Svana Gisla about IA

 

Svana Gisla, Producer of ABBA Voyage, shared why speed and cost aren’t the goal in creative work. The real value of AI is in helping creators think bigger, not work faster, while keeping human emotion and judgement at the centre of every decision.

 Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC Centre)

 December 8–10, 2025

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2025

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year 2023

BY Spectrum News Staff New York City Jul. 27, 2023

ABBA Voyage - Oxford Metrics

Thank you for the music: how will live concerts evolve in the Augmented Age?

Oct 17, 2022

Nick Bolton, CEO, discusses how live concerts could evolve in the

17 October 2022 - Digital transformation is impacting almost every dimension of our world and the live music industry is no exception. The innovative adoption of motion capture technology has enabled the realisation of cutting edge, creative ideas and developments for live performances.

The live concert industry has always been quick to adopt technological change - just look at how virtual performances have evolved from the first experimentations by South Korean boy band H.O.T., to the critically acclaimed ABBA Voyage Experience. It was back in 1998 when H.O.T. became the first to experiment with holographic performances, aiming to appear in multiple locations at once on their world tour. The technology continued to develop so that 2Pac could appear posthumously with his holographic appearance at Coachella 2012, where one video of the performance amassed over 57 million views on YouTubei, his album sales increased 500% and downloads of his song 'Hail Mary' rose 1,500%ii. Not only this, but a 2015 live music video performance by Japanese pop group, Perfume at SXSW, which seamlessly combined live footage of the trio performing with motion captured 3D avatars, was described by Wired as an “ecstatic vision beamed back from a future in which the physical and digital have converged to the point of being utterly indistinguishable”iii - truly the blurring of the physical and virtual worlds.

Concerts are now being performed by avatars of the musicians, to critical acclaim. The best example of this in action is the ABBA Voyage experience.

The momentum was building for augmented projects. The announcement of Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour with a virtual reality experience in 2018, showed key moments over his 50-year career. To create a true to life performance, Elton was motion captured by Vicon customer, House of Moves, ensuring the moves of ‘digital Elton’ stayed trueiv. The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour announcement and the ABBA Voyage Experience were both underway before 2020. However, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic accelerated musicians’ readiness, and indeed, the readiness of fans, to embrace this technology on a wider scale, moving the industry into the next era.

As we move into the Augmented Age, where machines and humans partner to achieve what neither can do alone, concerts are now being performed by avatars of the musicians, to critical acclaim. The best example of this in action is the ABBA Voyage experience. The band members, Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Benny, and Björn, were tracked using motion capture as they performed their set to perfection over the course of five weeks. The motion measurement sensors and software captured every idiosyncrasy, every mannerism, emotion, enabling Vicon customer, Industrial Light & Magicv to merge the physical and the digital and create the band just as they performed in 1979, not as hollow images, but avatars, virtual twins of the artists, complete with the performers’ real essence and emotions.

A study conducted by Middlesex University reported that 95% of fans surveyed said that emotional engagement from the artist during live stream concerts is important to themvi. The commercial and critical success of the ABBA Voyage experience is testament to the fact that this emotional engagement has been achieved, with motion measurement technology at the very core of the operation.

We are already seeing consumers embrace this digital format in the live music industry, as the possibilities enabled by motion measurement begin to crystallise. Now, what leaps out is the potential longevity of these augmented concerts. Virtual concerts allow concertgoers to experience the greatest performances of their favourite bands and musicians, past and present. The performance possibilities are truly exciting, as we have seen with ABBA, bands like the Rolling Stones can be immortalised, even Oasis could be reunited onstage. The sense and analysis capabilities which form the backbone of these projects are there, how they will be applied to transform the future of the live concert industry will be determined by the imaginations and creative genius of the digital artists, technicians, and performers. What once seemed a possibility in the distant future is now being realised before our eyes in the Augmented Age of the present, enabled by developments in motion measurement technology.

i YouTube, Tupac Hologram Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Perform Coachella Live 2012, 18 April 2012

ii Digital Domain, Virtual Tupac

iii Wired, Hot Damn, This Concert Is Straight Out of the Future, 23 March 2015

iv fxguide, Digital VR Elton, 28 January 2018

v YouTube, ABBA Voyage: The Journey Is About To Begin, 2021

vi King’s College London, Research finds live streamed concerts are here to stay post-pandemic, 14 May 2021

https://oxfordmetrics.com/news/2022-10-17/thank-you-for-the-music-how-will-live-concerts-evolve-in-the-augmented-age

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jun 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aop4_g8o6V8

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U.K. time travel, from Oxford dons to ABBAtars

By Arnie Weissmann |Nov 15, 2023|

Arnie Weissmann

Travel Weekly has reported extensively how AI may impact travel planning and booking. On a trip to the U.K. this month, I looked at how it's affecting tourism experiences, as well.

Seeking a little contrast, I divided time between tradition-bound enclaves and some attractions whose foundation was frontline technology.

To American eyes, the U.K. is particularly rich with tradition, and I could think of fewer places near London that revel in custom more than Cambridge and Oxford. I planned daytrips to each.

In Cambridge, I met up with John Shears. He's an authority in a certain realm of past English endeavors -- polar exploration -- but also recently employed highly advanced technology as expedition leader of the mission that found Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, in the depths of the Weddell Sea last year.

We arranged to meet at Cambridge's Scott Polar Research Institute, named for the Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, at precisely 10:30 a.m. The timing was not coincidental; that's when, each morning, a ship's bell is rung and the staff gathers for tea or coffee. While this custom (minus the ship's bell) was routine in American institutions in the not-too-distant past, it has been more recently cast aside in favor of a quick Starbucks run. The 10:30 gathering of colleagues at the institute seemed a curiously quaint and quintessentially British ritual.

As we wandered through the institute's multistory library containing thousands of volumes related to polar exploration, many old and rare, I didn't see a computer in sight. Was the collection digitized? I asked. It has not been.

Although the library requires permission to enter, the building also houses a small museum visited by 50,000 people annually. Even before going in, one walks past a sculpture created by Scott's widow, Kathleen, then enters beneath a bust of Shackleton into a small hall embedded with architectural details related to exploration in the arctic regions. The museum is polar-nerd heaven.

That night, back in London, my inner tech nerd -- or, I guess, just nerd -- emerged. I had bought a ticket for "ABBA Voyage," a somewhat disorienting journey into an almost purely artificial world. In a purpose-built theater, ABBA Arena, the 1970s Swedish pop group gives a 90-minute concert without any members of the group actually present.

The groups' four members come alive, seemingly human-size and in three dimensions, on densely pixilated LED screens, their movements in sync with enhanced concert footage displayed on giant screens. The entire experience is not unlike a typical arena concert. A creative 360-degree light show augments the songs. The effect is surreal, but real enough that the audience applauds and even stomps its feet for an encore, which it gets. I wasn't sure which was more mystifying, the onstage "ABBAtars" or the audience.

The next day, another friend, a professor at Oxford, walked me through Jesus College, whose centuries-old chambers seemed straight out of a "Harry Potter" book. Among the items displayed in its library is T.E. Lawrence's (Lawrence of Arabia) dissertation on Middle Eastern military architecture, complete with penciled notes in the margins. Although the tour represented submergence in another era, it was a familiar reality, requiring less cognitive adjustment than the interior of ABBA Arena.



Inside the "Beyond Reality" gallery at London's Frameless experience. Photo Credit: Arnie Weissmann

From there, back to London and "Frameless," a permanent art exhibit with no paintings or sculptures. It's a series of galleries, each featuring a different artistic genre. It's among the growing collection of attractions described as "immersive," from Las Vegas' new Sphere to the city's ever-expanding Area 15 complex.

"Frameless" is a technological and design marvel. It has four thematic galleries that together animate 42 paintings. The galleries have no wasted space, with floors, walls and sometimes ceilings becoming the canvas for moving, and occasionally interactive, imagery.

The collected art passes through you rather than the other way around. Images flow, dissolve, throb and explode. In one gallery, after a wall-size masterpiece shatters into shards on the floor, you can kick the debris, scattering flakes of colored light like autumn leaves as you move.

Princess Cruises' president, John Padgett, speaking at the Phocuswright Conference this week, said technology should be employed as a facilitator of personalized, up-to-the-moment experiences at scale. Technology is not the point, he said. Experience is.

I did unsuccessfully inquire whether "Frameless" employed AI, but the platform is beside the point: The technology behind both "ABBA Voyage" and "Frameless" can't be separated from the wow factor. The experience of cutting-edge innovation becomes part of the story that's repeated. I doubt Padgett would be upset if guests returning from a Princess cruise weave the high-tech wonders of the Ocean Medallion into their vacation tales.

Immersive experiences will not overcome interest in tradition and the past, whose remnants, still in use or dormant, often reflect earlier stages of trailblazing technology. Whether examining Shackleton's self-designed boots or seeing the clock turned back on Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid, technology and experience have become inseparable. 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Arnie-Weissmann/UK-time-travel-from-Oxford-dons-to-Abbatars

The Abba Voyage success story

The Sunday Times

Sunday December 24 2023

The Abba Voyage success story — and why it might become permanent

They took a chance when they built an arena for avatars. Two million ticket sales later, its backers want the show to go on and on and on

When they appeared on stage in May 2022 it was the first time the members of Abba had been seen in public together for 40 years. Since then, avatar versions of the Swedish group, created after years of painstaking research and following weeks of filming, have “sung” every night in a temporary arena built on a disused car park in east London.

Initially, Abba Voyage was planned to last two or three years. Yet the show has been so successful that its creator has revealed he is planning to keep it in London permanently — which could inject £1 billion into the capital’s economy in the next six years.....

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“It’s an extraordinary number,” said Michael Bolingbroke, the chief executive of Abba Voyage. “Given that, I hope that they will see the value in us staying. And we’d like to stay. This is the most successful show in western Europe. It’s mind-blowing.”

The 90-minute performance involves 3D renderings of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad appearing in a dedicated 3,000-capacity arena beside the Dockland Light Railway’s Pudding Mill Lane station.

Money, Money, Money may not feature on the set list — but it is nevertheless proving lucrative for the show’s backers, averaging $2 million (£1.6 million) a week in ticket sales. Last week, the show hosted its two millionth audience member after launching little more than 18 months ago.

The performance boasts an average of 99 per cent occupancy, running seven shows a week. A quarter of the audience comes from abroad, according to analysis of ticket sales using geotracking data. The best West End shows typically attract 84 per cent occupancy by comparison, according to the Society of London Theatre.

Bolingbroke also confirmed plans for the show to be taken abroad. “We could do it in Germany. We could do it in Australia. Both are big Abba markets. We are looking at the potential of that,” he said.

The show was originally scheduled to last for “two-and-a-half to three years’’, according to Bolingbroke.

It was temporary in part because the London Legacy Development Corporation — responsible for planning the future of the Olympic Park created for the 2012 Games — and the Greater London Authority, headed by Sadiq Khan, had committed to building 1,000 flats and houses on the site.

Bolingbroke said: “The question is: can the housing still be done, but centred around the Abba Arena? If you rejig [the plans] slightly, is there a world where the arena can stay there? And if there is, then we’re there indefinitely.”

Even if officials press ahead with the houses and flatten the arena, delaying the residential development could still boost the London economy, he says.

The avatar idea was conceived by Ulvaeus and Andersson in 2016, alongside the Swedish billionaire Conni Jonsson. It took them two years to find the right technology. Their breakthrough came when they met technicians from the UK arm of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), a special-effects firm founded by Stars Wars creator George Lucas.

Once the finer details of the show were nailed down, the Swedish quartet were then filmed by 160 cameras performing what would become Abba Voyage over and over again over a five-week stint.

Bolingbroke, who previously oversaw the UK Cirque du Soleil shows, says he immediately saw what would become the secret of Abba Voyage’s success: the authenticity of the avatars. “It was so real, it took me back to 1981. It was overwhelming,” he said.

This month, Bolingbroke was spotted visiting sites in Melbourne. Asked about plans in Australia, he said: “We would have to build an arena like ours. It’s a significant undertaking. The investment to get to opening night was £141 million. It will be cheaper the second and third time around because the technology is there to go. But it’s not much cheaper.

“We would do Australia first because we are [already] in Europe.”

For Abba Voyage, a ten-piece live band supports the avatar quartet, with 291 speakers booming favourites from SOS to Waterloo. Tickets are not cheap — especially when you consider this is mainly computer-generated art — starting at £55, with more expensive ones well into three figures. The average price is about £90.

As well as being the chief executive and executive producer of Abba Voyage, Bolingbroke chairs the board of Pophouse, the parent company that Ulvaeus, Andersson and Jonsson created alongside executives from Universal Music and Nordic corporate bank SEB.

This month, the Abba avatar technology owned by Pophouse was used at the end of the final farewell concert by the American rock group Kiss at New York’s Madison Square Garden. It was the first time it has been used to immortalise another band.

Per Sundin, chief executive of Pophouse, said: “Now there is a proven template, that undoubtedly paves the way for new and exciting opportunities. We have received interest from several other artists who see the potential for a similar avatar show to create, cement and elevate their legacies in a way that was never possible until now.

“We believe there are a number of exceptional artists and bands that have both the catalogue, active fans and storied histories to fully capitalise upon an avatar show.”

But Bolingbroke insisted that Abba-style avatars would not signal the death of the ageing rock star. “My personal opinion is that whatever you do, nothing beats live. However, if an artist is not able to be there, this is a pretty good alternative.”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/abba-voyage-success-story-london-permanent-dqjj5d507

articulo completo gracias  a  abba newsflash on facebook

Abba effect brings £322million boost to London

 Money, Money, Money! Abba effect brings £322million boost to London

Jonathan Prynn — 

Money, Money, Money! Abba effect brings £322million boost to London

The Abba shows generated more than one million ticket sales - at up to £181.50 each - by the end of the 

ABBA Voyage concerts have contributed £322.6 million in spending, analysis reveals

They may only be digital dancing queens - and kings - but the four glittery holograms performing every night in front of sell out audiences in east London are pumping serious Money, Money, Money into the capital’s economy.

That is the conclusion of a report into the “socio-economic impact” of the ground breaking Abba Voyage attraction in Stratford published on Thursday just a year and a half after it opened.

The analysis, carried out by strategists Sound Diplomacy and social value consultancy RealWorth, found that the series of concerts at the 3,000 seater Abba Arena contributed £322.6 million in spending, and £177.7 million in extra economic activity - known as GVA - in its first year.

The show feature digital “Abbatar” versions of the Swedish quartet - Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad - performing a setlist of “bangers” such as Mamma Mia, Voulez-Vous and The Winner Takes it All over a 90 minute run time alongside a live 10 piece band.

They were created through motion capture technology from visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic and appear as their 1979 versions of themselves. The band members themselves are now all in their seventies.

The report - commissioned by the show’s producers - found that the show had siginficant benefits for the surrounding boroughs of Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest with 42% of the total impact felt in these local authority areas worth a total of £73.7 million in GVA.

Agnetha Fältskog is among the Abba stars featuring in the digital show

The bulk of the impact in the local area was from paying for accommodation, food and drink, transport and shopping with an average spend of £103 per attendee on top of the ticket price, rising to £135 across London as a whole.

The report claims ABBA Voyage has supported more than 5,000 jobs in London, including those directly employed at the venue and those in other sectors that rely on spending by visitors.

The report also highlights how Abba Voyage has drawn thousands of visitors from outside London with almost half the non-ticket spend from “out of towners” coming from elsewhere in the UK and more than 40% from foreign visitors.

Michael Bolingbroke, executive producer for ABBA Voyage, said: “The presence of ABBA Voyage is felt in a way that will be enduring. Knowing that in our first full year, the operations of ABBA Voyage has had an economic impact in London of £322 million is extraordinary, and our challenge will be to maintain and grow this number, and to ensure that its effects are long lasting.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The fantastic success of ABBA Voyage shows once again how London is the music capital of the world and is roaring back from the impact of the pandemic. I am so proud that City Hall was able to help ABBA bring this pioneering show to east London, providing huge benefits to both the local area and London’s wider economy.”

Lyn Garner, Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, said: “ABBA Voyage has been an amazing success for the area and a vibrant addition to the attractions on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.”

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/abba-voyage-stratford-abbatar-holograms-audience-spending-b1128486.html

The ABBA Voyage Tour

 Celebrity

ABBA fever sweeps Oz as rumours swirl of the supergroups’s return with ABBA Voyage Tour

Matthew Hart

Dec 19, 2023

Social media platforms are ablaze with speculation, as fans share their hopes and dreams of securing tickets to what could be the concert event of the decade. Source: Getty Images.

Australian ABBA fans are buzzing with excitement as rumours swirl that the legendary Swedish pop group is set to grace Australian soil as part of their highly anticipated ABBA Voyage Tour.

The ABBA Voyage Tour, which accompanied the release of their first studio album in 40 years Voyage, has been making waves globally for its holographic avatars of the band members, capturing the essence of their youthful days and recreating the magic that made them international sensations.

While ABBA’s management are yet to confirm or deny the rumours, executives from ABBA Voyage have reportedly been scouting locations in Melbourne, as reported by The Age.

The band’s representatives have also reportedly met with the state government, Visit Victoria and entertainment company TEG Dainty.

https://startsat60.com/media/news/abba-fever-sweeps-oz-as-rumours-swirl-of-the-supergroupss-return-with-abba-voyage-tour

ABBA Voyage at Christmas: Extra performances announced for festive season

 

ABBA Voyage at Christmas: Extra performances announced for festive season

ABBA Voyage has announced extra performances for the Christmas season with festive treats featured at the ABBA Arena. Here's how to get tickets.

16:37, Mon, Dec 18, 2023 | UPDATED: 16:39, Mon, Dec 18, 2023

Abba Voyage: Trailer released for revolutionary concert

It’s been a year and a half since ABBA opened their virtual residency in London.

Four decades on since breaking up, Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad reteamed for motion-capture performances in Stockholm.

Since opening at the ABBA Arena last year, their younger ABBAtars have been performing on their behalf with a live band and backing singers to critical acclaim.

As Christmas approaches, the specially-made venue in East London has been getting into the festive spirit.

Mulled wine and seasonal food and drinks were available to purchase alongside Christmas jumpers and baubles in the ABBA Arena gift shop.

Entering the dance floor ahead of the start of the show, an animation of a snow-covered forest was projected onto screens in front of the stage, adding to the twinkly festive atmosphere.

The show itself was like nothing we’d seen before as the ABBAtars performed with cracking live accompaniment across a thoroughly entertaining visual spectacle. The only thing we’d say could have been improved is that up close the ABBAtars themselves looked a little like soulless CGI characters from a mid-2000s Robert Zemeckis mo-cap movie. But no doubt the already impressive technology is only going to get better as time goes on.

A real treat even for the casual ABBA fan, the seasonal schedule with extra performances has been announced alongside Björn Ulvaeus and Sir Ian McKellen’s latest knitting videos with ABBA Christmas jumpers and socks.

Wednesday December 20th 7:45pm *extra performance
Wednesday December 27th 3:00pm / 7:45pm
Thursday December 28th 3:00pm / 7:45pm
Friday December 29th 3:00pm / 7:45pm
Saturday December 30th 3:00pm / 7:45pm
Sunday December 31st 1:00pm
Monday January 1st 3:00pm / 7:45pm

The standard performance schedule will resume from January 4th.

https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1846917/ABBA-Voyage-tickets-Christmas

Abba Voyage

 

ABBA’s Hologram ‘Voyage’ Proves Concerts Without Artists Are Here, And They’re F’ing Awesome

ANDY GENSLER10:53 AM, WEDNESDAY, 12/06/2023NEWS

Chiquitita, Tell Me The Truth: ABBA holograms “perform” the band’s 1979 hit “Chiquitita” as part of the “ABBA Voyage” show in London, which has attracted some 1.6 million over 550 shows since its opening in May 2022, according to the show’s producer. (Photo by Johan Persson / Courtesy ‘Abba Voyage’)

In mid-November, I saw ABBA perform in London. Technically, however, that’s not true. In fact, ABBA were nowhere near the custom-built ABBA Arena in East London where hologram versions (i.e. “Abbatars”) of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad “performed” their stunning “ABBA Voyage” show. Still, for the entirety of the dazzling 90-minute spectacle, all disbelief was easily suspended so that I, along with 3,000 others, including copious middle-aged tipsy Britons donning their best 1970s disco frippery and living their most smashing lives, could together enjoy the communal revelry in real-time.

And how can one not dance, croon or day drink (it was a weekend matinee in East London) to ABBA classics like “Dancing Queen,” “SOS,” “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” or “Fernando”? Their timeless catalog and Swedish visages are etched deeply into the consciousness of a multi-generational global swath of humanity. The long-running “Mamma Mia!” films and theater productions are proof of eternal fandom concept, which ultimately drives the show’s success a year and a half into its run.

“We’re coming up on 550 shows and almost every show is completely sold out. 1.6 million people have seen it,” says Ludwig Andersson, the show’s producer, who with his team spent seven years putting together “ABBA Voyage.” “We didn’t know until we had our first preview with an audience, three weeks before opening night, if it was going to work. All of us there felt from that first moment it was going to work.”

Three 65-million-pixel screens provide a 3D depth of field that makes “ABBA Voyage” convincingly real. The show reportedly cost $175 million to produce and was created with ABBA performing for over five weeks in motion capture suits with some 160 cameras trained on them. Visual effects artists at Industrial Light & Magic, George Lucas’ company, worked on the show for two years.

“It turns out they used ten times the amount of processing hours for ABBA than they did for the last ‘Star Wars’ movie,” Andersson says.

The custom-made hexagonal ABBA Arena, designed by Stufish Ent. Architects (Beyonce, U2, Stones), feels like a spaceship and features surround sound and hundreds of rotating mirrors that reflect light and laser beams. Front of stage is a packed dance floor.

Andersson says the reason they built the single-purpose 3,000 cap venue was because they “had to control that space down to every detail,” in order for it to be successful. “There’s too much lighting and sound and equipment involved for it to ever be able to tour in any capacity. We have to control every sight line, every angle.”

While the thought of a “live” concert without artists may be anathema to live music fans, the industry’s been heading that way for years. The starless Blue Man Group or Cirque Du Soliel’s “Beatles Love” shows have been around for decades. The Tupac, Roy Orbison and Ronnie James Dio holograms began rolling out in the 2010s. Travis Scott and Lil Nas X’s metaverse shows in Fortnite and Roblox were just a few years ago. And today’s major tours by the likes of Taylor Swift, Drake and Beyonce and U2’s Sphere show all employ multi-million pixel screens, powerful servers and professional programmers and seem only degrees away from “ABBA Voyage.”

That said, ABBA’s show isn’t entirely “Memorex.” There’s 10 musicians playing live on a side stage who add booming analog audio to the digital technologies. “Having a live band was key,” Andersson says. “Even if you don’t intellectually understand the show, you feel it is happening now. There’s a kinetic energy from a kick drum you feel.”

The stage banter cadence replicates the live experience and quickly gets meta. Benny starts with a pertinent existential question: “To be or not to be?” He, or his hologram, references “Dr. Who Time Travel” and notes the group hasn’t performed in London since 1979. There’s a relatability with authentic personal stories, acknowledgment of their campiness, poor dress choices, a 1974 Eurovision victory and well-timed pauses for applause.   

The show grosses $2 million a week, according to Bloomberg, which means “ABBA Voyage” is well on its way to turning a profit and poised for global franchising. “We’re in talks with a lot of different places without revealing too much. We always hoped we could try to do this somewhere else,” says Andersson (Benny’s son.)

“We’ve done it once, and the last time we did it, no one knew if it was going to be good or not, so it’s much easier this time.”

https://news.pollstar.com/2023/12/06/abbas-hologram-voyage-proves-concerts-without-artists-are-here-and-theyre-fing-awesome/

Motion capture firm Oxford Metrics posts 54% revenue growth

 Motion capture firm Oxford Metrics posts 54% revenue growth

Oscar Hornstein

INVESTMENT NEWS / TUE 5 DEC 2023

Oxford Metrics provided the motion capture tech for the ABBA Voyage tour. Image credit: Federico Fermeglia / Shutterstock

Oxford Metrics, the motion capture company behind the ABBA Voyage holographic tour, has bumped up its revenue by more than half thanks to a strong year for its recently launched Valkyrie system.

The London-listed company, which has provided advanced camera systems for projects such as the film Titanic, posted revenue of £44.2m in its latest financial report, a 53.5% increase from 2022.

New CEO Imogen Moorhouse, who took over as Oxford Metrics chief in October, credited the revenue surge to the success of Valkyrie, a multi-cam motion capture system launched in July 2022.

“Our team this year has continued to innovate, manufacturing more advanced camera systems than ever before,” said Moorhouse. “This technological advancement represents a pivotal moment and is expected to drive growth once commercialised in FY24.”

Money, money, money

The chief executive said the company would look to pursue strategic acquisitions in the near future.

The company has projected continued growth, with £11.5m worth of orders already in hand for the next financial year.

Moorhouse said the board “looks forward to the new financial year which is set to see further underlying growth in our existing markets whilst laying the foundations for future growth”.

Shares in the firm dropped around 1% on Tuesday morning, despite the broadly positive results.

In 2022, Oxford Metrics sold off its infrastructure asset management division, Yotta, to Causeway Technologies for £52m

https://www.uktech.news/news/investment-news/motion-capture-oxford-metrics-revenue-20231205

In Conversation with ABBA Voyage Producer, Svana Gisla

 BEYOND 2023

Beyond 2023 took place 21-22nd November 2023 live from London - In Conversation with ABBA Voyage Producer, Svana Gisla

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUggYPZFLhI

Knitting With Friends

  Creative Direction: Svana Gisla

Director and Editor: Sophie Muller

Filming: Robbie Ryan

Sound: Otis Tree

Set design: Christopher Woodhams

Runners: Otis Faber and Holly Leaddley

With special thanks to Björn Ulvaeus, Ian McKellen, Kylie Minogue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DnH6Q33HQ8

Ian McKellen and Björn Ulvaeus now with Kylie Minogue

Watch “famous knitting brothers” Ian McKellen and ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus agree to knit stagewear for Kylie Minogue

The duo are set to hand-make some festive garments for the band, dancers and Kylie herself

By

Liberty Dunworth

24th November 2023

Björn Ulvaeus and Sir Ian McKellen. CREDIT: Press

-----------------------------------

A special request has come in this year for our famous knitting duo, Björn and Ian! Who could say no to Kylie?

Creative Direction: Svana Gisla Director and Editor: Sophie Muller Filming: Robbie Ryan Sound: Otis Tree Set design: Christopher Woodhams Runners: Otis Faber and Holly Leaddley With special thanks to Björn Ulvaeus, Ian McKellen and Kylie Minogue

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Sir Ian McKellen and ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus have returned with another festive knitting video, this time, agreeing to create some stagewear for Kylie Minogue.

The new video was shared on the ABBA Voyage Twitter/X page earlier this morning (November 24), and shows the renowned actor and iconic musician continuing their annual tradition of coming together to knit festive jumpers for the Christmas season.

 

The collaboration between the two first sparked back in 2021 when the pair shared a video of them knitting ABBA-branded Christmas jumpers in silence – and the footage quickly went viral online.

A second instalment arrived last year too, with a video of them making a new set of festive attire being shared, followed by an ABBA merchandise range which also included Christmas cards and bobble hats.

Now, McKellen and Ulvaeus are back for a 2023 edition of the tradition, this time revealing that they will be teaming up with Kylie Minogue to knit some stagewear for her upcoming shows in Las Vegas.

In the video, the duo are seen knitting a new range of jumpers, before getting a surprise phone call from the Australian singer, who shares her love of their collaboration and asks them to “whip up something for the band, all the dancers and myself?”

More than happy to oblige, Sir Ian wipes away a tear and declares that the two will become “famous knitting brothers” by working with Kylie. Check out the full clip below.

The Nevada shows Kylie mentions in the clip refer to her residency at the Voltaire in Las Vegas, which she kicked off over the summer and went on to extend due to high demand for tickets.

The Australian pop star also released her long-awaited album ‘Tension’ earlier this year – her 16th studio album which contained the hit summer anthem ‘Padam Padam’.

As for Ulvaeus, ABBA are set to continue their hit Voyage shows into 2024. The virtual shows were first teased back in 2017 when it was announced that the band would reunite in digital form by 2019. After the reunion tour was delayed, ABBA Voyage was finally announced in September 2021.

Since launching, the virtual tour has been a huge hit at the purpose built ABBA Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – described by NME as “an epic avatar mega-mix from a brave new world” – and has been reported as preparing for a world tour.

The shows also welcomed the one millionth visitor earlier this year, and Ulvaeus told NME about what the future has in store for the ambitious live experience.

“We hope to stay in this venue for as long as we can. We hope they’ll have us for many years, and we might build other replicas of this in other places: Asia, Australia, North America. There are lots and promoters and cities that we’re talking to at the moment about that,” he told NME. “Each one would take at least two years to build, but there will be announcements towards the end of this year or the beginning of next about where we actually are going. That’s if we’re going somewhere, which we will.”

He also opened up about the possibility of bringing ABBA Voyage to Glastonbury, stating: “I don’t think that’s possible, yet. It might be in the future. As it is, it’s too complicated because the lighting, the sound, the visuals, everything is integrated and it’s so complicated.”

https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-famous-knitting-brothers-ian-mckellen-and-abbas-bjorn-ulvaeus-agree-to-knit-stagewear-for-kylie-minogue-3548811

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Kylie Minogue y ABBA no dan puntada sin hilo

Por

Jordi Bardají

24 noviembre, 2023

0

En 2021, Björn Ulvaeus de ABBA, y el actor británico Ian McKellen, protagonizaron un curioso gag en el que tejían juntos ropa navideña, como gorros o jerséis. En 2022, Björn y Ian volvieron a sentarse juntos en el sofá para tejer y felicitar las fiestas a sus seguidores.

A punto de convertirse en una tradición navideña, como la canción de Mariah Carey, Björn y Ian se han vuelto a reunir en 2023. Y esta vez, han recibido una inesperada llamada, la de Kylie Minogue.

- Publicidad -

Kylie llama a Björn para pedirle un favor. «Estoy en Las Vegas, es Navidad… ¿Podrías improvisar algo para la banda, los bailarines y para mí? Lo que has estado haciendo últimamente es increíble». Björn contesta a Kylie que no puede hablar y promete que le llamará más tarde.

En redes, ABBA ha anunciado que «un pedido especial ha llegado este año para nuestro famoso dúo de tejedores. ¿Quién le diría que no a Kylie Minogue?» Ni Kylie ni ABBA confirman el motivo exacto de esta colaboración navideña. En el vídeo, Björn explica a Ian que Kylie le ha llamado para «hacer algo para el estreno de su show en Las Vegas», a pesar de que el show se inauguró hace semanas. Björn anuncia que viajará a Las Vegas para ayudar a Kylie y pide a Ian que le acompañe, y este acepta encantado.

Por supuesto, Kylie Minogue tiene su historia con ABBA, pues en el año 2000 cantó ‘Dancing Queen’ durante la ceremonia de inauguración de los Juegos Olímpicos en Sídney. En 2009, Kylie apareció como artista invitada en el concierto tributo a ABBA celebrado en Londres, y cantó ‘When All is Said and Done’ de ABBA acompañada de Benny Andersson. Además, existe una foto de Kylie y Anni-Frid Lyngstad juntas y cogidas de la mano, pues ambas se conocieron hace años.

‘Voyage‘, el último álbum de estudio de ABBA, vio la luz en 2021, 40 años después del último. ‘Voyage’ contenía un tema navideño, ‘Little Things’, que era lanzado como single en diciembre de ese año. En mayo de 2022 se estrenaba el espectacular concierto de ABBA protagonizado por avatares digitales.

https://jenesaispop.com/2023/11/24/466494/kylie-abba-navidad/

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Ludvog Andersson interview

ABBA Voyage producer reveals the group wiped the original vocals for one of their biggest hits [Exclusive]

October 4, 2023

Dan Medhurst

The producers of ABBA Voyage ran into trouble after discovering the group recorded over the original vocals for one of their classic hits.

The show features the band’s digital ‘ABBAtars’ – showing the group as they were in their 30s – performing 20 of their iconic songs, with their original vocals accompanied by a live band.

But producer Ludvig Anderson says creating one of the tracks was particularly challenging. “We had access to everything, all the multitrack tapes of the original recordings, but it was quite a strenuous process because most of ABBA’s old recordings were not recorded to a click track, which is what we needed to line it up with the timecode and the live band,” he tells RETROPOP’s November issue. “So what we had to do to get the vocals was go through every song that’s in the show, cut it up and align it to the click track.”

Ludvig adds: “The [multitracks containing the] lead English vocals for SOS do not exist – they deleted those and recorded over them the German version, at the time thinking that no one was going to need them again. That was a particular issue that we had and in the end we had to just strip the lead vocals off the mix, which worked out in the end, but it was an issue.”

According to Ludvig, there are few unreleased takes still in the vaults, however they did find some rarities for the show. He adds: “On When All Is Said And Done, there’s an extra verse that was on the tape. I think they just faded it in the final mix, but there was some extra stuff on the tape. So there are some things that haven’t been heard, but most of it has been put out now.

“What’s nice, though, when you go through the multitracks, is that you start to hear things that you’ve never heard before, often things that are way back in the mix. Of course, we had the opportunity, during rehearsals, to ask the musicians to enhance certain parts, based on how it felt in the live environment.”

Read the full interview in the November 2023

https://retropopmagazine.com/abba-voyage-producer-reveals-the-group-wiped-the-original-vocals-for-one-of-their-biggest-hits-exclusive/

ABBA Voyage’ Looks to Extend Residency

 Sep 5, 2023

ABBA Voyage’ Looks to Extend Residency (and Turn a Profit)

Mark Sutherland —

Money money money… As ABBA once pointed out, it’s a rich man’s world. But even after the runaway success of the “ABBA Voyage” digital live experience in London, producers say it has yet to recoup the extraordinary investment needed to put on the show.

“No, we haven’t broken even,” says producer Svana Gisla. “I don’t even know if we’re halfway to breaking even! The audacity of how much this show costs – it was all a bit mad. But we will get there…”

The smash hit show, staged in a purpose-built arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, welcomed its one-millionth visitor back in April and is still playing to joyful, sold-out houses every night, 15 months after it first launched. It’s now booking through May 2024 in London and Gisla, fellow producer Ludvig Andersson, and director Baillie Walsh all hope to prolong that stay further.

“If we can extend the lease and we’re still selling tickets, then hopefully it will run as long as ‘Mamma Mia!’ or longer,” Walsh tells Variety. “I’d love it to be going into its 20th year with me as an old codger, walking with a stick, but still enjoying the audience singing along.”

Despite ABBA’s massive financial investment and the band’s pan-generational fanbase, the team tell Variety that launching the show still carried a huge element of risk. “I’m so proud of all of us for having pulled it off,” says Gisla.

However, they have an even bigger plan – the trio are quietly contemplating expanding the show. The potential to update the show is being explored, while there have been rumors of possible openings in Las Vegas and elsewhere. Earlier this year, Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge told his company’s earnings call that “Plans are now in development to take ‘ABBA Voyage’ around the world,” but Andersson notes it’s not quite that simple.

“In the sense of going on the road, it was never an option, because it’s just too big and heavy of a thing,” he says. “You can’t move it around. What you can do is, do the same thing somewhere else and we’ve been looking at that for a long time. There are still options out there, but nothing is set in stone. And if that is North America, South-East Asia or Australasia, we’ll see – but we’re absolutely working on it.”

Gisla adds that the cost of the show remains a hurdle for many locations. “Everyone’s interested until you put the budget in front of them and say, ‘How about that?’” she laughs. “You can’t just pop up in some theater in Vegas, put some lights up and put digital ABBA on stage.”

The team explains the expense is also likely to deter most other artists from developing a similar experience. “People have been in touch, but you’ve got to be a band of a certain stature to even contemplate it,” says Walsh. “Luckily, ABBA are that creatively curious that they wanted to go ahead despite the enormous expense.”

“We haven’t really invented anything,” adds Andersson. “We just did a thing – and it turned out to be a beautiful thing. But there’s no blueprint here that you can take and go, ‘Ok, let’s just do this with another artist’. If you think of it like that, my advice would be that that’s a terrible idea.”

Gisla says the members of ABBA often attend the show incognito and are rarely recognized. But despite the success of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad’s digital versions, Baillie Walsh says he can’t see avatar shows ever rivaling traditional touring.

“People are always going to want to play live,” he says. “We’ve proved you can get emotion from the 

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/abba-voyage-virtual-concert-tour-1235541368

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abba voyage 2023 - notes