Original Abba members celebrate launch of expanded education programme in London

Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad hope the programme will help children in east London get into creative industries. Photograph: Avalon.red/B66/Avalon View image in fullscreen Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad hope the programme will help children in east London get into creative industries. Photograph: Avalon.red/B66/Avalon Original Abba members celebrate launch of expanded education programme in London Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad made a surprise appearance at a performance of Abba Voyage Abba Voyage concerts can be deafening enough. But when the real-life Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad made an appearance in the hall, which was packed with hundreds of schoolchildren, even the security staff present were surprised by the din. On Tuesday, at the custom-built Abba Arena in east London , the virtual concert residency launched its expanded education programme which aims to support young people across the area to get into the creative industries. The new initiatives include an autumn school programme and a mentoring scheme. The programme also aims to offer apprenticeship opportunities within local entertainment venues, many of which relocated to or expanded in Stratford after the area’s regeneration for the 2012 Olympics. For the launch event, Abba Voyage invited several local schools to enjoy the live concert experience. Earplugs were supplied for free before the event, more so to protect ears from the young attenders’ screams than the concert acoustics. Unlike most school trips, there were no pleas to sit still and be quiet. Teachers were instead encouraging students out of their seats, bouncing and singing along themselves. Children soon began swinging their hi-vis jackets over their heads, belting along to perennial hits such as Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! and SOS, which have enjoyed new virality on TikTok. At the end of the performance, Andersson and Lyngstad made a surprise appearance, leading a rendition of Thank You for the Music before meeting some of the children. Speaking after the concert, Andersson, 79, reflected on the patience needed for songwriting: “To write a bad song is easy, to write a good song, you need to sit down there for hours and days and weeks before something might pop up.” He added that he still sits at the piano every day to try to write music: “Sometimes things come out, the dragon comes out of the cave, but very rarely nowadays.” Asked if the four members of the band were still friends, Lyngstad said: “We’re always friends, even if we live in different countries.” View image in fullscreen The Abba Voyage virtual concert stars de-aged holograms of the Swedish pop band’s members. Photograph: Johan Persson/Abba Voyage/PA The initiatives aim to connect young east Londoners with arts and entertainment companies and venues. The programme could “transform early inspiration into tangible career pathways”, said Shazia Hussain, the CEO of the London Legacy Development Corporation, who worked with Abba Voyag