It is now nearly four months since the ABBA Voyage concert experience in London premiered. The Guardian, Huffington Post, The Evening Standard, and The New York Times were among the many news outlets which gave the show top ratings in their reviews. The most overwhelming reactions, however, did not come from the news media, but from all the other visitors. The reception has been overwhelming from hardcore ABBA fans to curious music lovers.
“It can be hard to imagine what the show will be like before you go there,” says Per Sundin, CEO of Pophouse and a director of the board of Aniara, the company producing the show.
“For many, the first connotation they have to virtual concerts are the holograms made famous by American artists such as Whitney Houston and Tupac. But ABBA Voyage isn’t a hologram and the technology, comprising several different technological features to create a new type of immersive experience, has never been used to create a concert before,” Sundin continues.
The technology behind the phenomenal show was developed by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) the leading special effects company in Hollywood. ILM was founded by George Lucas and has been behind film productions such as Star Wars, Gladiator, and Jurassic Park.
Hundreds of thousands have already seen it and until this date, less than four months after the premiere, more than 650,000 tickets have been sold. Over one million people will be able to see the show during the first rolling year since the premiere, with an average of around one show per day throughout the year (some days have two shows, and others none). The show has attracted a blend of local Londoners and visitors from all corners of the world.
For the next two months, tickets are highly limited but can be available at times. Looking further than that, availability opens up more. ABBA Arena has plenty of ticket choices, for those who want to have the time of their life on the dance floor, party in style in their own dance booth, or have the option of a seat in the auditorium if preferred. Tickets are at this point available for concerts until 28 May 2023.
Pophouse is the lead investor in ABBA Voyage. Michael Bolingbroke, chair of the board of directors at Pophouse and ABBA Voyage, is the executive producer for ABBA Voyage, while Per Sundin, CEO of Pophouse, is a director of the board and a co-executive producer of the show.
“We are immensely happy and proud of the creative work made by the members of ABBA, together with Ludvig Andersson, Svana Gisla, Industrial Light & Magic, Baillie Walsh, Wayne McGregor, and all the other partners on the project, who have worked tirelessly to make it happen,” says Per Sundin.