This year marks the 50th anniversary of ABBA making it big on the charts, and the Scandinavian Folk Festival will be celebrating this anniversary, including with the theme “Let’s Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of ABBA.” Representing Sweden, ABBA won the Eurovision Contest in 1974 performing “Waterloo.” This event launched their career and led to their music becoming Sweden’s number one export.

“With the 50th anniversary of ABBA, we wanted a tribute band at the festival,” event co-coordinator Don Sandy said. “We became aware of ABBAMANIA and called to see if they could come and if the price was right in our budget.”

Sandy said the price of the band coming for a one night concert for the festival fit the budget.

ABBAMANIA has performed from Malaysia to Mexico to the Cayman Islands with over 200 shows a year since 1999. The band will be performing at the Northwest Arena on July 20 at 8 p.m. The price is $25 a seat, with no additional festival charge if someone only wanted to come for the concert. The price for a ticket for the rest of the Scandinavian Folk Festival is $8, and a combination ticket for those who want to do both is available for $30. Tickets will be available online soon.

ABBAMANIA has multiple reviews for being one of the best ABBA tribute bands in the world.

Additionally, Sandy said that though many people will say they are the best at something, ABBAMANIA out of Toronto, Canada has multiple reviews calling them the best ABBA tribute band. This includes reviews from the Boston Herald and Rolling Stone.

ABBAMANIA’s manager Garry Lichach also said that the band is the best ABBA tribute band, adding that coming to Jamestown to celebrate ABBA’s 50th anniversary is special for them as well.

“It’s been 50 years with ABBA and we are a tribute band,” Lichach said. “ABBA had all of those hits that they wrote and meant a lot in the music world and we get to be a part of that. The festival wanted the best ABBA tribute band in the world, so they hired us.”

Not only is ABBA an important part of Swedish history, but Sandy said that it is important to note that they have also been able to sustain themselves for a long period of time after becoming a hit in the 1970s and 80s. There is a major ABBA museum in Stockholm and a hologram show in London. Sandy added that all four band members are still alive and still friends, releasing a new album recently as well.

“The festival is a Swedish event and ABBA is a prominent piece of Swedish culture, so it fits right in,” Sandy said.

Sandy said people should be interested in coming out to see ABBAMANIA at the festival because they will get to see and hear the “most accurate duplication of the original ABBA and get to experience it first hand.” Additionally, the normal stage and lighting at the festival will be enhanced for the show.

“We need to emphasize that this is multi generational and appropriate for all ages,” Sandy said. “I assume people will be standing up and dancing in the aisles. This is the biggest production in the history of the festival and a giant step forward for us.”

He added that the festival is a big community draw event for the Jamestown area and the addition of the ABBAMANIA concert reflects that.

Continuing with the celebration at the Scandinavian Folk Festival ABBA karaoke will be offered during the afternoon of July 20. In addition, children’s groups are being invited to demonstrate their ABBA talents on Sunday, July 21 at 2 p.m. The Thule Swedish Folk Dance Teams will perform folk dances to music written by Benny Anderson from ABBA.

For more information call 716-665-0883, visit Facebook at Scandinavian Folk Festival or the scandinavianjamestown.org web site.