Picture this.

It’s 1977 – your silver sequined dress is reflecting off the disco ball ceiling as you dance the night away to electrifying, exhilarating ABBA hits in a generous sized arena.

Except it’s not really 1977, it’s 2022.

On Monday evening (November 14) I took my wonderful mum to watch ABBA Voyage – a live show where thousands gathered to watch one of the most popular bands on the planet, ABBA, appear as digital avatars.

I’ve seen the reviews - ABBA Voyage has been dubbed “ground-breaking” and “jaw dropping” by national news organisations; but I was a little sceptic to believe that avatars – or Abbatars – could really live up to these powerful adjectives.

But Mamma Mia, was I wrong.

My mum and I definitely dressed the part – I was head to toe in silver sequins, sparkly makeup, and white go-go boots – a perfect look for an ABBA extravaganza, if I do say so myself.

Surrey Comet:

We arrived at the Pudding Mill arena at 7pm and enjoyed a cold glass of white wine as we took in the ambience of our surroundings and waited for the show to begin.

At 7.45pm sharp, the stage came to life, and we were welcomed to Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson who arose from the ground to their 1981 song The Visitors.

I was in shock; the avatars resemblance was astonishing – each ABBA star looked as if they were stood on the very stage in front of me.

Surrey Comet:

 

The hair, eyes, skin colours, costumes and even hand movements had been imitated perfectly; and in a bizarre, dreamlike kind of way, I felt like I was transported back to the seventies.

It truly felt like the Swedish supergroup was standing in front of me.

The Visitors was then meddled into the track Hole in Your Soul and then onto the iconic 1975 song S.O.S.

By this point, me, my mum, and the hundreds of audience members were beaming with smiles and singing along to every lyric.

The surrounding stage transformed too – illuminous lights flashed constantly throughout the show and featured many glistening, disco objects that hung and swung from the ceiling.

We were soon taken on a journey through the music of ABBA – Knowing Me, Knowing You, Chiquitita, Fernando and the famous one of all, Mamma Mia, echoed through the arena as we sang, cheered, and danced along.

Surrey Comet:

I know it goes without saying, but ABBA really did (and still do) know how to create an archetypal pop song that’ll be in the limelight for decades.

The ‘Abbatar’ of Bjorn Ulvaeus then appeared onto the stage solo, as he introduced the next song (my personal favourite) Does Your Mother Know.

Soon enough, the audience was greeted with a very much real (and alive) band, made up of guitarists, a pianist, drummer and three exceedingly stunning background singers, who took lead on my favourite ABBA hit.

During the middle of the set is Eagle, which took us watchers through an anime story whilst the four stars ‘changed outfits’ – something which takes avatars four minutes, apparently.

We were having such a great time – although, wearing my white go-go boots was probably not the best idea, as my feet felt like they were about to fall off - but I wanted to look the part, and I didn’t let this stop me from dancing the night away.

The avatars of Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Bjorn and Benny then returned to the stage, wearing advanced illuminous bodysuits which flashed to the rhythms and beats of each song, including Lay All Your Love On Me, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! and Voulez-Vous.

Surrey Comet:

Unsurprisingly, our throats started to hurt because we HAD to sing along to each and every song - but could you blame us? We were watching ABBA. LIVE. IN. CONCERT.

The night ended on an emotional high with an avatar encore to The Winner Takes It All – I genuinely was so sad the show was ending; I could have stayed there for hours on end (if I had taken my shoes off).

The disco grooves were rushing through our veins, the energetic music was pumping, and the vibes were indescribable – it was a night I will never, ever forget.

Tickets for the spectacular showing of ABBA Voyage start from £21, but if you are oozing to feel like a true dancing queen for the night, then make sure to get dance floor tickets.

ABBA Voyage is now booking until November 27 2023 at the ABBA Arena, London.

For information and best availability of tickets visit here

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.