September 26, 1995
ABBA artistes and mobile telephony combine to create a musical based on a well-known emigrant theme

7 October is the date of the première of the latest creation of former ABBA singers Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, the musical “Kristina from Duvemåla”. The location is Malmö in the south of Sweden and the production has been financed partly by sponsor Telia Mobitel.

Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson are well-known internationally as well, both as members of Swedish supergroup ABBA and as the men behind the 1986 musical Chess. Now they are presenting another musical: “Kristina from Duvemåla”, based on one of the best-known works of modern Swedish literature “The Emigrants”, a series of novels by Vilhelm Moberg. The books are about the people who emigrated from Sweden at the end of the 19th century to seek a new future in America. More than one-fifth of Sweden’s population emigrated to America. The story centres on a poor farming couple Karl-Oskar and his wife Kristina and concentrates on Kristina’s feelings and experiences. The leading roles are played by 24-year-old Helen Sjöholm as Kristina and Anders Ekborg as Karl-Oskar. The producer is Lars Rudolfsson.
‘We are sponsoring “Kristina from Duvemåla” because it is a well-known story that most Swedes, and many others, have read. And considering Benny’s and Björn’s past successes there was no doubt that we would become involved’, says Elisabeth Ericson at Telia Mobitel, the person who clinched the sponsorship deal with Malmö Musik & Teater AB.
Both the writers and the theatre are satisfied with the cultural sponsorship via the company.
‘Telia Mobitel’s involvement has worked very well’, says Björn Ulvaeus. ‘They have been very discreet - including in their claims for visibility.’
Telia Mobitel is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swedish telephone operator Telia, and is a world leader in mobile telecommunications. The company develops, runs and markets systems and products in the field of mobile telephony, personal paging, mobile data, telecoms services for aviation and shipping, as well as providing various forms of technical service.
With a market coverage of just over 20 percent, Sweden is, per capita, among the world leaders in terms of mobile phones. About 1.4 million of Sweden’s 1.8 million mobile telephony customers are with Telia Mobitel.

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For further information, please contact:
Elisabeth Ericson
Telia Mobitel
Phone: +46 920 23 92 01
Mobile: +46 705 10 00 82

or

Britt Hernell, Chief Information Officer
Telia Mobitel
Mobile: +46 705 30 03 03




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