Brian May has stepped back from plans for a permanent immersive Queen show, citing concerns over the use of artificial intelligence and the environmental impact associated with AI infrastructure.
Speaking to Absolute Radio’s Leona Graham, the Queen guitarist revealed that he had spent considerable time exploring how the band could be recreated through an immersive experience, with the success of ABBA Voyage and a visit to Sphere in Las Vegas influencing his thinking.
May said he had looked at the concept “very seriously”, including developing ideas for what a Queen show could look like after seeing Eagles perform at Sphere.
However, his position has since changed.
“I’ve kind of backed off now because you can’t do it without massive use of AI,” May told Absolute Radio.
His comments are particularly relevant as increasingly sophisticated AV technologies allow performers and rights holders to create new live experiences around artists who are absent from the physical stage.
ABBA Voyage remains the most prominent example. Opened in London in 2022, the production combines digital versions of ABBA with a live band inside a purpose-built arena. Its extensive AV installation includes ROE Visual LED, Brompton processing, VYV media servers and L-Acoustics audio, with Industrial Light & Magic responsible for the digital performers.
The format has proved commercially durable as well as technically influential. ABBA Voyage passed four million visitors in April 2026 and continues to stage performances in London.
Other rights holders have also explored digitally recreating major performers. Inavate recently reported plans from Elvis Presley Enterprises for a new Las Vegas ‘hologram’ attraction, following an earlier wave of virtual performance projects combining technologies including CGI, projection, LED and AI-generated content.
May’s comments therefore highlight an emerging tension around the technology. While virtual performers can extend the life of music catalogues and create new forms of live entertainment, the growing role of generative AI introduces questions around intellectual property, creative ownership and computing infrastructure.
May questioned the implications of using AI to draw on Queen’s own body of work and separately raised concerns about the energy and infrastructure demands associated with data centres.
His comments should not, however, be read as suggesting that avatar or virtual performance technology inherently requires AI. Productions such as ABBA Voyage have combined CGI, performance capture and large-scale professional AV systems, while individual creative pipelines can employ very different technologies.
Nor has May completely ruled out returning to the idea. He said he remains attracted to the prospect of creating a permanent destination where audiences could experience Queen performing as they appeared at their peak, but indicated that he is now less enthusiastic about pursuing the concept given his wider concerns about AI.
The comments come shortly after Queen drummer Roger Taylor separately raised the possibility of the band exploring an ABBA Voyage-style production, saying new technology meant such a project remained possible.
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