please empty your brain below
A very interesting article, I think the Abba arena shares many similarities with other previous temporary built attractions in london such as the current 02 Arena and the London Eye, I hope that like those it will also end up being a more permanent feature of the East London skyline.

fishislandskin | 28.04.24 - 8:44 a.m. | #

That escalator readiness is remarkably clever for a modern build, showing the sort of forward planning London Transport would have had.

If the Abba Arena was genuinely going to be financially viable for its original planned short lifespan then it's hard to see how it wouldn't be equally viable just to build a similar venue from scratch on another site, even if none of the current structure can be reused. We do though seem to be building ever more homes without always including the other things that enrich our lives.

Andrew S | 28.04.24 - 9:55 a.m. | #

I would have thought that they might relocate the ABBA area on the SouthBank near a large rail terminal

Brian | 28.04.24 - 1:10 p.m. | #

I wonder how well it'd do if it were to have to move outside of London proper? It seems to have an attractivity similar to Harry Potter world which is way out there in Watford.

Barking Riverside/Dagenham Dock could use an anchor tenant otherwise!

matthieu1221 | 28.04.24 - 3:52 p.m. | #

A traspmlanted ABBA venue might not do as well, even if factors like trasport were as good, because of demographics
- sooner or later, everyone who wants to see it will have done so
- sooner of later, the people who remember ABBA in their prime will have died out - if you were a teenager when "Waterloo" came out fifty years ago, you will now be in your mid- to late sixties.
Long before 1981, when their last single to make the UK Top twenty came out ("One of Us") my then-teenaged sisters saw ABBA as very uncool.

Timbo | 28.04.24 - 5:51 p.m. | #

I can’t believe you’ve only had six comments (including mine) on this topic.
My wife has dropped hints about going to see the abbatars. Now that I’ve been ‘medically terminated’ from my day job, I guess I’ll have more free time to take her there. I’m grateful these days for lifts, especially when there are no escalators and lots of stairs.

Rob Healy | 28.04.24 - 11:55 p.m. | #

This the kind of post I love - potentially in a bit of a minority with the low number of posts. I’ve worked in planning and regen for years and while meanwhile uses have been around for a while this is the first time I’m aware of a meanwhile use like this. Expect to see more of this in the future. I recall Wembley planned a meanwhile theatre for an interactive Hunger games show but don’t think it went anywhere.

David | 29.04.24 - 8:28 a.m. | #

This might be an appropriate opportunity to ask if that was a Deltic I saw passing the allotments at Pudding mill last Monday PM (22 April)?

Digger50 | 02.05.24 - 11:15 a.m. | #











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