Melbourne’s bid to host blockbuster 3D virtual concert ABBA Voyage meets its Waterloo

Will Melbourne finally get to host the ABBA Voyage virtual concert? It all comes down to money, money, money.

Melbourne’s plan to host the blockbuster 3D virtual concert ABBA Voyage has met its Waterloo.

Promoter Paul Dainty, the president and chief executive of TEG Dainty, and who had an option to produce ABBA Voyage in Australia, said protracted talks to bring the venture to Melbourne had failed.

The 3D virtual concert, featuring digital avatars of ABBA superstars Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, depicting the group as they appeared in 1979, opened in London in 2022.

Talks to bring ABBA Voyage to Melbourne have failed.

1977. Bjorn and Frida of ABBA during their Melbourne concert at the Myer Music Bowl. Picture: Supplied

Mr Dainty and Victorian government officials were pitching for Melbourne to be the first city in the world, outside London, to stage the Swedish supergroup spectacular.

But money, money, money was a constant sticking point.

Behind the scenes, Spring St struggled with requests to provide up to a third of the estimated $100 million cost to host ABBA Voyage in Melbourne.

The hi-tech show requires a purpose-built 3000-seat venue.

ABBA in Melbourne in 1977. Picture: Supplied

ABBA at Melbourne Town Hall in 1977. Picture: Supplied

Insiders said ABBA Voyage is “not going ahead” in Melbourne. The same sources said the project didn’t offer value for money for Victorian taxpayers.

“It’s disappointing,” Mr Dainty told the Herald Sun on Monday. “It’s been a long journey, but (ABBA Voyage) is a super expensive project. Maybe we can revisit it in the future.”

A Victorian Government spokesperson said: “As Australia’s major events capital, we’re always working to secure major events that boost tourism and support jobs across the state.”

Mr Dainty toured ABBA in 1977, and asked Ulvaeus and Andersson to support moves to bring ABBA Voyage to Melbourne.

ABBA fans at Melbourne Town Hall. Picture: Supplied

ABBA fans waiting for the band at Melbourne Town Hall, 1977. Picture: Supplied

“When I toured ABBA, the (Melbourne) mayor at the time gave them the keys to the city,” Mr Dainty said earlier this year “I recently said to Benny and Bjorn, ‘You got the keys to the city, and you can come back and unlock it with ABBA Voyage. It will be a homecoming’.”

ABBA Voyage’s group chief executive Craig Hartenstine is a businessman from Melbourne.

He was in Melbourne late last year to visit potential sites for ABBA Voyage – and to hold talks with Mr Dainty and state government officials.

According to ABBA Voyage figures, the show contributed £1.4bn ($A2.75bn) to the British economy between May 2022 and May 2024.

Originally published as Melbourne’s bid to host blockbuster 3D virtual concert ABBA Voyage meets its Waterloo