West End Live preview set to wow the crowds up on Cardinal Place Roof Garden

Victoria’s reputation as a theatrical district will be boosted on Wednesday 18 June – from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. Anyone in the neighbourhood will have the chance to hear a little of London’s theatrical talent first hand, when Victoria celebrates summer with a free lunchtime show featuring songs from hit musicals such as Billy Elliot the Musical, The Pajama Game and Wicked.

The 1 hour lunchtime performance will be held on the stunning roof garden at Cardinal Place at 76-98 Victoria Street. Hosted by Lisa Vickery, the show will feature not only some of the greatest songs currently being performed on London’s stages, but also appearances from choreographic wonders the Big Dance, singer and actress Julie Atherton of Mamma Mia! and Avenue Q fame, and The Dreamers, who will perform a World War I centenary anthem.

This year marks Land Securities’ ninth year of involvement with West End Live – a local initiative jointly organised by Westminster City Council and the Society of London Theatre to showcase some of the capital’s best entertainment in its liveliest shopping district, the West End. The main West End Live event happens in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June.

Spaces are limited for the lunchtime show, so be sure to arrive in good time! Take the escalator next to M&S to the roof garden at Cardinal.

Five things: Abba

Planning on visiting the Abba Museum  - Stockholm's latest attraction - this summer? Here are a few facts about Abba to wet your appetite… Words: Kaye Holland.

One Initially Sweden’s greatest national export were known by the rather awkward moniker of Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida rather than Abba, which was the name of a well-known fish-canning company in Sweden! However the quartet negiotated with the canners for the right to use the name Abba – an acronym of the first letters of each group member's name.

Two Dancing Queen is the group’s biggest hit single spending six weeks at number one in the UK and was Abba’s only American number one. The track was recorded in 1975 for the group’s album Arrival and released as a single in 1976. It has proved popular at sporting events and been adopted as a gay anthem

Three Agnetha Faltskog, Abba's youngest member, had a number one hit record in Sweden when she was only 17. However her first performance was at the age of five – when halfway through she dropped her trousers.

Four Abba represented Sweden in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo. The song won and in 2005 during the celebration show for the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, Waterloo was voted the best Eurovision song in the history of the contest.

Five Mamma Mia – the hit show based on the songs of Abba - was nominated for a Broadway Tony Award as best musical in 2002. A film version of the musical directed by  Tom Hanks with Rita Wilson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson as executive producers and starring Meryl Streep was released in 2008 to critical and commercial acclaim.