ABBA legend launches concert series of holographic avatars

Eternal youth through digital.

The group ABBA launches Friday, May 27, in London, a series of concerts of state-of-the-art digital avatars, which will "

" from the four septuagenarians of the Swedish formation that has become cult.

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"

," Björn Ulvaeus, one of the quartet members we met in Stockholm ahead of the premiere, told AFP.

in November

.

The kings and queens of disco had also announced the construction of a special room in London for a digital show prepared for years with special effects experts.

If it is indeed the current voices of Anni-Frid, Björn, Benny, and Agnetha (acronym "

") that we will hear, it is not them in flesh and blood that we will see on stage but four “ABBAtars” released as a hologram, depicting the band members with their 1979 faces. emotion.

“

,” said Björn Ulvaeus, who composed most of the group's greatest hits with his friend Benny Andersson.

"

, "said the 77-year-old who is the oldest of the ABBAs.

The movements of the septuagenarians were captured in the studio to reproduce them on stage.

If the avatars must sometimes appear dressed in the legendary seventies outfits emblematic of ABBA, they will also be dressed in futuristic combinations, according to the trailers for the concert.

In a 3,000-seat venue in east London (the ABBA Arena), concerts are scheduled seven days a week until early October.

“

,” says Björn.

Archive footage

The four avatars were developed in conjunction with a visual effects company from

saga director George Lucas .

For Björn Ulvaeus, ABBA's ubiquitous archival footage primed him to see himself in the face of his 30-something glory.

“

”, explains the star, who is also launching a musical show in Sweden dedicated to Pippi Longstocking.

“

”.

Winner of Eurovision in 1974,

,

or

until they broke up in the early 1980s. such as the

film series .

With hundreds of millions of albums sold all over the world, ABBA has largely contributed to promoting the Swedish music industry, which is still today the third largest music exporting country after the United States and the United Kingdom.

In London, spectators will be entitled to an hour and a half of concert with a dozen musicians, themselves, indeed present.

But seeing ABBA on stage again in real life or releasing a new album is not planned.

"

," Björn Ulvaeus told AFP.