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More details emerge on Abba’s Voyage concerts

More details have emerged about ABBA’s upcoming ‘Voyage’ concerts, as tickets today (7 September) go on general sale.

The Swedish pop icons announced the “revolutionary” live experience last week (2 September) heralding the band’s first reunion in 40 years.

The Voyage concerts will see Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid performing digitally with a live 10-piece band, in a 3,000-capacity purpose-built arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.

The residency is set to run from May 2022 until October 2022.

A variety of different ticket types are available for the concerts, including general admission (standing), auditorium seating and dance booths – of which there are eight, each named after people from the ABBA universe.

Each booth has seating and its very own dance floor. Fans can either book the entire booth or individual seats.

“The world has never seen a concert on a scale like this before”

Tickets for the ABBA Voyage were made available from 10 am on Sunday 5 September for fans who pre-ordered the album from the official ABBA store, and from 10 am Monday 6 September for those who pre-registered.

General sale commenced this morning (7 September) at 10 am with tickets starting from £21.

Ticketmaster UK was yesterday (6 September) named the official ticketing partner for the ‘Voyage’ concerts in London, tasked with providing the technology required to run all shows as 100% digital.

“The world has never seen a concert on a scale like this before and we’re beyond proud to be involved,” says Andrew Parsons, MD Ticketmaster UK.

“We’ve had the privilege of working alongside the ABBA team since the concert’s conception, and together we’re going to give ABBA fans the greatest experience from the moment they buy a ticket right through to show time.”

It was also revealed yesterday that British electro-pop artist Little Boots will be part of the live band (aka the ‘ABBAtars’) for the Voyage shows, performing keyboards, synth and backing vocals.

The musician – whose real name is Victoria Hesketh – wrote on Instagram: “It has already been a dream to spend time in the studio with my musical heroes.

“I am beyond excited for this journey to continue and to have the privilege of performing these songs with a group of the most incredible musicians I have ever played with. The sound of this band will give you goosebumps!⁠⁠”

 

 

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The live band will be supporting digital avatars of ABBA, which have been created by an 850-strong team from Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the company founded by George Lucas (Star Wars, Indiana Jones).

According to Ben Morris, creative director at ILM, the avatars replicate the band members’ appearance in 1979 – their ‘prime’.

The characters’ movements, however, are based on five weeks’ worth of performances from the present-day members.

The four members performed every song in the 22-track ‘Voyage’ set over and over for five weeks in front of motion-capture technology.

ABBA’s ‘Voyage’ is ILM’s first foray into music but the company is joined by a number of stalwarts from the business.

The project is being spearheaded by producer Svana Gisla (David Bowie Blackstar/Lazarus, Beyoncé and Jay Z for HBO, Springsteen and I), producer Ludvig Andersson (And Then We Danced, Yung Lean – “In My Head”, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) and director Baillie Walsh (Flashbacks of a Fool, Being James Bond, Springsteen and I).

Co-executive producer Johan Renck (Spaceman, David Bowie Blackstar/Lazarus, Chernobyl) and choreographer Wayne McGregor CBE (The Royal Ballet, Company Wayne McGregor, Paris Opera Ballet) are also leading the project.

ABBA’s ‘Voyage’ concert series will be supported by a new studio album of the same name.

‘Voyage’ will be released on 5 November on Polydor (UK)/Universal Music Group (UMG).

The album has already become the most pre-ordered album in UMG UK’s history, according to the Official Charts, receiving over 80,000 pre-orders in the UK alone.

The band have already released two songs from the album, I Still Have Faith In You and Don’t Shut Me Down.

See the full tracklisting for ‘Voyage’ below:

I Still Have Faith In You
When You Danced With Me
Little Things
Don’t Shut Me Down
Just A Notion
I Can Be That Woman
Keep An Eye On Dan
Bumblebee
No Doubt About It
Ode To Freedom

 

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