Joe GallopProducers of ABBA Voyage, the concert series that sees digital versions of ABBA members perform seven times a week in the purpose-built 3,000-capacity ABBA Arena in East London, have revealed that the series contributed £322.6 million to the London economy last year.
Between May 2022 and May 2023, the series created £177.7million in GVA (gross value added). Of the total revenue, 42% was generated in the local London boroughs, which equals £134.1 million turnover and £73.7 million GVA.
Directed by Baillie Walsh and produced by Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson, ABBA Voyage’s first year of operation welcomed more than 1 million visitors, 20% of which had travelled from outside of the UK.
According to a new socio-economic report, the majority of the economic impact in the local area was sustained by attendee spending on local accommodation, food and beverage, transport, shopping and entertainment; 98% (£131.2 million) of the turnover was attributed to attendee’s spending, with an average spend per attendee of £103 locally, in addition to the cost of the ticket price to ABBA Voyage.
ABBA Voyage has provided employment opportunities for 5,075 workers in London; including those directly connected to the concert and those in other sectors that are supported by ABBA Voyage’s existence via attendee spend.
The report also showed that 181,674 international visitors contributed £42.72 million (36%) of the direct attendee spend in the local area.
In addition, international visitors contributed 43% (£83.4 million) of the direct attendee spend in London – with half a million visitors from outside of London (within the UK) contributing 49% (£96.22 million).
ABBA Voyage CEO and executive producer Michael Bolingbroke said, “The presence of ABBA Voyage is felt in a way that will be enduring. Knowing that in our first full year, the operations of ABBA Voyage has had an economic impact in London of £322 million is extraordinary, and our challenge will be to maintain and grow this number, and to ensure that its effects are long lasting.”