This week marked two years since ABBA Voyage opened to widespread critical acclaim and rave reviews at the ABBA Arena, London. To celebrate the occasion, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus gave an exclusive Q&A to 3,000 fans and VIP guests, hosted by journalist and superfan Pete Paphides.
Offering audience members a candid look into ABBA’s sensational career to date, Pete, some of the concert’s biggest fans along with some celebrity guests, asked the pair about the artists that have inspired them over the years, their musical heroes and the experience of creating ABBA Voyage.
When asked by Clare Balding what their proudest achievement was, Björn commented “Personally? Four children, obviously. And one huge moment was obviously Eurovision. The feeling afterwards that now the whole world knew about us and that we could now concentrate on the writing. It was absolutely fantastic.” Benny added, “Professionally, it was very flattering to be invited into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Those are a few moments when you know that you’ve written a good tune. It doesn’t happen often, its maybe happened ten times in the last forty years.”
Discussing meeting their musical heroes, Benny recalled, “Paul McCartney. I met him in the lounge at Heathrow, we were going to the same island, Barbados, for a holiday…Well, they said they were renting a house and were staying at Sandy Lane Hotel and they said come up for lunch, and we did. And we had a lovely day with Paul, Linda and the kids.”
Pete Paphides revealed that Emily Eavis listened to I Still Have Faith in You whilst organising last year’s Glastonbury, which led to the three discussing whether the festival could borrow the ABBA Voyage band for a night. Björn said “Oh yes, I think that’s a brilliant idea”. To which Benny added, “If they go to Glastonbury, I think we’d need an extra piano player…”
The Q&A was then followed by the ground-breaking concert. Special guests in attendance on the night included Dame Joanna Lumley, Matt Lucas, Rosamund Pike, Clare Balding, Dawn O’Porter, Sharlene Spiteri, Dino Fetscher and Erol Alkan, alongside the concert’s producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson, director Baillie Walsh, together with, of course, Benny & Björn.
Since opening on the 27th May 2022, the concert has welcomed over two million fans, travelling from far and wide across the globe to witness ABBA taking to the stage as digital avatars at the purpose built arena located at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
Jaw-dropping, ground-breaking, phenomenal are just a few quotes from fans describing ABBA Voyage, the first live show of its kind. Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid have created the kind of concert they always wanted, performing for their fans at their very best: as digital versions of themselves backed by today’s finest musicians. Blurring the lines between the physical and digital, the magic of ABBA is brought to life using the latest technology.
ABBA Voyage is now booking until January 2025. For best availability of tickets see below.
