ABBA release tickets to their virtual reunion show in London
Even though the concert venue is still under construction, the ticket sales for Voyage, the long-awaited ABBA reunion show in London, have already begun.
Prices for the show come in at anywhere between 32 and 367 pounds (44 and 508 dollars) and include a night in a hotel.
The Swedish megastars, who enjoyed enormous success in the 1970s, announced last week that they would finally be back on stage together, though not in the flesh, but as avatars.
A brand new venue is currently being built in London for the technologically complex show, which will open on May 28.
Abba have announced their first album in 39 years and debuted two new songs.
Digital versions
The Swedish band – Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – also unveiled plans last week for a high-tech concert show featuring digital versions of themselves.
Both projects will be titled "Abba Voyage" and the album will consist entirely of new material recorded by the quartet, known for hits such as "Dancing Queen", "Super Trouper" and "Waterloo", in Andersson’s studio in Stockholm.
The tracks, "I Still Have Faith In You" and "Don’t Shut Me Down", were played publicly for the first time during a press conference, hosted by Zoe Ball, at the top of the Orbit sculpture at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London, which was also livestreamed to fans.
Attending in person, Ulvaeus and Andersson told how the album had emerged after the quartet reunited to film the digital concert.
Their last album of new material, titled "The Visitors", was released in November 1981 and they parted ways soon after, despite never officially splitting up.
Last month the band sparked excitement among fans as they launched a website called Abba Voyage, which asked fans to register on the landing page and teased: “The wait is nearly over ...” and on Monday they joined social media site TikTok.
Worldwide success
The pop group were catapulted to worldwide success after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 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 last performing together in 1982 following a successful 10-year stint.
In 2018 they announced they had recorded new material, but the release of the songs has been delayed.
The musical 'Mamma Mia!', based on their songs, premiered in London in 1999 and became a worldwide hit.
Two movie versions – 'Mamma Mia!' and 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again' – pulled in an A-list cast including Meryl Streep, Dame Julie Walters, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan.