBA pop group the Order of the Vase, one of the country’s highest awards. Orders in Sweden were not awarded for more than 50 years to maintain equality between citizens.

Musicians Benna Andersson, Agneta Feltskog, Anna-Fried Lyngstad and Björn Ulvaeus became commanders of the first class of the order. The awards were presented to them “For an outstanding contribution to Swedish and international musical life,” according to the website of the royal house of Sweden.

ABBA is one of the most popular musical groups in the history of pop music. After winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, the group topped the world charts until the early 1980s, released 8 albums, with total sales of more than 380 million copies. The group disbanded in 1982, but reunited to record the album Voyage, released in 2021.

Royal orders in Sweden have not been awarded to citizens since 1974. In 2022, the country’s parliament approved a law on the reform of the award system, returning the awarding of orders. In addition to the Order of the Vase, Carl XVI Gustav awarded the Order of the Sword and the Polar Star.

A total of 13 citizens were awarded. Including the Commander-in-Chief of the UN mission in Mali, Dennis Yüllensporr (he became a Commander of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword), laureates of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, Svante Paabo and in physics, Anne L’Huillier (they became Commanders of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star) and one of the richest women of Sweden, entrepreneur Antonia Jonson (she became the Commander of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Vase, this is the highest degree of distinction of the order).