If Music be the Food of Love…

By Esther

February 13, 2019

“If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die.” ― William Shakespeare

Music can bring people together with the universal language of love. This Valentine’s Day, we’ve done some research into couples who shared their spotlight with the ones they love from with past Eurovision competitions.

The iconic group ABBA from Sweden took to the stage in 1974 with two sets of married couples: Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, as well as Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog. The songs of ABBA have their roots in true love. Before the band began writing their songs, the two couples had met and started dating by 1969. Björn and Agnetha wasted no time in getting married that same year. Anni-Frid and Benny took their time to tie the knot and were engaged for almost 10 years before marrying.
The 1963 winners Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann from Denmark were a married couple. Upon Jørgen’s death, a close friend remarked: “He was probably in love with Grethe up until her death. He never said a bad word about her.”
Lill Babs, who represented Sweden in the 1961 Eurovision, was married to Lasse Berghagen who also represented Sweden in 1975.
In the 1996 Eurovision contest, the One More Time band had a couple as part of its team, Peter and Nanne Grönvall. Incidentally, Peter is also the son of Benny Andersson from ABBA. Peter and Nanne have been married since 1994, and have two children.
Charlotte Perrelli who won the 1999 Eurovision contest, was married to Nicola Ingrosso, a Swedish–Italian restaurateur. The couple had two sons. Ingrosso’s oldest brother Emilio was married to another Swedish singer, Pernilla Wahlgren. Their son, Benjamin Ingrosso, also represented Sweden in 2018.
A married couple, Simon and Diana Platin, represented Slovenia in 2004. They met on stage and were married in their stage clothes in 2004, onboard a ship in the Bosporus Strait.