It has been a 40-year wait and, just like that, ABBA are back.
Thousands have tried to lure the Swedish pop quartet into a return to the limelight, but not even a billion-pound offer to reunite for the Millennium could not sway the super troupers, until now.
Eventually, it was the chance of performing to millions of fans without having to get up off the sofa that finally convinced the musical icons to take to the stage again.
As the stars enjoy their golden years, it had to be something special to persuade them to even contemplate a long-awaited reunion – and what is more alluring than a world first?
Now, for the first time, the supergroup will introduce the world to their ABBAtars when they launch the ABBA Voyage show at a purpose-built 3,000-seater venue in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park this week.
The stars, Agnetha Faltskog, 71, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 75, Bjorn Ulvaeus, 76, and Benny Andersson, 74, have been working with a production team to transform into high-tech digital dancing versions of themselves for their first concert since 1982.
Wearing black catsuits covered in sensors, the foursome re-recorded and performed all their hits in secret over a five-week period last year to create realistic avatars of themselves.
The project – which involved Andersson’s son, Ludvig – used motion capture technology to take the group members back to their 1970s heyday but with a modern twist.
Producer Ludvig said his team “stole ABBA’s souls” to make the avatars a reality.
“While the ABBAtars may look like ABBA did in the late '70s, they very much exist in 2022,” he told The National.
“It’s not a time capsule or a journey back to something, this is ABBA now, they just look different, but they are still infused with all the experience and time that has passed and now they are putting on this very contemporary modern show. It has nothing to do with nostalgia involved in this apart from the songs.
“This was created by ABBA with ABBA, and this is exactly what they wanted to do. This would not have happened unless they wanted to do it.
“That’s the fundamental reason this happened at all. They get 100 different requests and questions every week, and have been getting them for the past 40 years, and naturally they say no to most things, but this particular thing was something they all said ‘ah yes let’s have a look at this’. So we have been having a look at it now for the past couple of years and here we are.”
While the rest of the world has been eagerly awaiting an ABBA revival, it was even more poignant for Ludvig. Born after the group split, he was a last able to see his father perform live with the band for the first time.
“It’s not been weird in any way,” he said. “It’s like looking at photos of your parents or us looking at old videos of our parents from before.”
Dinner ladies dancing helped ABBA create their ABBAtars
Until now, only a group of dancing dinner ladies have seen the troupe’s comeback after the stars asked the women into the studio to watch them so they had an audience to perform for.
While fans will hear the quartet's real voices at the concert, the band will not be on stage.
Instead, the audience will see the ABBAtars projected as digital versions of themselves performing a 22-song set, looking like they did at the peak of their fame, dressed in their kitsch 1970s outfits and supported by a 10-piece live band.
The avatars were designed in partnership with special effects company, Industrial Light and Magic, founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas, which has worked on the Jurassic Park and Marvel films.
“They were lovingly created over two years by more than 1,000 people on three different continents and it all started with a process called motion capture, where we sucked the essence out of ABBA themselves, we stole their souls and built slightly younger versions out of the same material, digitally,” producer Svana Gisla, who has worked with Radiohead and Beyonce, told The National.
“It was one of the greatest, most fun things to do, to put ABBA in the now, this iconic band that you haven’t seen for 40 years coming on stage now. That’s fun to do that and we went with that completely. It’s hopefully very fresh, very now and very forward.
“We have been looking at them in rehearsals for weeks and they are just people to us now. They do not feel like avatars, they feel like ABBA and they have their own personalities, weirdly, and dynamic mix and relationship with each other and us and the audience.”
The ABBAtars are more realistic than holograms, Ms Gisla said.
“Holograms are very limited, they cannot move around a space, they are confined in a glass pyramid and they are very limited in the angles you look at them and the lighting – you cannot light them. This is worlds away from holograms,” she said.
“I think people instantly go to holograms because that’s the time they saw someone being younger. That’s where the similarity ends. There is no relationship with a hologram here. It’s incredibly difficult to describe the feeling of sitting or standing in the arena and looking at the ABBAtars on stage. You kind of have to be there to believe it.
“It only takes a few minutes to forget ABBA are actually not on stage and you just go with it.”
To make the avatars possible, Ludvig said the team created a bespoke ABBA Arena using 20 lighting rigs.
“This is most definitely the first time this has been done. The scale is definitely the first. There are other firsts, too, but the general scale of it has never been done before, for good reason, I guess,” he said.
“The ABBAtars are digital and exist in a digital world, but for the magic that created them we have used all kinds of different techniques to join the digital with the physical, which was part of the main challenge.
“Everything in this building is bespoke, built to enhance the experience of going to a concert with 10 live musicians and the four ABBAtars. There is not one part of it that’s key, it’s a whole.
“The technological advancements have enabled us to create these incredibly lifelike, probably the most lifelike digital humans ever made.”
Covid almost cancelled band's reunion
The venture began in 2018 and the journey to this week was almost derailed because of Covid-19.
“We actually started this at least two years before the pandemic,” Ms Gisla said.
“We did the motion capture shoot with ABBA in February 2020 as the door was slamming on open society and the lockdown was in March. We had no idea what was about to happen when we did this and for a short period of time during the pandemic we thought the whole thing was going to shut down.
“The hardest part has been building the arena. It has taken two and a half years to build and it has been unbelievably hard ... Covid made things 10 times harder. The building has been the single most stressful thing out of all of it.”
For the opening night on Friday, the members of ABBA will appear in person next to their avatars.
"This is one of the most daring projects that anyone has done in the music industry ever," singer Ulvaeus has said.
“We put our hearts and souls into these avatars and they will take over now. How it will be received by the audience, I don't have a clue, but I think that the audience will feel an emotional pull from the avatars. They will see the avatars as real people."
For Benny, who ruled out the possibility of ABBA reforming in the future, his son’s avatar creations will continue the band’s legacy.
“It’s really magical what they have achieved,” he told ITV News.
“We can be on stage at the same time as being at home walking the dog. But this is it now.”
Ludvig is hoping the avatars will take up the band’s baton in the future.
“We would love to take them around the world but that will obviously depend on whether the world wants to come and see it,” he said.
“So we start here in lovely London and if it becomes something as popular as we hope it is going to be, then of course, the idea is to travel.”
The show will run seven days a week until early October in the purpose-built ABBA Arena in east London.
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
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Barbie
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Abu Dhabi card
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
The National selections:
5pm: Valcartier
5.30pm: AF Taraha
6pm: Dhafra
6.30pm: Maqam
7pm: AF Mekhbat
7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Day 4, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage appeared to have been hard done by when he had his dismissal of Sami Aslam chalked off for a no-ball. Replays suggested he had not overstepped. No matter. Two balls later, the exact same combination – Gamage the bowler and Kusal Mendis at second slip – combined again to send Aslam back.
Stat of the day Haris Sohail took three wickets for one run in the only over he bowled, to end the Sri Lanka second innings in a hurry. That was as many as he had managed in total in his 10-year, 58-match first-class career to date. It was also the first time a bowler had taken three wickets having bowled just one over in an innings in Tests.
The verdict Just 119 more and with five wickets remaining seems like a perfectly attainable target for Pakistan. Factor in the fact the pitch is worn, is turning prodigiously, and that Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers have also been finding the strip to their liking, it is apparent the task is still a tough one. Still, though, thanks to Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, it is possible.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
