BBC Radio 2 to mark ABBA’s 50th anniversary with special programmes

This April the BBC will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of ABBA winning Eurovision in 1974 with a range of programmes, including on BBC Radio 2.

The story of the band will be told in Eras: ABBA on Radio 2, in four era-defining chapters. It looks at the group’s rise, revival and how they changed music along the way.

Contributors include Kylie, Rylan, ABBA historian Carl Magnus Palm, session musician Janne Schaffer, Rod Stephen – creator of Björn Again, and ABBA Voyage producers, Ludvig Andersson and Svana Gisla. Plus, Sophie Ellis-Bextor shares her love for the band in ABBA, My Supergroup.

Eras: ABBA and Sophie Ellis-Bextor: ABBA, My Supergroup will be available on BBC Sounds from Saturday 6^th April and broadcast on Radio 2 later that month.

Also in April, Radio 2 will launch a vote to discover the listeners’ Ultimate Abba Song, featuring their favourite Top 40 tracks. More details will be announced in due course.

Elsewhere, as part of the celebrations, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer will broadcast a night of ABBA specials, including When Abba Came to Britain and More ABBA at the BBC, featuring a performance of So Long on Top of the Pops that hasn’t been broadcast since 1974.