ABBA reportedly strike “multi-million-dollar” deal to take ‘Voyage’ show to Las Vegas
ABBA are reportedly set to take their acclaimed ‘Voyage’ hologram show to Las Vegas to the tune of millions of dollars.
The band have reportedly been in talks with Resorts World to bring the Abbatars to Vegas following its huge success in London over the last couple of years.
“ABBA has been secretly in talks for a while about getting a deal in Vegas,” a source told the Daily Star [via MusicNews].
“The music of Abba is well liked in the US and the unique selling point of avatars makes it more than an ABBA show as the spectacular is something that could well wow audiences.”
Last year, it was reported that a world tour was in the works for the virtual concert experience, but no plans have been confirmed in regard to the timeframe or locations where it could happen.
In an interview with NME last year to coincide with the show welcoming its millionth visitor, Bjorn Ulvaeus was asked about what the future of the show involves. “We hope to stay in this venue for as long as we can. We hope they’ll have us for many years, and we might build other replicas of this in other places: Asia, Australia, North America. There are lots and promoters and cities that we’re talking to at the moment about that.
“Each one would take at least two years to build, but there will be announcements towards the end of this year or the beginning of next about where we actually are going. That’s if we’re going somewhere, which we will.”
Meanwhile, when speaking to NME at the premiere, the show’s producer Svana Gisla and guitarist Dom John shed light on the future of Voyage. When asked if Voyage could be the last the world sees of ABBA, Gisla said: “I think this is the final thing. They’re quite genuine in that, but they’ve said that before. I think this is it. It took a lot to make and it was hard work, from us and from them.”
Meanwhile, John said he could see the show going on for “multiple years, maybe” when sked how long he expected to be performing as part of the show.
In a five-star review of ABBA Voyage, NME described the concert as an “epic avatar mega-mix from a brave new world”. It added: “Ageing rockers and poppers are bound to imitate the idea, but it’ll be a struggle to come close to the experience of ABBA Voyage.”
The creation of the show has raised questions about whether the experience could be recreated with other artists. An Elvis Presley AI hologram show Elvis Evolution will debut in London in November, employing AI and hologram technology to create a life size digital hologram of the legendary star from home video footage and personal photos.
Andrew McGuinness, the founder of Layered Reality, who are behind the new Elvis show told BBC News of what to expect from the spectacle.
“You’re going to be stepping in to intricate sets that make you feel like you’ve time travelled,” he said. “It’s more about how we want people to feel, we use temperature, taste and smell to make people feel like they are in Memphis in 1958.”
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Emma Wilkes
NME
