ABBA Voyage contributes £2.06billion to UK economy

The ABBA Voyage show has contributed £2.06billion to the UK economy, a new report has revealed.

The ambitious virtual show, which features CGI reincarnations (or ‘ABBA-tars’) of the Swedish pop band, began in 2022 at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in east London. It is currently taking bookings until June 2026.

In a glowing five-star review, NME wrote: “The blockbuster visuals and effects bolster ABBA’s new digital forms by making them seem superhuman – taking us from Mediterranean sunsets to the Northern Lights and then outer-space – and make for a sensory overload as they smash through a wedding bangers mega-mix with gusto.”

Now, an analysis report has revealed ABBA Voyage’s cumulative social and economic impact across the capital and the UK. The document was compiled and assessed by global music, culture and creative economy consultancy Sound Diplomacy.

It covers the impact of the production from its opening in May 2022 until May of this year, including new analysis of the concert’s expanding educational, community, and workforce programmes.

ABBA Voyage has also undertaken a full sustainability analysis of its third operational year (May 2024 to April 2025) with experts in arena sustainability, A Greener Future (AGF).

It has seen over three million visitors, of whom almost a fifth (18 per cent) travelled from outside the UK.

Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad at the third anniversary of ABBA Voyage. Credit: Press

The analysis shows that ABBA Voyage has had a significant and positive economic and social impact, not only on London and the local area (comprising the boroughs of Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest), but on the wider UK.

“The operation and attendee spending are significant generators of economic contribution to the local, city, and nationwide economies, demonstrating that ABBA Voyage continues to significantly impact the country’s economic wealth,” the report reads.

Craig Hartenstine, Group CEO for ABBA Voyage, said: “As I begin my second year as Group CEO for ABBA Voyage, I’m thrilled that the report shows just how much the concert is making a difference, not only economically, with over £1.5billion contributed to London and more than £2billion across the UK, but also socially, through education and community programmes that are having a real, lasting impact.

“We feel a huge responsibility to keep building on this. Our aim is to nurture our partnerships in the surrounding boroughs, support London’s vibrant creative community, and make sure ABBA Voyage continues to be a positive presence for the people and neighbourhoods who have welcomed us so warmly.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, commented: “ABBA Voyage has been an absolute sensation, redefining the possibilities of a music concert and delivering a tremendous boost to our economy.

“Since it opened three years ago, it has drawn visitors from around the globe, filled restaurants and hotels, and given concertgoers an unforgettable night out.”

He added: “It has once again shown why London is the music capital of the world, as we continue to build a better London for everyone.”

You can see the breakdown of ABBA Voyage’s economic impact below.

ABBA Voyage. Credit: Johan Persson

UK-wide

ABBA Voyage contributed £2.06 billion in turnover to the UK economy between May 2022 – May 2025, and £1.14 billion in GVA (Gross Value Added).

The multiplier effect of ABBA Voyage on the UK economy equates to every £1 of ABBA Voyage’s revenue generating a turnover of £5.70 – surpassing national multiplier effects of other industries such as accommodation, food and beverage and construction along with other creative industries.

ABBA Voyage has enhanced employment opportunities for 9,739 annual workers in the UK; including those directly connected to the concert and those in other sectors that are supported by ABBA Voyage’s existence via attendee spend (i.e. hospitality and sales staff, chefs, hotel clerks).

London

Since opening in May 2022, contribution to the London economy totals £1.51 billion in turnover and £833.1 million in GVA (Gross Value Added).

The multiplier effect of ABBA Voyage on the London economy equates to every £1 of ABBA Voyage’s revenue generating a turnover of £4.17.

Attendees spent on average £224.10 per day in London, in addition to the cost of the ticket price to ABBA Voyage.

Local area

19% of the turnover contributed to the UK economy was generated in the local area (boroughs of Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest), which equates to £388.7 million turnover and £210.7 million GVA.

International visitors contributed £106.3 million (31%) of the total attendee spend in the local area since May 2022; residents outside of London (within the UK) contributed £216.1 million (62%).

Since opening in May 2022, ABBA Voyage has generated an average daily spend per attendee of £125.70 locally, resulting in a total spend of £348.5 million in the local area (boroughs of Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest.

ABBA Voyage has supported employment opportunities for an average of 2,595 workers in the local area; including those directly connected to the concert and those in other sectors that are supported by ABBA Voyage’s existence via attendee spend (i.e. hospitality and sales staff, chefs, hotel clerks).

Businesses from the local area benefited from attendees of ABBA Voyage spending during its first three years of operation:

– Accommodation sector received £86 million (24.7% of total spending)
– Restaurants and bars received £80.4 million (23.1% of total spending)
– Transportation in London received £54.2 million (15.5% of total spending)
– Commercial shops received £44.2 million (12.7% of total spending)
– Other entertainment establishments received £44 million (12.6% of total spending)
– Food and drink inside the arena received £26.2 million (7.5% of total spending)

88.6% of spending was made outside of the ABBA Arena.

Agnetha. CREDIT: ABBA Voyage

Social impact

ABBA Voyage has generated an estimated social value of £70.4 million since opening, with £52.4 million attributed to attendees from outside London and the rest of the world. £4.9 million was generated by ABBA Voyage’s pro-social activities.

Around £11 million of the wellbeing created by ABBA Voyage relates to people who attended the event from London outside of the local area, with £2.1 million relating to attendees from the local area.

Concert-related wellbeing benefits account for £65.5 million of the total social value, with visitors reporting improved wellbeing, reduced stress, increased cultural engagement, and strengthened social connections following attendance.

Per the report, ABBA Voyage’s economic impact continues to scale at pace, with the third year adding £660million in UK turnover (rising from £1.40billion over the first two years to £2.06billion over the full three years).

Local benefits are deepening too, with local-area turnover increasing by £126.6million (from £262.1million to £388.7million).

“These trends demonstrate that ABBA Voyage is evolving from a groundbreaking entertainment experience into a long-term cultural, economic and social asset for London and the UK,” the findings read.

Speaking to NME in 2023, ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus reflected on Voyage’s success while looking to the future of the production.

“It’s amazing – it has surpassed any dream I could have ever had,” he said of reaching the milestone of entertaining one million people in less than a year since Voyage first opened. “We’ve somehow reached new generations by some miracle. I don’t know how, but there you are. [2008 musical movie] Mamma Mia, I suppose played a role in that. There are new generations coming along.”

He also addressed the reported plans for the experience to be taken on a world tour, telling NME: “We hope to stay in this venue for as long as we can. We hope they’ll have us for many years, and we might build other replicas of this in other places: Asia, Australia, North America. There are lots and promoters and cities that we’re talking to at the moment about that.

“Each one would take at least two years to build, but there will be announcements towards the end of this year or the beginning of next about where we actually are going. That’s if we’re going somewhere, which we will.”

The latest music ABBA came on the 2021 accompanying ‘Voyage’ album, including the new singles ‘I Still Have Faith In You’, ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’ and ‘Just A Notion’.

In 2021, the ABBA Voyage producers spoke to NME about working on the “magical space circus”. The spectacle was put together by former Klaxons member James Righton and features Little Boots as part of the live band.

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