Swedish News:

Celebrating thirty years, ABBA reunited for a rare performance. New Swedes celebrate Nationaldagen, Sweden's National Day. 

  • ABBA in the good old days.
  • ABBA reunited for a rare performance
    June 5 marked a 50th anniversary for a renowned group of Swedish singers. That date in 1966 was the first time Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson met, eventually forming the group ABBA with Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad. This year on June 5, for the first time in 30 years, all four of them were back together at a private music event in Stockholm, singing an unprecedented performance of "You and I." Though the members of ABBA thought their popularity would wane after they split up, the Swedish band continues to be one of the most successful musical acts in history, having sold over 380 million albums worldwide and even making a destination of their musical history: The ABBA Museum opened in Stockholm in 2013.

  • Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel distribute royal greetings to new Swedes at a citizenship ceremony in Nacka on Nationaldagen 2016. Photo Pelle Nilsson T / Stella Pictures / Kungahuset.se
  • New Swedes celebrate Nationaldagen
    Every National Day, citizenship ceremonies are held in Sweden to both initiate new Swedes and to celebrate those who earned their Swedish citizenship within the last year. Ima Elias, from Syria, and her husband Elias, from Iraq, have been in Sweden for five years, citing similar hopes and dreams as new Swedes from the U.S., Peru, Thailand and other countries of origin. Ima wept during the Nationaldagen ceremony. “I'm so happy, I love Sweden,” she said in Swedish after the national anthem was sung. “I do not complain about the weather as many others. I'm so glad I get to live here with my family, I have friends and I have a business,” she added. Members of the royal family greeted new Swedes at a ceremony in Nacka, and at City Hall, Stockholm mayor Karin Wanngård thanked and encouraged the newest Swedes: “You are needed and helping to grow Stockholm. Our city is a proud city where you can love whoever you want and be who you are. It is a city to be proud of,” she said. And to thunderous applause, she added, “Thank you for choosing Stockholm.”