One Year Anniversary ABBA Voyage Concert in London
On Saturday, May 27, 2023, in London, ABBA Voyage celebrated
its 1st anniversary. The evening was meant for fans of the legendary group, for
the 7:45 p.m. show.
What a great opportunity for all of us to meet, in the
British capital, and share together, once again, unforgettable moments!
Our meeting, in front of the ABBA Arena, was around 5 p.m. As the Arena shop only opens at 6 p.m., we headed to the store facing the Arena, close to the metro station.
After some shopping, it's time to head to the Arena
where everyone will want to take a picture of himself in front of the ABBA
logo, alone or with friends, just to capture the moment for ever.
Two entries are available to us: A or B depending
on whether our ticket is for the Dance Floor or seated. The wait is not
unpleasant, we chat with friends, we can even meet and get to know other fans
from further afield and share our feelings.
Once our ticket has been checked, we are given a
badge in the form of a golden card measuring approximately 12 cm x 8, representing
the silhouette of the 4 members in motion, surrounded by stars, with the
mention ABBA VOYAGE at the very top, just below, this slogan is written, in a rounded
way "A concert like no other", and One Year Anniversary, at the
bottom. On the back, this card is autographed by the 4 members of the group.
Here we are in this dedicated space where we can have drinks and snacks, or some items related to the show.
I actually couldn’t help myself but pick this one: quite new to me, probably the latest brochure published on the show itself, with amazing pictures of the ABBAtars. The place is bright, colorful, pleasantly designed, you can sit down and chat with friends for a while, before the show is ready to start.
It's time to take our seat or go to the dance
floor.
As far as I’m concerned, unlike the opening of May 26, 2022, I was seated. The enclosure is divided into several blocks from left to right of the stage, with rows categorized by letters and a seat number. A charming hostess kindly showed me the way to my seat. I was located block F, the leftmost of the stage, and my row, L, was rather high, there were only 3 or 4 rows left above mine.
I was able to measure all the difference depending on whether you see the show from the dance floor or from above. The advantage is that the bird's eye view of the stage allowed me to see the orchestra all the way, I could see the mysterious appearance of the ABBAtars coming out of nowhere when I had the feeling, during the première, that they were standing on a stage which was gradually rising.
The large screens are also very appreciable seen from above to realize the perfection of the work carried out. Actually, from that far, the holograms are only silhouettes and we can guess how much they look like our favorite artists, and seeing them up close (on the large screens) is amazing, so stunning! That said, if you are too far to the left or too far to the right of the stage, the large screen on your side is not clearly visible (slightly viewed at an angle) and this is all the more damaging that it is rarely an exact copy of the opposite one. The other downside is that some songs don't use any big screens, so you only see very distant silhouettes. Finally, having images in front of you can give you the impression of watching a movie; it is such a pity, especially during the song "Lay all your love on me" which, seen from the dance floor is a pure miracle of technology: the holograms are above us, we can have the feeling of being among them for the duration of a song. It's awesome! A totally unique experience that deserves the slogan "a concert like no other"!
It has to be said that two important events
occurred before the show: first, Benny entered and stood on a balcony in the
center of the venue; then Frida came in, but on a different balcony, to the
right of the room closest to the orchestra. It was only at the end of the show
that we found out that Björn was also there.
During this first anniversary, as we were aware
that more than 20 songs had been recorded, I guess we were hoping for a change,
a song that could have been twisted by another, so the show would be lightly
different for the year to come. Unfortunately, like many fans, I think, there
might have been a tiny deception to see the show identically: the same setlist,
the same concert, down to the last comma, the same cartoon divided in two parts
with Eagle and Voulez-Vous - quite interesting but not everybody enjoyed it -, also
the same nice video of our 4 artists performing Waterloo from the moment of their Eurovision victory and in many
other performances, what I would call: the “nostalgia” moment!
At the end of the show, - as said above - we are informed that several
ABBA members were present, we hoped to see them go on stage, as they did at the
opening night. Against all expectations, alas, the room lit up, revealing
Björn, Benny and Frida, on the central balcony. A moment that certainly
delighted all those who were able to see them because no one really expected
that three of them would really be there. Unfortunately, I only had the emotion,
and not the chance to see them, since I was too much to the left with too many
corpulent people on my right. They leaned over to take pictures and therefore
totally obstructed my view. It was quite impossible to move from my seat - I
was stuck -. I felt the joy of knowing they were there, so close, I could feel
the magic of the moment when they greeted the crowd knowing that I was also part
of it!
When we left the stage, we remain satisfied, happy to have seen them,
listened to them, to have once again been able to share with fan friends a
moment, all in all, rather exceptional and extraordinary.
So, why not do it again next year? Would April 6,
2024 be booked for a special occasion? By the way, it seems that no ticket can
be bought, precisely for this date...
