Elizabeth Olympic Park: Last News

ABBA Voyage has contributed £1.40billion to the UK economy, according to new figures.The virtual concert residency, which features digital avatars depicting the Swedish pop icons as they appeared in 1979, generated the sum between its opening in May 2022 to May 2024.During that time, the live concert experience has attracted over two million visitors, with 31 per cent travelling from outside of the UK.According to a new report by music, culture and creative economy consultancy Sound Diplomacy, attendees spent an average of £220 per day in London, as well as the cost of the ticket to the show at Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.The most positive impact is felt in the local boroughs of Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, with local restaurants and bars receiving £51.26million, commercial shops gaining £27.28million and accommodation £66.38million.The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said: “ABBA Voyage has been a phenomenal success story for London, boosting our economy by more than £1bn and showing again why our capital is a global leader for music and culture.“The fantastic show is an enduring testament to ABBA’s timeless popularity, as well as providing cultural, financial and social benefits. London is proud to host ABBA Voyage and we look forward to continuing to welcome fans from far and wide to see this unique concert as we build a better London for everyone.”In October, it was reported that the show grossed more than £100million in 2023, according to documents filed in the UK with Companies House by Aniara, the company behind the shows.A total of 1,097,597 visitors attended the shows across 2023, with an occupancy rate of 97.8 per cent.

David Bowie Centre.The new working store and visitor attraction will be open to the public from May 31, and located at East Bank – the new cultural quarter in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is set to home over 500,000 works, including the Glastonbury Festival Archives, costumes from PJ Harvey and Elton John, designer couture, vintage shirts, Samurai swords and many more.

Graham Coxon has revealed that he is open to the idea of Blur getting a hologram show similar to that of ABBA Voyage, but on one condition.The Britpop guitarist discussed the potential of the band getting their own avatars made as part of a hologram show during a new interview with Radio X. In the discussion, he revealed that while he is open to the prospect, he would only want to entertain the idea if it captured the band when they were “a little younger”.“Well Damon’s sort of tackled that a bit with Gorillaz, ain’t he?” Coxon responded when asked about the idea, referring to frontman Damon Albarn’s other band.

READ MORE: Dave at the Brits – how his searing performance of ‘Black’ took on every racist tosser in the countryThe Music Is Black: A British Story will feature new contributions and BBC archive material from contemporary Black British music acts including Little Simz, Stormzy and Jorja Smith.A soundtrack spanning generations alongside an “evocative” set design will be on display at the exhibition, which charts the impact of early 20th century pioneers including Samuel Coleridge-Taylor through to later century stars Sade, Joan Armatrading and Tricky on British music culture.The V&A East Museum is set to open in 2025 as the latest offshoot of South Kensington’s The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), the world-famous museum founded by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1852.The V&A has expanded in recent years, with The V&A Dundee having opened recently. Bethnal Green’s The Young V&A also reopened in June.Its upcoming expansion is in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in an area called the East Bank, which is home to a new arts, innovation and education hub.

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.

Naman Ramachandran The historic Maida Vale Studios in London has been sold by the BBC to a four-way partnership between Working Title chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and two-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer and his business partner Steven Kofsky. The partnership has multi-million pound refurbishment plans to upgrade the studio’s facilities.

London’s Maida Vale Studios has been sold to a partnership between Working Title co-chairmen Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and composer Hans Zimmer and his business partner Steve Kofsky.

Sir Mick Jagger has said Abba’s virtual concert offers bands such as The Rolling Stones a ‘technology breakthrough’ to secure their legacies. Abba Voyage launched at a purpose-built stadium in London in May with a star-studded event attended by the Swedish pop superstars, reunited in public for the first time in more than four decades. Five years in the making, the concert features four 3D digital versions of the group’s younger selves singing and dancing to some 20 of their hits.

Chunkz will be returning to Soccer Aid for a third year in a row.

Abba finally reunited in London in full for the first time in 40 years for the Abba Voyage red carpet on Thursday night.Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, and Björn Ulvaeus smiled for cameras as they posed altogether ahead of kicking off their hotly anticipated hologram tour.The Swedish pop superstars were last together in the capital for an appearance on The Late Late Breakfast show hosted with Noel Edmonds in 1982.Speaking on the red carpet outside a purpose-built stadium at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London, Agnetha enthused: ‘It’s amazing to see all the English fans.’The group’s highly anticipated concert features younger ‘Abba-tars’ of the foursome performing songs from their back catalogue with a live 10-piece band.Benny admitted he expected himself to cry during the concert, saying: ‘Oh definitely, all the time.’Speaking about why she had enjoyed the project so much, Anni-Frid said: ‘I think the most exciting thing about this project was to come together as a group again after so many years not doing anything as a band together.’Abba was catapulted to worldwide success after winning the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo when the event was held in Brighton in 1974.They have since sold more than 400 million albums and singles.The popular quartet parted ways after last performing together in 1982 following a successful 10-year stint.In 2018 they announced they had recorded new material and it arrived in November.Abba Voyage shows begin in London on Friday, May 27and are running until December 2022.It’s then expected that the show will hit the road, on a world tour lasting until the year 2026.The lengthy run is possible all thanks to ‘Abbatars’ – aka the four holograms which

ABBA have settled their lawsuit against the UK tribute act ABBA MANIA, who they’d initially targeted last month for trademark infringement.In a suit filed on December 3, the Swedish icons described the cover band’s behaviour as “parasitic and bad-faith”, claiming that ABBA MANIA were intentionally misleading fans into believing they’re endorsed by the real group. It was said in the lawsuit that ABBA gave ABBA MANIA an opportunity to change their name, but ABBA MANIA refused.As reported by Billboard, the two groups have now reached a formal settlement.

ABBA‘s Anni-Frid Lyngstad has spoken on the possibility of more new music from the group.The Swedish icons returned last week with ‘Voyage’, their first studio album in 40 years. They’ll showcase the record with a string of “revolutionary” concerts at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2022.Last month, the band’s Benny Andersson explained that ABBA would retire after releasing the record and completing its accompanying live events.

As is traditional in the royal family, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wished Prince Harry a happy birthday publicly using their popular social media accounts, as well as chatting to him privately.

Prince Harry turns 36 today. The royal family member, who stepped down as a senior from the British royal family, is celebrating his birthday with Meghan Markle and son Archie in the United States.