Latest news with #holographic
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Immersive Elvis experience slammed as ‘awful from start to finish'
Fuming audience members for a new immersive Elvis Presley experience have accused the show of being 'misleading' and 'a shambles from start to finish'. Elvis Evolution was announced in January last year and was billed as a concert experience that would 'use AI and feature holographic projections of the star'. The event – a collaboration between Elvis Presley Enterprises and Authentic Brands Group, the custodians of the Elvis Presley Estate – promised to feature a 'life-sized digital Elvis' who would perform 'iconic moments in musical history on a UK stage for the first time'. Ticket prices for the show, which launched last week for a six-month run at London's Exel Waterfront, ranged between £75 including booking fees to a £300 Super VIP option, which includes a mid-show champagne experience, commemorative glass, dedicated seating and cloakroom access. Speaking to the BBC, some attendees complained that the show had been 'mis-sold' as it did not feature a hologram of Elvis. Mark and Tracey Baldwin said they felt 'more like mugs than VIPs' after witnessing what they described as an 'absolutely atrocious' show, which they had believed would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 'You could have seen this at the local theatre for £30,' Mrs Baldwin told the BBC. 'It was a shambles from start to finish, there was no Elvis, it was just a video of him that you could watch on YouTube.' She claimed that unhappy guests left the show early during the second act and accused Layered Reality of exploiting older people by 'scamming us with technology that we won't understand'. A number of audience members have shared more positive reviews on social media, while others have also expressed their upset over the experience and demanded refunds. 'Awful from start to finish,' one disgruntled Elvis fan wrote on X/Twitter. 'Felt like a GCSE performance on a shoestring budget. How they can justify those ticket prices?! Luckily I didn't pay otherwise i'd be fuming. Others said the same... shame really.' A spokesperson for Layered Reality said: 'A small number of people have pointed out that they were expecting a hologram concert, due to the initial announcement made in January 2024. As with many complex productions that are two years in the making, the concept developed from those early stages, and this was made clear when tickets went on sale in October 2024. 'We ultimately took the creative decision not to mimic Elvis's performances. Those moments proved to be too iconic and irreplaceable. Instead, we use AI to upscale archive footage and in moments we know happened but where no footage existed, offering a new lens into his world.' The Independent has contacted representatives for additional comment. Andrew McGuinness, founder and chief executive of Layered Reality, said when the show was announced last year that it would serve as a 'next-generation tribute to the musical legend that is Elvis Presley'. 'Elvis maintains superstar status globally and people around the world no longer want to sit there and passively receive entertainment – they want to be a part of it,' he said. 'It'll be a memory-making experience that will be a bucket-list item for Elvis fans and admirers around the world; people can step into the world of Elvis, walk in his shoes and celebrate his extraordinary musical legacy.' The event has received mixed reviews from critics, including a one-star write-up from The Telegraph who said the 'limp' offering was 'not worth one tenth' of the price of its VIP package. In a three-star review, Time Out said it was 'made with care' and was 'enjoyable once you accept it for what it is'. Elvis Evolution was delayed by several months from its original planned launch of November 2024. It is hosting multiple shows a day with a capacity of 160 people, and will run at ExCel London until December 2025.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Elvis fans demand refunds as new show dubbed a ‘shambles'
Audience members for the new " Elvis Evolution" immersive experience in London have expressed significant disappointment, labelling the show "misleading" and "a shambles from start to finish". Attendees, who paid between £75 and £300 for tickets, expected a holographic Elvis performance but instead saw upscaled video footage, leading to accusations of being "mis-sold". Many fans, including those who purchased "Super VIP" packages, felt exploited and compared the experience to a low-budget production, with some leaving early or demanding refunds. Layered Reality, the show's producer, said that the concept evolved from its initial announcement, with a creative decision made not to mimic Elvis's performances directly but to use AI on archive footage. The show, running at ExCel London until December 2025, has received mixed reviews from critics, ranging from one-star for being "limp" to three-stars for being "enjoyable once accepted".
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Holographic cartridges might be the solution to growing global data needs
A London startup, HoloMem, is developing holographic polymer tape cartridges that store up to 200 terabytes of data and last over 50 years, offering a high-density alternative to traditional storage, Isabel Rosales reports.
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Holographic cartridges might be the solution to growing global data needs
A London startup, HoloMem, is developing holographic polymer tape cartridges that store up to 200 terabytes of data and last over 50 years, offering a high-density alternative to traditional storage, Isabel Rosales reports.
Daily Mail
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus reveals heartbreaking update on the future of Voyage
Abba 's Björn Ulvaeus has shared his uncertainty on whether the holographic Voyage concerts would continue after one band member dies. The iconic band, whose international fame was solidified by their victory at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Waterloo, is composed of Björn, Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Their seventies heyday has been reimagined by a long-running show where fans can watch ABBA's avatars in a custom-built arena. ABBA Voyage is a virtual concert experience in London where digital avatars of the Swedish pop group ABBA perform their greatest hits. However, the singer has now cast doubt over the future of the first of its kind concert, as he confessed to the Radio Times that the four of them need to decide prior to their deaths if they would continue the shows. Björn told Jane Mulkerrins for her new Sunday morning programme, 'That's a question I've never had before...I honestly don't know, hadn't thought about that. 'It's good you raise that question - I'll talk to the others about that as we need to decide beforehand between us if it's OK for all four of us to go on after we're gone' The iconic band, whose international fame was solidified by their victory at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Waterloo, is composed of Björn (bottom right), Agnetha Fältskog (top right), Benny Andersson (top left) , and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (bottom left) ABBA was formed in 1972 and released eight albums between 1973 and 1981. They are considered one of the best-selling groups in history, with estimate album sales between 150 million and 385 million records worldwide. The group had been disbanded since 1982 but their music still lived on in the intervening years. The compilation album ABBA Gold was a worldwide best seller, and their music was adapted into the hit musical Mamma Mia in 1999, which was then adapted into two feature films - 2008's Mamma Mia and 2018's Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. The group reunited in 2016 and started working on this virtual concert, which used motion-capture technology from George Lucas' visual effects house Industrial Light and Magic to create 'ABBA-tars' of the group, as they would have looked in 1979. The group members all performed for several hours in front of 160 motion cameras to get the motion-capture look just right, with over 1 billion computing hours from ILM. ABBA also started recording new music in 2018, which resulted in their first new studio album in 40 years - Voyage - also said to be the band's final album, which has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. The Voyage virtual concert opened May 27 at a custom venue in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, earning rave reviews from fans, critics and even ABBA members themselves. The show avatars, created using motion capture technology, appear on stage alongside a live 10-piece band. The concert is housed in a custom-built arena called the ABBA Arena. The 90-minute concert includes such hits as Mamma Mia, The Winner Takes It All and Voulez-Vous. The Abba experience has backed more than 5,000 jobs in London, including people employed at the venue as well as those in other sectors.
