ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus says avatars are “the way of the future”
After ABBA’s hit show, Voyage welcomed its millionth attendee on Monday, and group member Björn Ulvaeus said that he feels avatars are the future. He examined the new technology as he greeted the guest at the ABBA venue in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Voyage displays digital versions of ABBA performing their greatest hits alongside a ten-piece live band. This week, 20-year-old Josie Felix met and greeted Ulvaeus as she was the show’s millionth visitor. She described the experience as “quite extraordinary”.
Fans with tickets for the Monday show were actively encouraged to nominate themselves as the millionth customer, which Felix eventually won. She expressed: “I didn’t think it would happen, but it did. They said there’d be a surprise but I didn’t think it’d be this big – this is quite extraordinary.”
Discussing Voyage, Ulvaeus explained that he believes technology is the future. “Having lived with the technology and with the project for over five years it has kind of become like, well yes, that’s how the future looks, that’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “Copies of ourselves, avatars, will go on living after we are dead, and that’s the way of the future.”
Whilst he believes avatars are the future, Björn did reveal that he was initially anxious about seeing the show. However, the audience’s positive reaction quashed any fears. “It’s been a long project, I was nervous up until the first preview with an audience,” he continued. “But then when I saw it with an audience I knew it was working.”
On one million people watching the show after just 11 months, he said: “I could never have dreamt it would be a million before the end of one year. That means it’s been almost chock-a-block full every night which is fabulous.”
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