In December 1981 Martial Law was declared in Poland due to the threat of a possible Soviet invasion. The Amercian Government put together this television gala in support of Solidarity and the Polish people and it was aimed to be broadcast for free in those countries wishing to air it.

Björn and Benny filmed a message of solidarity to Poland. Their message ended with the When All Is Said And Done PROMO (the first US single release from The Visitors). The intention was that this message would be broadcast in the USA along with similar messages from artists and personalities protesting against the Sovet Union's domination of Poland. 

However, their message was pulled from the broadcast at the last minute with those responsible claiming that broadcasting time had been miscalculated. Many believe that it was due to the references by Björn and Benny to other nations where human rights had been violated, "Chile, El Salvador, Afghanistan and Iran" that their segment was withdrawn.

Björn and Benny's message was therefore never broadcast in the US (the other messages were broadcast in March 1982). It was broadcast in Sweden in the programme Rapport along with the When All Is Said And Done PROMO in March 1982.

Prior to the US broadcast where the message was supposed to be shown, Soviet criticism had been voiced about ABBA's participation (in the form of Benny and Björn). This all died down when their message was pulled from the US broadcast meaning that the recently opened ABBA - The Movie would continue to play and was never actually banned in the USSR.

You can see the programme (without Benny and Björn's contributions) here.  It was hosted by actor Charlton Heston and featured, amongst others, political figures like UK Prime Minster, Margaret Thatcher, US President Ronald Reagan, French President Francois Mitterand; performers Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope and actors Orsen Welles, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda and Glenda Jackson.

Click here for an article from the Columbia Daily Spectator - 1 February 1982, p.1 part 1
Click here for an artcile from the Columbia Daily Spectator - 1 February 1982, p.9 part 2
Click here for an artcile from the Columbia Daily Spectator - 1 February 1982, p.9 part 3
Click here for an artcile from the Columbia Daily Spectator - 1 February 1982, p.9 part 4
Click here for an artcile from the Columbia Daily Spectator - 1 February 1982, p.10 part 5

Broadcast information:
(Was planned 31 January and 1 February 1982, NBC, USA)
March 1982 Sweden in a Rapport news report. 


 

Benny: "Our thoughts are with Poland with all the rallies taking place in so many parts of the world this weekend in support of the Polish people. But I think this should also be a reminder that there are many other countries around the world for example: Chile, El Salvador, Afghanistan and Iran where people are not able to express themselves openly and freely like we're doing now."

Björn: "Human rights, things that we take for granted. And yet we are surrounded by so many examples of how easily they can be crushed and wiped out. I hope that this show can be something to help us keep up the constant vigil necessary to help us realise how very delicate and vulnerable democracy is."

IMDb - Let Poland Be Poland; 

Thanks to Jos Heselmans, Robin Andersson, Jun Seo, Jozsef, Yuri and Rafael Pohlman for information. 
Special thanks to Philip Muytjens. Most information from Bright Lights, Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm
YouTube link c/o thepiperchile