Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974
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The Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest was called Melodifestivalen 1974. It was, by far, won by the group ABBA, consisting of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Their song was called Waterloo, which was written by Björn and Benny. It was originally written in Swedish, but for the ESC final, it was translated into English, which the rules allowed the years 1973-1976.
ABBA was one of the favorites to win ESC, held in Brighton, United Kingdom. They sung as #08. In the voting, they received high points from the first jury to vote (Finland), but it was a close race until the second last jury, Switzerland, which gave Sweden enough points to practically secure victory. Sweden got a total of 24 points, compared to runner-up Italy's 18. This was Sweden's first victory, and ABBA got international superstar status, with a success second only to The Beatles. They have sold a reported 370 million records worldwide. In 2005, the 50th anniversary show Congratulations, Waterloo was chosen the best Eurovision song ever.
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