Forty years after Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest at the Brighton Dome with their song Waterloo, the historic day was recreated last night.

On April 6, 1974, a Swedish band had a dream. But the winner took it all when they launched their meteoric rise to stardom at the 1,700 seat Brighton Dome. Forty years on and the band has definitely made plenty of Money, Money, Money, selling more than 400 million albums worldwide.

Hundreds of ABBA fans joined writer, performer and life-long ABBA fanatic Christopher Green in remaking the historic Eurovision Song Contest win on the very spot it happened.

Crowds dressed in their finest 1974 fashions turned into Dancing Queens for the Anniversary.

Christopher dressed as Napoleon for the event – in honour of the famous outfit the band’s composer wore 40 years ago – and welcomed special guests to join the party, performance and lecture on the history of the band.

Christopher said: “Historical re-enactment can be for entertainment as well as battles.

“It’s a quirky bit of social history; 40 years ago is not that long but lives were very different back then.

“The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself. I’m trying to hit some intellectual points as well as giving a good trashy night out.”

Claire Swift, from Brighton Dome, said: "It is a landmark, not only for the Dome but for Abba as it has been said it marked the beginning of their fame across the world."

"To have had it at the Dome was just an amazing thing to have happened."

After their win in Brighton, the group topped the charts with hits such as Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia and Money Money Money until they split up in the early 1980s.

Virtual unknowns at the time, the group has gone on to sell almost 400 million albums around the world in the past 40 years.

Waterloo was voted best Eurovision song of all time in 2005, although it also received the lowest percentage of votes ever recorded for a winning entry in a final.