The digital concert residency of Swedish pop group ABBA, brought a net economic benefit of £178m €204m) to London in its first year, according to an analysis by Sound Diplomacy and RealWorth published.
The show, ABBA Voyage, recreates the band members as digital versions of their 70s selves and has been seen by over 1m people. It generated a turnover of £322.6m in the first 12 months since the show opened in May 2022.
The 90-minute ABBA Voyage show offers a performance by ‘ABBA-tars’ or avatars of the group members, singing around 20 songs alongside a live band.
Fans are prepared to pay high prices for concert tickets, with a standing ticket for ABBA’s show priced at over £100 for some dates, comparable to prices for Taylor Swift and Beyonce concerts.
The specially-designed purpose-built arena in East London uses lighting and special effects to conjure the illusion of ABBA on stage.
The band, now in their 70s, collaborated with an 850-person team from Industrial Light & Magic, a company founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas, to make the project happen. project director Rich Neville described his work on the experience at the 2023 AVEA conference in Ennistymon.
