When Abba announced a comeback after 40 years, but as holographic avatars, many wondered if this brave world-first would live up to expectations.
But this is Abba.
The highly anticipated concert features younger "Abbatars" of the group performing songs from their back catalogue with a live 10-piece band.
And with a specially built arena and more than 1,000 people globally working on their £140 million ($176m) show, the super troupers did not disappoint.
Performing their hits to a packed London arena, the Abbatars looked incredibly realistic onstage at the premiere of Abba Voyage on Thursday.
The team harnessed the technology used in the Star Wars films and for the audience, it looked as if the Swedish band were actually there in person.
The Abbatars were created through months of motion-capture and performance techniques with the four band members and an 850-strong team from Industrial Light and Magic, the company founded by George Lucas, in its first foray into music.
Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad were last together in the capital for an appearance on The Late Late Breakfast show, hosted by Noel Edmonds in 1982. It was the last time the Eurovision song-winners performed together.
The band spent five weeks last year performing their hits in sensor-covered outfits to create their digital avatars for the new show.
The four-year project came to fruition on Thursday night at a 3,000-capacity arena in East London.
In a cheeky nod to the location, they opened the set with the theme tune of British soap opera EastEnders.
The digital band delivered a hit-filled set featuring tracks such as Knowing Me, Knowing You, Fernando and Mamma Mia while the real-life Abba watched on from the stands.
And during Chiquitita, the band played against a backdrop of a giant sun that was slowly eclipsed.
Several outfit changes had the band don sparkly dresses and cowboy boots, denim jumpsuits and futuristic spacesuits with neon detailing.
During their version of Waterloo, Ulvaeus jokingly recalled how the UK jury awarded them no points at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974.
An amazing spectacle and light show followed, as fans were wowed by their incredibly realistic stage presence.
The 95-minute show met all expectations, as fans stood in the aisles welcoming their return.
The band closed with The Winner Takes it All — before the real-life Abba took to the stage, flanked by the show's director and producer, and embraced each other to loud applause.
Taking a well-earned bow, they were forgiven for the world’s four-decade wait.
The king and queen of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia, Kylie Minogue, Keira Knightley and London Mayor Sadiq Khan were among those on the star-studded guest list on the night.
Speaking on the red carpet outside the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Faltskog said: "It's amazing to see all the English fans."
Andersson admitted he expected himself to cry during the concert, saying: "Oh definitely, all the time."
Lyngstad said she was most looking forward to seeing the band perform their hit Mamma Mia.
"I think the most exciting thing about this project was to come together as a group again after so many years of not doing anything as a band together," she said.
Ulvaeus praised Abba's British fans for their support throughout their career.
"The UK has always been close to our hearts and the Brits have always taken us to their heart, and also the infrastructure for a huge project like this is here in London."
Asked if this could be the start of a movement for other bands, he replied: "It could be, yes."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: "I am incredibly proud that, more than 40 years since their last concert, one of the greatest pop groups of all time have chosen London as the destination for their ground-breaking new show, Abba Voyage."
He said the show helped to provide a "boost" to the capital's economy through ticket sales and created thousands of jobs in building the arena and running the night, reinforcing that London "remains a global hub for innovation and culture".
Abba were catapulted to worldwide success after winning Eurovision with Waterloo when the event was held in Brighton in 1974.
They have since sold more than 400 million albums and singles. The popular quartet parted ways after a successful 10-year stint.
In 2018 they announced they had recorded new material and it arrived in November 2021.
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
