Are ABBA's Holograms Heading To Australia?

ABBA Voyage, the virtual holograms or ABBA-tars resembling band members Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (or “Frida”), Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson in 1979, could be making its way to Australia, a new report reveals.

London’s ABBA Arena, built specifically for this concert, has exclusively held the Voyage shows since last May. Since its inception, ABBA Voyage has sold over 1 million tickets. And now, according to sources at Variety, the hologram concert is set to go on a world tour.

“Plans are now in development to take ‘ABBA Voyage’ around the world,” Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grainge said during a company meeting. ABBA and Universal Music Group representatives didn’t offer Variety any further information. It's not much to go on, but neither was that inside information about Madonna's world tour, which is actually happening.

The reviews for ABBA Voyage have been glowing - as The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis wrote in a May 2022 recap, “By the time the show hits its finale with Thank You For The Music followed by Dancing Queen, any lingering sense that you’re not actually in the presence of Abba has dissolved. It’s so successful that it’s hard not to imagine other artists following suit.”

Time Out’s Chiara Wilkinson noted, “This is art built for the fans: it’s about standing side by side in a euphoric sense of togetherness, singing the same lyrics as thousands of other people while letting your senses go. This concept will probably go international, and it’s only the beginning for what the technology means for the stars of today. Fine, it will never replace real people. But it is still memorable and dazzling, and it was breathtaking entertainment.”

Discussing the emergence of the ABBA hologram tour back in 2018, Molly Meldrum, who has campaigned for the iconic group to bring the show to Australia, said, "ABBA are going to tour again, but it's with a difference, with a magical difference. 

"So, I'll use the old saying - do yourself a favour and check it out!"

Having been lucky enough to witness ABBA Voyage in person, it will be spectacular to have the show happen in Australia. Sure, it’s a bit weird at first, but when you’re immersed in those songs and those avatars look so real, it’s hard not to believe you’re watching the real thing.