Elvis Evolution London review: 'The King of Rock and Roll did not enter the building'
Elvis Evolution has officially opened in London, and it wasn’t quite what we were expecting
London welcomed a new experience dedicated to the King of rock n’ roll this week as Elvis Evolution opened its doors at the ExCeL’s waterfront.
Sandwiched between the Friends and Squid Game experiences, the new Elvis Presley themed attraction promises to transport fans through key moments of his life and career.
The new experience centres around Elvis' iconic '68 special performance and all the backstage drama that led up to his now career defining show.
Guests are transported back to the 60s as soon as they enter the venue as you start off in a retro themed diner where you can grab a burger or a milkshake before entering the experience.
The attraction then begins ‘backstage at the NBC studios’ just hours before Elvis’ comeback show takes place. Greeted by studio staff you are chosen to be the live audience for the performance.
Elvis’ childhood friend Sam Bell soon bursts in as he asks to see ‘EP’ before the show starts. But after being rejected by studio staff, he then reminisces about growing up with Elvis in Tupelo and invites the audience to take a journey back to their carefree days as kids.
Guiding you aboard a train to Elvis’ hometown, Sam starts to describe Elvis' early life and his rise to fame. Although the whole scene felt a bit confusing as one minute you were immersed in a train ride with your seats simulating the jolty tracks and the next was a monologue from Sam about his life growing apart from Elvis.
While it was interesting to learn about their friendship, it felt like Elvis’ story ended up becoming a bit overshadowed by Sam’s by the end of the scene.
The experience has an interval of sorts based at the Blue Hawaii bar themed on Elvis’ classic 1961 movie before the second half starts as you’re guided through Elvis’ backstage NBC dressing room before taking a seat in the studio for his performance.
For the attraction Elvis’ dressing room has been meticulously recreated for fans to explore. But you don't have much time to look around as you are led into the NBC studio for the performance to begin.
Despite Elvis Evolution having initially been promoted as an AI hologram show similar to that of Abba Voyage - Elvis was not in the building for the final experience.
Instead recordings of the final comeback special show were played on big screens while a live band appeared on stage.
The experience does have immersive elements like Elvis’ cologne being pumped throughout for fans to smell and the different sets to explore but the cherry on top would of course have been to see a hologram performance.
That being said, it feels like the attraction is more directed to the new generation of Elvis fans who are perhaps not too familiar with his early life or rise to fame.
Running until December 2025, fans can book tickets to experience Elvis Evolution for themselves on the attraction’s website.
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