The Swedish pop superstars are still on stage in London at Abba Voyage, which uses high-tech wizardry to let a new generation of fans see them live.
Taylor Swift has set records with her latest tour, but there’s only one act with their very own venue — Abba.
Yes, the Swedish popsters who split up in 1982 and took about four decades to decide to make a new album, have the Abba Arena in London. It might be in a forgotten corner of the park in east London, which hosted the Olympic Games in 2012 — but nevertheless it’s the band’s name over the door.
The 3,000-capacity venue is home to Abba Voyage, which put the foursome back on stage when it opened in May 2022. It’s not actually them on stage, however, but „Abbatars“ — yes, that’s what they’re called — consisting of AR versions of Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn, and Anni-frid (aka Frida).
The group shot to fame after winning the Eurovision Song Contest way back in 1974 with „Waterloo,“ — and artists including Conchita Wurst are set to pay tribute to Abba during this year’s grand final on Saturday night being held in Malmo, Sweden.
Full disclosure: I’m an Abba fan. They’re the first band I liked as a kid, and the first album I bought with my own money. But even if you’re not, you’re going to know a lot of their songs, especially if you’ve seen one of the „Mamma Mia“ movies or the musical.
The arena is divided into a standing area that probably holds about half the audience, with tiered seating behind. Knowing that the „performers“ are the 21st-century equivalent of smoke and mirrors (or high-tech projections if you prefer) leaves the audience desperate to see just how convincing the illusion is.
And despite my inherent bias, I can honestly say that Voyage is a live experience unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my, erm, many years of going to gigs.
