From Abba to Whitney Houston, from Roy Orbison to Tupac Shakur, several artists have “returned”, at least virtually, to the stage in hologram form. In November Elvis Presley will perform, first in London, then in Las Vegas, Berlin and Tokyo.
The show will be called Elvis Evolution and will use artificial intelligence, holograms and augmented reality to “project” the King, thanks to thousands of his photos and home videos.
The team at Layered Reality, who secured the rights to the show, promised it will be a “stunning concert experience” in which a life-size digital Elvis “will perform iconic moments from music history on a UK stage”.
Layered Reality founder and CEO Andrew McGuinness said the show will be “a tribute to the music legend” and will allow people to “enter Elvis’ world and put themselves in his shoes”, offering “a deeper insight of the artist’s life to transport fans back in time through the decades.”
The show’s central London location, which is yet to be confirmed, will also feature an Elvis-themed bar and restaurant with live music.
Presley, who would have celebrated his 89th birthday on January 8, rose to fame in the 1950s. He died in 1977 at the age of 42. In 2018, he was posthumously awarded the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor for a civilian.
A film about Presley’s life, directed by Baz Luhrmann, was released in 2022. Actor Austin Butler later won a Bafta Film Award for his portrayal of the singer.
Another film, Priscilla, released in the UK this week, chronicles the relationship between the singer and his ex-wife, Priscilla Presley.