After the annual scramble for tickets and then the second scramble for resale tickets, there is as much hype as ever for Glastonbury 2023. And now that hype could be about to get even bigger, with speculation that none other than ABBA could be playing the Worthy Farm music festival.
It’s maybe not ABBA as you know it, though. ABBA Voyage, the show based in a purpose-built stadium in Stratford, London, sees digital versions of the band members, exactly as they appeared in 1977, performing their legendary songs.
The show first opened its doors in May last year and has taken the capital by storm. After welcoming their millionth visitor this week, it’s no surprise that there are already talks of replicas of the experience and of the show appearing in locations outside of London – including Glastonbury.
So, how long do we have to wait until we’re singing ‘Dancing Queen’ at Worthy Farm? The answer: a little bit longer yet.
Speaking to NME, Bjorn Ulvaeus said that appearing at Glastonbury this year wasn’t quite on the cards but it’s not ruled out for the future. ‘As it is, it’s too complicated because the lighting, the sound, the visuals, everything is integrated and it’s so complicated,’ Ulvaeus said.
While all the technology makes touring difficult, we’re likely to see replicas of the original London show popping up in the future. ‘We are looking at North America and Asia at the moment so quite possibly, there will be replicas,’ he said.
Plus, Ulvaeus revealed that the group has worked on more songs that could work their way onto the set list of future versions of the show. ‘There are songs in the pipeline which might be animated and “ABBA-tarred” in the future. Who knows? There might be a new song every now and then somewhere,’ he said.
But let’s be honest, is there a better place to debut a new ABBA Voyage setlist than Glasto? Didn’t think so.
It seems (for now anyway) that we’ll have to get our ABBA on at the original show, which will run at the ABBA Arena at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park until at least January 29, 2024.
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