New Exhibition at ABBA the Museum!

Did you know that there is a museum in Stockholm dedicated to the Swedish pop music legends ABBA? Of course there is! Not only were they extremely successful together as a band, creating some of the most popular and loved pop songs on the planet, they also have had solo careers, produced plays, musicals, movies and more. And, no visit to Stockholm is really complete without a visit to ABBA the Museum. Their tagline is "walk in, dance out" and it is pretty fitting! The museum is lots of fun and very interactive... giving you the opportunity to record songs, make videos and try your hand at creating music. All which you get to keep through your entrance ticket (number on the ticket lets you download items from the website).

I was invited earlier this week to see their new temporary exhibition that just opened: Mamma Mia! Behind the Movie Magic. This is an exhibition looking behind the scenes at the making of the movies Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Lily James, Amanda Seyfried and many more. In case you happened to have missed these movies, they are musicals, set on a Greek island, with the songs of ABBA as the soundtrack. The exhibition is located in a room you pass through on your way to the main museum. A nice amuse-bouche to get you in the proper ABBA mood.

Fun movies make for a fun exhibition. I would say that the main focus (at least where your eyes are immediately drawn to) is the outfits/costumes worn by the actors. Most are easily recognizable if you have seen the movies... like Streep's dungarees and the flashy, disco outfits worn by the cast in the last scenes of the movies. But along the walls of the room you will find much more... like props from the movies, the jeep, momentos and clips from interviews and the movies themselves.

I am unsure how long they will be having this temporary exhibition, but at least through the summer I imagine. The museum is located on the island of Djurgården, near other main Stockholm attractions like the Vasa Museum, Skansen and Gröna Lund. I always tell our guests that even if they have no interest in music, ABBA or the museum, they should still stop by the museum's fantastic gift shop if they are in the neighborhood... here you can find some really fun and unique Stockholm souvenirs. The easiest way to get to the museum from the Hotel Rival is by catching the Djurgård Ferry from nearby Gamla Stan. The ferry departs generally every 15 minutes and it takes just 10 minutes to cross the harbor.

the museum is popular and, especially during the summer high season, there can be lines at the entrance to the museum. You can pre purchase the entrance tickets on their website or, if you are staying at Hotel Rival, you can purchase them from my colleagues or myself. This way you can skip the longer line (to buy tickets) at the museum.