One Week in Brighton: New exhibition celebrates Abba's Eurovision victory

  • ITV Meridian's Charlotte Wilkins reports from Brighton.

It was the pivotal performance of their career.

Even though the UK Eurovision judges awarded ABBA ‘nil points', Waterloo was the song that catapulted the band to super- stardom.

Now there’s a chance to relive the excitement of when the Eurovision circus came to town in a new exhibition at Brighton Museum.

Curator Jody Read said: “The 1974 Eurovision Contest was a culturally significant moment and it’s wonderful to collectively celebrate memories of ABBA's victory and the part Brighton played.

"We hope visitors will enjoy sharing these stories together.

"The core of the exhibition is really the people who were involved in it, the behind-the -scenes stories that you might not expect."

The exhibition is on at Brighton Museum until August 2024. Credit: ITV Meridian

Other stories shared in the exhibition include from Jaqui O’Byrne who was 15 at the time.

She assisted her photographer father and could be the youngest audience member.

She has great memories of seeing the band at The Grand Hotel before the performance, how stuffy the audience was, how ABBA's performance stood out, and of the power to Terry Wogan's radio trailer being cut before he had a chance to interview the band.

A number of stories have been shared as part of the exhibition. Credit: ITV Meridian

Bobby Ward attended the afterparty.

Speaking to ITV Meridian he said: "Everyone was there, it was completely electric.

"It was like watching a slice of musical history in the making."

Renia Simmonds watched the performance on TV, but came down after the show and got the band to autograph her scoresheet pulled from the pages of the The Argus.

The drum kit played on stage at the Brighton Dome is also on display, and a selection of memorabilia.

Abba are now one of the best-selling music acts in the history of pop.

Fans can say Thank-you For The Music by sharing their own memories of that stand-out performance

Abba: One Week In Brighton is on from the 28 March - 4 August at The Brighton Museum.

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