Swedish pop group ABBA have a new London home, with the ABBA Arena in Stratford set to host the outfit’s virtual reunion more than 40 years since their last performance.
Set to debut on May 27, 2022, the experience - a hybrid virtual and real-life performance - will take place inside the 3000-capacity venue in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
British architecture studio Stufish has been tasked with creating the pop-up arena, which will be located on a disused coach park next to Pudding Mill station, where it has permission to remain until 2027.
The six-sided arena will be built from mass timber and will be both demountable and transportable, possibly to be used for a world tour at the conclusion of the experience’s London residency. In addition to the main stage and auditorium, the arena will house a box office, shops, bar and food stalls.
ABBA’s performance has been created through motion capture, creating ‘ABBA-tars’ that will perform in the band’s place
Called ‘Voyage’, the ABBA concert experience will feature digital versions of the iconic group’s members as their younger selves performing 22 of their greatest hits accompanied by a 10-piece live band.
The experience, which will run six days a week, is being crafted by George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic special effects company. The performance was created using motion-capture technology to scan “every mannerism and every motion” of the artists, who are now in their 70s, as they performed.
“Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Björn got on stage in front of 160 cameras and almost as many VFX geniuses and they performed every song in this show to perfection,. over five weeks,” said producer Ludvig Andersson.
“When you see this show, it’s not four people pretending to be ABBA, it’s actually them.” 
