If you find yourself driving down the Las Vegas strip, passing the towering neon-ornamented casinos, you’re likely to notice the Sphere. The brand-new state-of-the art structure, which officially opened last month and cost an estimated $2.3 billion to construct, is so groundbreaking that some would rightly call it out of this world. The one of a kind living, breathing billboard boasts 16k resolution LED panels that wrap around it’s orb-like exoskeleton, flashing visuals of an eyeball, planet earth, an actively winking smiley emoji, and even ads for the upcoming Trolls movie sequel, rivaling the bright lights of the resorts that surround it. If the constantly shifting graphics displayed on the venue are enough to cause traffic blocks from wonderstruck onlookers, the technology, design, and enormous screens inside Sphere transform the typical live-music experience into a multidimensional, immersive trip. Here’s everything you need to know about this first of its kind and best in class entertainment venue.
Where is Sphere located?
Sphere is located right off of the Las Vegas strip in Paradise, Nevada. It’s next to the Venetian resort, with a pedestrian walkway connecting the resort to the venue.
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Who owns Sphere?
Sphere Entertainment Co. owns Sphere. The venue was originally called the MSG Sphere when it was announced by the Madison Square Garden Company back in 2018. However, the venue’s owner, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, split into two separate companies in April 2023, with Sphere Entertainment Company taking ownership of the new venue.
What makes Sphere’s design so unique?
The overarching objective was to create immersive experiences that engage the senses and transport fans and attendees to a new world. The spherical structure facilitates this. Without any columns inside, everyone in the audience enjoys “an uninterrupted vantage point,” explains Paul Westbury, EVP of development and construction of Sphere Entertainment Co., who worked to execute the vision of Jim Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of Sphere.
What does it look like inside?
The inside of the performance area is alight with a curving 270-degree screen that regales showgoers in its more than 18,000 seats with quick shifting digital trompe-l’oeils, and every aspect of the venue, from the VIP areas to entry bridges, is intentionally designed with performance and future experiences in mind. Global architecture firm Populous was behind the overall design of Sphere, and ICRAVE, led by founder and CEO Lionel Ohayon, was commissioned by MSG to design its interiors and lighting with the goal of creating a one of a kind visitor experience.
“This project proposed that entertainment was going to change forever,” Ohayon tells AD. “We looked at everything as a performance space, for the whole thing to be an activation, and we started imagining how it would be used.” This involved thinking outside of the typical arena and event space box. Once fans enter the Atrium area of the venue, they’re surrounded by sweeping curved bridges with lit bands and uninterrupted archways. Many of the aspects of the space feature programmable lighting design that transforms the space for different events or shows.
“We wanted to start the experience in the buildup to arrival, we wanted to pull the proscenium to the front door, as soon as you walk in you walk into the experience of Sphere. We didn’t just want people to walk through the space, but to inhabit it.”
Who will play at the venue?
The venue officially launched on September 29 with legendary Irish megastars U2 kicking off their U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency. The band’s dazzling performance is aided by a kaleidoscope of visuals displayed across four acres of massive screens that play out in tandem with their performance. Willie Williams, the band’s longtime creative director and collaborator, worked hand and hand with Bono, The Edge, and the rest of the band members to bring their vision and innovative design to life.
“The members of U2 have never been averse to risk-taking and to this day remain ever-curious about all aspects of live performance,” Williams tells AD. “Treatment Studio in London took on the monumental task of producing all the video content for the show. The majority of the video sequences in the show are directed by me and produced in-house by the Treatment team of video creatives, along with work produced in tandem with fine artists and directors.” Williams was also set with the task of balancing the mosaics of visuals with the sonics of U2’s stellar discography. “For U2, the psychological key is that they know with absolute confidence that all the spectacular trappings are there simply because they want them, not because they are necessary to prop up the performance,” Williams says. “U2 can be mesmerizing with absolutely no tricks at all; the music and the relationship with the audience is what makes the connection, so everything else is there as a kind of giant communal art experiment to see what happens when we put the viewers in a situation they’ve never experienced before.”
Another imaginative aspect of U2’s set is the stage design, which is made to mirror producer Brian Eno’s, a longtime collaborator for the band, artwork. “Ultimately, we made an almost exact replica of Brian’s Turntable, using the same color algorithm,” Williams says of the lifelike, color-changing stage that the band performs on during their bewildering set.
Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard from Earth, a film that acts as a moving portrait of the planet, seen through the filter of a sci-fi experience, is also currently being played at Sphere. Future live performances, as well as more dates for U2’s residency, which was originally set to end on December 16, are also currently in the works. With a successful opening month, the venue is destined to make a permanent impact on the local and global entertainment landscape.
