[An Nahar] The world's first museum dedicated to Sweden's iconic disco group ABBA is set to open in Stockholm on Tuesday, offering visitors a chance to get up close and personal with the 1970s foursome with a little help from modern technology.Fans have been eagerly awaiting the opening, with many sharing their excitement on the museum's Facebook page: "I'll be there," vowed Bea Schroeer of Berlin, while Alexander Kossovsky of Saint Petersburg wrote: "Can't wait to go!! Hurray! After all this time!!"
In Stockholm, rental bikes and cars brandishing the museum's logo have been criss-crossing the city for weeks. Ads have been running in newspapers and on television, and some of the band's costumes are even on display at Stockholm's Arlanda airport arrivals hall to promote the capital's newest cultural institution.
At "ABBA - The Museum" -- a wink to the title of the 1977 film "ABBA - The Movie" -- visitors can pretend to be the fifth member of the band, appearing on stage with the quartet and recording a song with them thanks to a computer simulation.
Another room dedicated to the song "Ring, Ring" features a 1970s telephone, to which only four people have the phone number: ABBA members Agnetha Faeltskog, Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad, Benny Andersson and Bjoern Ulvaeus. They are expected to occasionally call to speak live with museum visitors.
The group dominated the 1970s disco scene with their glitzy costumes, kitsch dance routines and catchy melodies such as "Voulez Vous", "Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo", the song that won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and thrust the band onto the international scene.
They have sold some 378 million albums worldwide, outdone only by Elvis Presley and the Beatles.