After two years as an official partner to ABBA Voyage, we can conclude that some things were hard to foresee.
“Two different worlds but still trying to do something that hasn’t been done before” says ABBA member Benny Andersson.
To be perfectly honest, the partnership in the beginning wasn’t crystal clear. It started with an ABBA Voyage-branded Oceanbird vessel sailing to the tones of “Eagle”, which Benny Andersson is playing beautifully on the piano in the film above, and naming a premium section in the ABBA Arena to the Oceanbird Lounge.
This is just what is seen on the outside, but on the inside, it is even more. Regular meetings about anything from how to best give back to the local community, to setting a sustainability roadmap.
“It has become a friendship more than anything else”, says Ludvig Andersson, Producer ABBA Voyage. “We strive at ABBA Voyage, as most of us do I suppose, to be as sustainable as possible. And there is Oceanbird who specializes in that. Suddenly we had access to a lot of knowledge and knowhow through our partner.”
Something worth going for
It was formed around shared values between pioneers: ABBA Voyage and Wallenius owner family (Oceanbird is a joint venture between Wallenius and Alfa Laval). Both ABBA and Wallenius have pushed the limits on what is possible in their fields, whether it´s new ways of making pop music and stage shows, or developing wind-powered ships.
“We realize more and more how similar our values are. We have expanded each other’s competences to new areas,” says Richard Jeppsson, SVP Wind Powered Projects at Wallenius Lines.
ABBA member Benny Andersson also express how much he appreciate the partnership.
“Oceanbird is a great, great, great project. Such a fantastic innovation. It’s really something worth going for”.
ABBA Voyage supported 5,000 jobs
In the first year of the show, with 1 million tickets sold, ABBA Voyage contributed to a capital injection of £322.6 million to the local area in East London and supported more than 5,000 jobs, according to the independent study “ABBA Voyage, Economic Impact & Social Value Assessment” by Sound Diplomacy and social value consultancy RealWorth.
Other initiatives to benefit social sustainability are:
- Calmer Concerts: an evening with accessibility for neurodiverse and autistic audiences with extra trained staff, reduced arena capacity and chill out zones
- An educational workshop for 800 schoolchildren at the ABBA Arena during the summer months
- Collaboration with the lesbian and gay mental health charity ELOP for Pride month
- Sign-language shows: ticket holders receive a seat in a booth with the best view of the interpreter
“The success of ABBA Voyage shows how London is the music capital of the world,” he said. “I’m proud that City Hall was able to help ABBA bring this pioneering show to east London, providing huge benefits to both the local area and London’s wider economy” says London mayor Sadiq Khan, in Wallenius magazine Our Way.
