ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus: If a Mamma Mia! sequel happens, then I’ll cameo

ABBA legend Björn Ulvaeus chatted to WhatsOnStage on the pristine blue carpet for the fifth anniversary of Mamma Mia! the Party. 

The immersive musical dining experience continues at the O2 in London, where it first opened in the autumn of 2019.

But, Ulvaeus admits, its success was far from guaranteed: “It’s pure joy to see Mamma Mia! the Party reach five years because it was such a struggle in the beginning. We opened six months before the pandemic and, during that time, I wasn’t even sure we could start it up again. But we did and now it’s selling out all the time – it’s fantastic.”

There’s no better place for ABBA than London, Ulvaeus says: “London has been one of ABBA’s greatest capitals for a long long time, but with ABBA Voyage, Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! the Party all playing together, it’s incredible.

“England has been home to all four of us from the word go. It’s here that we won Eurovision in Brighton and then got taken up to London to do Top of the Pops. It all started here.”

One topic had to be discussed – rumours of a new Mamma Mia! film in production. Ulvaeus played it coy, but did give one thing away: “I hear there is a lot of enthusiasm about that from actors and others about that… but we’ll see. If there was to be a third movie I would do a cameo. If there was to be…”

Waxing lyrical about the success of concert versions of his musical Chess, Ulvaeus also ruminated on the subject of seeing so many new talents rising through all of his shows (especially after the I Have a Dream TV series) and how ABBA’s music is a rite of passage for them: “We’re onto the fourth or fifth generation of Party – sometimes I ask myself ‘how did this happen? Why us?’ There are so many other bands from the ’70s, so why did we make it big. But I know that TikTok is now important. ABBA is big on TikTok – which brings so many young people and new people.”

Mamma Mia! the Party continues to run, as does Mamma Mia! and ABBA Voyage, in London.