Introduction
ABBA Donates All Royalties from New Single “Little Things” to UNICEF
STOCKHOLM, 3 December 2021 – The legendary pop group ABBA has announced that all royalties from their new holiday single, “Little Things”, will be donated to UNICEF. The royalties, generated from purchases of the single, streams on platforms such as Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube, and from their latest album Voyage, will go directly to support UNICEF’s Global Child Protection Fund.
The Global Child Protection Fund provides critical support for children affected by economic disruptions, school closures, and interruptions to social services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Programs supported by the fund are designed to protect children, particularly girls, from violence, and to provide opportunities for empowerment, education, and personal growth.
Every year, more than a billion children worldwide experience some form of violence, including sexual violence. The impact is devastating, long-lasting, and, in many cases, deadly. Shockingly, every ten minutes, an adolescent girl dies somewhere in the world due to violence. Beyond physical threats, children increasingly face mental health challenges that affect their overall safety and well-being. Girls, in particular, continue to face specific violations such as child marriage, early exploitation, and gender-based abuse.
Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, praised ABBA’s commitment, stating: “We are very grateful to the four members of ABBA for their generous commitment to UNICEF. Their support of the Global Child Protection Fund will allow us to focus our efforts where they can have the greatest impact, address the root causes of gender inequality, and promote empowerment for girls around the world.”
ABBA and UNICEF share a long-standing relationship dating back to 1979. The group previously supported UNICEF through royalties from their song Chiquitita, raising over $4.8 million to date. Continuing this tradition, ABBA will donate all royalties from “Little Things” for the next five years.
In a statement, Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid said, “We believe that eradicating poverty is impossible without empowering women. That is why we continue to support UNICEF in protecting girls from sexual violence and providing opportunities for empowerment. With Little Things, we are giving UNICEF a Christmas gift, building on the legacy we began with Chiquitita.”
This donation coincides with UNICEF’s 75th anniversary, a milestone celebrating decades of advocacy for children’s rights worldwide. Over the years, UNICEF’s programs have helped reduce child marriage rates, protected millions of children from violence and exploitation in more than 150 countries, and provided mental health support to 31.2 million children in humanitarian settings last year alone, despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through this partnership, ABBA continues to leverage their music not just to entertain but to make a tangible, lasting difference in the lives of children worldwide.