The 50th anniversary of Abba's Eurovision win will be celebrated at Brighton Dome.
The Swedish pop band were catapulted to international fame when they won the 19th Eurovision Song Contest with their performance of Waterloo in the Dome’s concert hall in 1974.
A plaque will be unveiled on the venue’s exterior on April 4 at noon to cement its place in pop history.
The installation of the plaque coincides with the recent reopening of Brighton Dome’s Grade I and Grade II listed Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre following a major six-year refurbishment.
The project included substantial restoration and upgrades to both spaces.
An interactive digital timeline has also been installed, allowing visitors to explore Brighton Dome’s heritage – including the Abba win – plus new dressing rooms include one named Waterloo.
On April 6, Eurovision royalty will once again grace the concert hall stage with Gold, an evening of Abba’s greatest hits plus music from the Eurovision songbook hosted by Sweden’s 1999 Eurovision winner Charlotte Perelli. Performers will include the UK’s 1997 winner Katrina, of Katrina and the Waves, and 2000 entrant Nicki French, Irish winner Linda Martin and more, all backed by Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus.
In the Studio Theatre, Abba-fuelled party Dynamite Waterloo will bring together Brighton entertainer Boogaloo Stu, DJ Dynamite Sal, dance troupe Sparklemotion and cabaret singer Dolly Rocket. An afternoon of back-to-back Abba hits, plus singing and dancing, the event will also feature cabaret star Le Gateau Chocolat and sax-playing drag queen Snow White Trash.
Throughout the weekend, families can attend craft workshops including one which will see people shown how to make and animate table-top puppets based on Abba.
Each session will end with a group Abba-themed dance-athon for participants and their puppets.
Andrew Comben, chief executive at Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival, said: “The city of Brighton and Hove is eclectic and inclusive in its creativity – much like Eurovision – and Brighton Dome has been at its cultural heart for more than 200 years. It is fitting that, as we celebrate the reopening of the restored and upgraded Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre, we commemorate the moment that cemented Brighton Dome’s place in pop history and made the venue an iconic space throughout the UK and beyond.”
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