Every country has its cultural icons and one cannot think about Sweden without wanting to belt out an Abba tune or two. Their songs are so iconic that they spawned a Tony nominated musical, two globally recognised movies and now the Mamma Mia Party– a unique dining experience which you can experience in Stockholm.

At the time of writing, you can enjoy the Mamma Mia Party in Stockholm, London and Rotterdam. Tickets start at 1640 kr and this includes the event, food and entrance to the Abba museum. Drinks are bought separately. Tickets book up fast, especially at weekends, so it is good to book at least 2 to 3 weeks in advance.

The Party is located just outside Gröna Lund on Djurgården island in central Stockholm. You are expected to arrive 30mins before your starting time, which for us, was 13:00.

When you enter the tavern setting, it is surprising how big the room is and the attention to detail that has been spent. You honestly feel for the entirety of the show that you have been transported to Greece and the background cleverly changes with the time of day as the show so you are completely engrossed.

You are guided to the bar, as soon as your tickets are checked for a free shot before being directed to your predetermined seat. Ours was located on a raised veranda so we could watch the show from above which we loved. We were free to stand up and dance without having to worry about people sitting behind us.

Before the show starts, you are treated to some delicious appetisers of bread, olives, cheese and tzatziki. There are some fantastic cocktails on offer and the table water is always kept topped up by the excellent serving staff.

As you are finishing and the last customers have taken their seats the show begins, weaving in and out of the tables immersing you in the show. Even though the dialogue is in Swedish, the songs are sung in English and you just cannot help to sing along.

As the first act finishes, the starters are distributed which was a fresh Greek salad, fried fish and because a member of our group was vegetarian, we received some fried cheese.

The show breaks for the main course where you can focus on the selection of meats that are brought out with a side of roasted baby potatoes and salad. I often have low expectations when food is being prepared for such a large group of people at the same time but each piece of meat (pork, lamb and beef kabab was so soft and tender, just falling apart on the plate. They catered to the dietary needs of the group beautifully and we were all pleasantly surprised by the quality of food prepared us before a very confusing but entertaining second act.

It may come as a surprise that the story line of the Stockholm party does not match the story line in the movie which made it more interesting but also a little hard to follow when we suddenly found ourselves watching the main characters singing in what looked like an underground sewer surrounded by Greek Gods in robes. As a beautiful acrobatic scene occurs overhead, the female lead sings quite a haunting tune before we are then dramatically thrown into a scene from Magic Mike and the male lead thrusting around in the fountain.

It was at this point that we had no idea what was going on (even though two members of the group, could understand Swedish) but it was highly entertaining and gave us a lot to talk about later.

Before the final act, the show pauses again for desert which was a delicious caramel nut pie in filo pastry with ice cream and coffee. It is at this point, you settle your drinks bill so then you are free to dance the rest of the night (or afternoon in our case) away!

The finale for the show was exactly what you were expect, a grand medley followed by a giant dance party where the tables on the ground floor are removed and replaced with mini stages.

We danced, we laughed and by the time we came out back into the light of reality, we realised that the whole show was 4 hours long but it certainly didn’t feel like it. We had so much fun.

Before heading back to the hotel, we headed to the Abba museum which is located just around the corner from the Party. It is a small museum but documents everything about the band from their separate origins all the way through to their new concert – Abba Voyage. It is full of concert costumes, documentary videos and my personal favourite, the silent disco where you can dance to your favourite song.

Overall it was a fantastic day and well worth the quite pricey ticket cost. The food was good, it was easy to get to and if you like Abba then you are in for a real treat. I would like to say this post may have revealed some spoilers but as we are still unsure what the storyline actually was, I think we’re safe.

Next up is the final week of school and a trip back home to visit the full Holt family, which is long overdue.

Until then…

SP x