Bjorn Ulvaeus 'very sad' that Abba probably won't appear in public together again

Abba may never reunite again according to Bjorn Ulvaeus (Picture: OLLE LINDEBORG/AFP via Getty Images)

While Abba will continue as their holographic Abbatars, it seems the real group will not be reuniting ever again.

Last month, Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad were brought back together in Sweden.

The Waterloo icons were made Commander of the First Class of the prestigious Order of the Vasa — the first time in almost 50 years the honour had been given.

They picked up their honours from Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf following a nomination process involving the public and the Swedish government.

But while discussing the ‘great honour’ on the podcast Rosebud With Gyles Brandreth, Bjorn stated it could be the ‘last occasion’ they reunite.

‘We stood there quietly, accepting it out of the king’s hand and him saying a few words, it was a very quiet and very elegant ceremony,’ he said in the episode released on Friday.

Abba have received the Royal Vasa Order for outstanding contributions to Swedish and international music (Picture: REUTERS)

Their only performances in 40 years have been holograms at Abba Voyage (Picture: PA)

The honour is not a knighthood, so Bjorn will not be known as a sir but it is still a huge moment for the group and Swedish music.

Bjorn continued: ‘All four of us of course were there… in public (we see each other) very rarely, and Frida (Lyngstad, also known as Reuss) said to me afterwards, “this might be the last occasion”.

‘Very sad, and I thought about that afterwards, but we’re not getting any younger.’

It has been over four decades since Abba last performed together live, with the quartet even skipping the 50th anniversary of their win at Eurovision this year.

This disappointed viewers, albeit slightly placated by the appearance of their digital Abba-tars as the interval act.

In 2021, the group released the album Voyage and their first-of-its-kind London show of the same name, which began in May 2022.

The group split in 1982 after their romantic relationships broke down (Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Bjorn was keen for the Abbatars to perform at Glastonbury (Picture: REUTERS)

This could also be how Abba finally takes to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury as Benny and Bjorn teased the idea at the anniversary of Abba Voyage in May.

At a Q&A at the Abba Arena, host Pete Paphides suggested that the Voyage live band could go to Worthy Farm, to which Bjorn excitedly replied: ‘Oh yes!’

‘I think that’s a brilliant idea,’ he added as Benny joked: ‘You’d need to ask the band.

In April, Bjorn also joined the cast of the London musical Mamma Mia!, which uses Abba music, to celebrate its 25 years in the West End by speaking to the audience.

This celebration also marked the Swedish band triumphing with their song Waterloo in Brighton on April 6, 1974.

The musical show premiered in London on the same day in 1999.

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