'The best pure pop band of all time': How the world reacted to Abba's reunion

The Abba news has resonated across the world, but in home nation Sweden it's drumming up excitement that's the equivalent of The Beatles getting back together. So big a deal in fact that public broadcaster SVT sent reporters out on the street to get the general public's snap reaction. The response was a predictable measure of shock and awe, except from Peter, 58, who cynically mused "I wonder if they really met or just did it digitally like everyone else these days?"

American author Maureen Johnson was less measured about the bombshell.

READ ALSO: Abba records first new music in 35 years

It was a big day for some people in The Local Sweden's office too. Perhaps the biggest ever?

Norwegian journalist Jan Aage Fjortoft put the announcement in context of what has been a Friday of big news in many field.

And there could be more news to come yet, comedian Caitlin Moran predicted.

Perhaps it could be the addition of a new lonely Lindsey Buckingham, who parted ways with Fleetwood Mac (again) earlier this month? Perhaps not.

Might even Donald Trump's thunder have been stolen by Swedish disco pop, Bloomberg's Thomas Penny asked?

Nils Hansson, writing in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, took a less romantic view of the new music, seeing it more as an effort to drum up publicity for their forthcoming virtual reality tour than an artistic development.

"It will make Abba even more of a perpetual motion machine, regardless of whether there's further new music or not. The publicity will continue to grow, bet on it."

READ MORE: What you need to know about the Abba reunion

And unimpressed comedian Al Murray stood his ground, refusing to get caught up in the hype.

But in response to some of the inevitable backlash, fans fought back and defended Abba's credentials.

Whether you like Abba or not, it's hard to objectively argue that this photoshoot was cool:

And as a closing point, the official Sweden Twitter account pleaded that anyone who wants to celebrate the reunion does so with the right flag (New York Stock Exchange, we're looking at you).