There is a concert happening right now in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park where Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Frida take to the stage, perform two hours of the greatest pop songs ever written, and do so looking exactly as they did in 1979. The audience dances. People cry. Others describe it as one of the best nights of their lives.
The fact that ABBA haven’t actually performed live together since 1982 is, somehow, beside the point.
ABBA Voyage is playing at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in Stratford until October 2026, and we’re right here in the park at Draughts London – 5 Aquatics Walk – making us about as ideally placed as anyone to tell you how to make the most of it.
What Exactly Is ABBA Voyage?
ABBA Voyage is unlike anything else in live entertainment. Using technology developed by Industrial Light & Magic – the visual effects company behind Star Wars and Jurassic Park – the four members of ABBA were captured in a motion capture studio in Stockholm in 2020, with 160 cameras recording every movement, every mannerism and every expression of their performances.
The result is the ABBAtars: digital versions of the band depicted as they appeared in 1979, rendered on a 65-million-pixel LED screen so clear and vivid that audiences routinely forget they’re watching avatars within minutes of the show beginning. The ABBAtars perform to ABBA’s own original vocals. A live 10-piece band plays every note on stage behind them.
The production budget was $175 million – reportedly one of the most expensive live music experiences ever created. Over 1,000 people across four ILM branches worked on it. And the ABBA Arena itself was built specifically and solely for this show – a custom 3,000-capacity venue designed around the technology that powers it.
It is, genuinely, extraordinary.
Why ABBA? Why Now?
Because they’re ABBA. But also – because of Voyage.
ABBA split in 1982 after a decade that produced some of the most recognisable pop music ever recorded. Waterloo. Dancing Queen. Mamma Mia. Fernando. The Winner Takes It All. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! In their original run they sold what is now estimated at nearly 400 million albums worldwide. Hundreds of millions of people know their songs word for word.
For 40 years, a reunion felt like one of those things that was permanently almost happening but never quite did. Then, in 2021, ABBA released Voyage – their first new studio album since 1981. It sold more than one million copies in its first week worldwide. It debuted at number one in 18 countries. It became the fastest-selling vinyl LP of the 21st century. In the UK it was the fastest-selling album of the whole year.
Voyage announced that ABBA weren’t just back – they were still, improbably, one of the most vital acts in pop music. The concert that bears the album’s name is the live expression of that.
The ABBA Arena
The ABBA Arena at 1 Pudding Mill Lane, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E15 2RU, was designed and built specifically for Voyage and exists for no other purpose. With a total capacity of 3,000 – split between 1,350 standing on the dance floor and 1,650 in the auditorium – it is an intimate venue by the standards of what ABBA could fill, and that intimacy is a huge part of what makes the show feel so special.
The nearest station is Pudding Mill Lane DLR, a two-minute walk from the arena. Stratford station – Elizabeth line, Jubilee line, DLR, Overground and National Rail – is a 15-minute walk through Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and is the better option if you’re coming from further afield.
Show times:
- Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings: 7:45pm
- Sunday evenings: 6:00pm
- Saturday matinee: 3:00pm
- Sunday matinee: 1:00pm
The show runs approximately 100 minutes with no interval – so you won’t be leaving mid-Dancing Queen, which is the correct approach.
Tickets: Dance floor from £35 – Auditorium from £65 – Premium from £120
ABBA Voyage is playing at ABBA Arena until October 2026.
Before the Show – Make an Occasion of It at Draughts
You’re in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The show doesn’t start until the evening. This is your opportunity.
Draughts London Stratford is at 5 Aquatics Walk, London E20 2AS – right inside the park, a relaxed walk from the ABBA Arena. We’re a bar, restaurant and board game café with over 1,000 games and proper food and drinks served at your table.
Whether you’re coming with a group of friends for a proper reunion, making a special occasion of a birthday or anniversary, or simply arriving in Stratford early to make the most of a brilliant evening – book a table, order food and drinks, pick a game and settle in before the lights go down.
It also works beautifully after the show. The walk back through the park from the ABBA Arena, still excited from Dancing Queen, to sit back down with a drink and talk about what you’ve just witnessed? That’s a pretty perfect end to the evening.
Book ahead – we fill up on ABBA Voyage days and you really don’t want to be looking for a table last minute.
Tips for ABBA Voyage
- Book Draughts in advance. Especially for weekend shows and evening performances.
- Dance floor vs auditorium. If you want to actually dance – and with this setlist, you absolutely will – the standing dance floor from £35 is the move. If you’d rather sit and take it all in, the auditorium works brilliantly too.
- No interval. 100 minutes, straight through. It flies.
- Pudding Mill Lane DLR is two minutes away. The easiest possible venue to arrive at and leave from.
- Let yourself get lost in it. Most audiences forget they’re watching digital avatars within minutes. That’s the whole point.
Frequently asked questions about ABBA Voyage
What is ABBA Voyage? A concert experience in which digital versions of ABBA – created by Industrial Light & Magic using 160-camera motion capture of the real band – perform the group’s songs to their original vocals, backed by a live 10-piece band. The ABBAtars appear as the band looked in 1979.
Where is it? ABBA Arena, 1 Pudding Mill Lane, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E15 2RU. The arena was built specifically for this show.
How long does it last? Approximately 100 minutes with no interval.
How do I get there? Pudding Mill Lane DLR is a two-minute walk. Stratford station (Elizabeth line, Jubilee line, DLR, Overground, National Rail) is 15 minutes through the park.
How much are tickets? Dance floor from £35, auditorium from £65, premium from £120.
How long is it running? Until October 2026 at ABBA Arena, London.
Are the ABBAtars convincing? Remarkably so. Audiences consistently forget they’re watching avatars within the first few minutes. The $175 million production budget and 1,000+ ILM team members show.
Where can I eat before the show? Draughts London Stratford, 5 Aquatics Walk, inside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – bar, restaurant and 1,000+ board games. Book in advance.
Are there ABBA-themed games to play? There’s an official ABBA edition of Monopoly. Hitster will almost certainly include ABBA songs. Spontuneous with a group of ABBA fans is everything. Ask the Draughts team for their recommendations.
Is ABBA Voyage worth it? Every review, every audience response and every single person who’s seen it says the same thing: yes, absolutely, unreservedly. Go.
