ABBA are coming to East London later this month, and we are excited! (Tickets are now on sale with us here).
The world’s greatest pop group is literally manifesting itself in London, with their futuristic new ABBA Voyage live show at ABBA Arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
It promises to be a show like you’ve never seen before, with the fabulous four back in their thirties for this new concert that uses avatars to recreate the magic of seeing ABBA perform live, clad in tight lycra and capes!
ABBA Voyage – behind the scenes of the making of the show. Credit: ABBA Voyage YouTube
The show also features a 10 piece live backing band, put together with help from Klaxons’ James Righton and featuring Little Boots (aka Victoria Hesketh). The band will support them as they belt out ABBA’s extraordinary hits, from classics such as Super Trouper, Dancing Queen, Voulez Vous, and more, to their latest studio album, also called ABBA Voyage.
ABBA are just behind the Beatles as the highest earning pop stars ever, with a nearly £1 billion net worth and 400 million albums sold. Mamma Mia! continues its sell out run at the Novello Theatre in the West End and around the world, having been seen by 65 million people, plus two hugely successful spin-off movies.
ABBA may have dissolved in 1982 but ABBA Voyage promises to bring back some of the live magic that the band had in the 1970s. The Abbatars used in the show are when the band were at their peak in 1979, created by the blockbuster movie effects company Industrial Light & Magic.
Björn Ulvaeus told the Evening Standard that London was the natural home for ABBA Voyage. “London is the best city in the world. It’s a magnet for entertainment. People are coming into London to go to see football or theatre or musicals or exhibitions. So, we thought it was the right decision.”
He goes on to say about the show that, “What I like is the fact that not only are we pushing boundaries in the digital world, but we’re trying to integrate the physical and the digital world, in a way that is immersive. You’re in an arena with 3,000 other people, human beings, flesh and blood. And nothing beats that.”
The massive 90-minute pop extravaganza is based on scanning thousands of original 35mm negatives and hours of old concert footage and TV appearances, plus live shoots with the original band members and use of body doubles, choreographed by acclaimed dancer Wayne McGregor to capture the movement and interactions of an original ABBA show.
Industrial Light and Magic create the avatars and effects for ABBA Voyage. Credit: ABBA Voyage Instagram
Video and promo director Baillie Walsh has overseen the creative direction of the show.
In terms of the ABBA Arena, it is a brand spanking new 3,000 person ‘flat pack’ arena that has permission to stay in Queen Elizabeth Park for the next five years. The venue brings film and lighting together in a state-of-the-art digital immersive venue.
We simply can not wait!
ABBA Voyage opens on 27 May 2022 at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Book tickets to the ABBA Voyage concert at ABBA Arena
ABBA Arena, London
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