George Michael to return to stage as hologram, almost a decade after his death, following success of ABBA Voyage
11 January 2024, 15:15 | Updated: 11 January 2024, 15:25
Geroge Michael will be able to see the late star return to the stage once again, almost a decade after his death, as a hologram following the success of ABBA Voyage.
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The late Careless Whisper singer will resume "live public performances" as early as next year, records filed to Companies House by his estate have revealed.
Michael died at the age of 53 on Christmas Day in 2016 of natural causes, onset by a dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and a fatty liver disease.
He had not performed a solo show for four years at the time of his death.
Fans of the singer, known for hits Everything She Wants and seminal festive song Last Christmas, will be able to see the star following the success of ABBA's virtual concert residency at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London.
The filed documents state: "Activity at the group will broaden in the next one to three years to include live public performances."
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More than a million tickets have been bought for ABBA Voyage, costing up to £181.50 each, and pumping around £322 million into the UK economy.
The concert lasts for 90 minutes and showcases Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid in their pomp, regaling hits like Waterloo and Fernando.
Andrew Ridgeley, Michael's Wham! bandmate previously raised "ethical questions" over the concept of using hologram technology to bring dead stars back to the stage.
He told BBC Newsnight last year: "My thinking would be, ‘Fantastic!’ To have Wham! At its pomp, playing live.
"But obviously George Michael is no longer here. Are there ethical questions? Of course, there are ethical questions.
"And that decision would be a mutual decision between myself and [George Michael’s] estate, should it ever come to it.
Ridgeley continued: "And I can’t speak for them, I don’t know how they would feel about it. But I think it could be done, and I think it could be done exceptionally well."
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David Austin, Michael's friend and song writing collaborator, has also spoken out about bringing the singer back in hologram form.
In 2022, he said: "We were going to see if we could do a hologram idea in the middle of the Royal Albert Hall. But I went around to some people who did the Tupac hologram and they were really s***.
"The problem with holograms is people just don't engage, 20 minutes in, people are on their phone. There won't be a 'HoloWham'."
He said he had been to see various companies around the world who could provide the technology, but said any concept "just didn't work".
