We are delighted to have your attention regarding our Abba Voyage Goods Lift case study.
ABBA Voyage is the highly anticipated return of one of the biggest pop acts ever. After nearly 40 years, Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid have the concert they always wanted with assistance from us, and our EN81-31 BKG Goods Only Lift.
With headlines worldwide, this unique concert blurs the lines between the physical and digital. The magic of ABBA is brought to life with the latest motion capture technology to create “ABBAtars”. Behind this magic is a 1000-strong technical team from Industrial Light and Magic, musicians, technicians and our lift.
When space matters – Bespoke car size
With a footprint of 1435mm (width) and 1948mm (depth) and a capacity of 500kg, our narrow lift is backstage within The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Arena. Vital to the production team, our lift transports equipment across four floors of a specially constructed scaffold stage. The entire project has a timeline of 12 weeks to see the lift handover after the initial enquiry.
Custom-made to your requirements – Tailored model
Working closely with the Wonder Works team in the initial stages, the specification must work for both the client and the application.
Key elements were:
- Hinged landing door – To keep within the constraints of the lift’s narrow footprint while maintaining the required car width.
- Drop Bar Car Protection – To maintain a clear car opening of 880mm for the 805mm (wide) equipment cases to transport within the lift.
- 2600mm Car & Landing Doors – To give sufficient clearance for the taller equipment items 600mm higher than our standard car height.
Layout Drawing, Abba Voyage (DK Lift Services Ltd)
Once the lift specification is agreed upon, we will continue to work closely with the stage contractor. Due to the unusual nature of the scaffold stage, we have to ensure that the scaffold members do not interfere with the landing doors or machine access door and that sufficient fixing points are provided to connect the lift structure to the stage. The lift structure is also to sit on a steel plate to prevent the lift structure from clashing with any of the supporting feet of the scaffold stage.
Advising the client of three local lift installation companies, DK Lift Services is appointed as the lift contractor. Dan Kennedy, CEO of DK Lift Services, is immediately on hand to guide the client through our tender and manufacturing processes and to answer any questions regarding the project schedule. The lift is put into manufacture within days and with the sign-off of our drawings. Any interruption has the potential to delay not only the big opening night but all the upcoming concerts.
ABBA Voyage Goods Lift – Delivery on schedule
We pull out all the stops to deliver the project on time, with the lift arriving in our warehouse the week before Christmas.
On opening night, 26th May 2022, celebrities including Kylie Minogue, Keira Knightley, Kate Moss and Carola Häggkvist, and members of the Swedish royal family, Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia attend the performance. Afterwards, the four members of ABBA arrive to give a curtain call and receive a standing ovation from the audience.
Huge thanks and credit must be given to all the individuals and companies involved, resulting in an on-time opening night and successful performance.
We hope this Abba Voyage case study provides insight into how we can assist you with your next new lift project. If all this talk of sourcing lifts has got you thinking that you could benefit from some expert guidance – get in touch!
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