Melbourne’s bid to host blockbuster 3D virtual concert ABBA Voyage meets its Waterloo
Will Melbourne finally get to host the ABBA Voyage virtual concert? It all comes down to money, money, money.
Nui Te Koha
@nuitekoha
less than 2 min read
July 22, 2025 - 6:50PM
Striking avatars of Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid illuminated the Pylons of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge accompanied by a dazzling light display across the Bridge arch. Credit: Gravity
Melbourne’s plan to host the blockbuster 3D virtual concert ABBA Voyage has met its Waterloo.
Promoter Paul Dainty, the president and chief executive of TEG Dainty, and who had an option to produce ABBA Voyage in Australia, said protracted talks to bring the venture to Melbourne had failed.
The 3D virtual concert, featuring digital avatars of ABBA superstars Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, depicting the group as they appeared in 1979, opened in London in 2022.
Talks to bring ABBA Voyage to Melbourne have failed.
Mr Dainty and Victorian government officials were pitching for Melbourne to be the first city in the world, outside London, to stage the Swedish supergroup spectacular.
But money, money, money was a constant sticking point.
Behind the scenes, Spring St struggled with requests to provide up to a third of the estimated $100 million cost to host ABBA Voyage in Melbourne.
The hi-tech show requires a purpose-built 3000-seat venue.
Insiders said ABBA Voyage is “not going ahead” in Melbourne. The same sources said the project didn’t offer value for money for Victorian taxpayers.
“It’s disappointing,” Mr Dainty told the Herald Sun on Monday. “It’s been a long journey, but (ABBA Voyage) is a super expensive project. Maybe we can revisit it in the future.”
A Victorian Government spokesperson said: “As Australia’s major events capital, we’re always working to secure major events that boost tourism and support jobs across the state.”
Mr Dainty toured ABBA in 1977, and asked Ulvaeus and Andersson to support moves to bring ABBA Voyage to Melbourne.
“When I toured ABBA, the (Melbourne) mayor at the time gave them the keys to the city,” Mr Dainty said earlier this year “I recently said to Benny and Bjorn, ‘You got the keys to the city, and you can come back and unlock it with ABBA Voyage. It will be a homecoming’.”
ABBA Voyage’s group chief executive Craig Hartenstine is a businessman from Melbourne.
He was in Melbourne late last year to visit potential sites for ABBA Voyage – and to hold talks with Mr Dainty and state government officials.
According to ABBA Voyage figures, the show contributed £1.4bn ($A2.75bn) to the British economy between May 2022 and May 2024.
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