Friday, Sept. 29, 2023 | 2 a.m.
All eyes are on the Sphere this weekend, as the one-of-a-kind event and entertainment venue — which has garnered worldwide attention for its unique architectural and technological design — celebrates its grand opening in Las Vegas.
U2 and Sphere combines for an unforgettable experience
The Strip’s newest attraction — which is the largest spherical structure in the world and is located behind the Venetian — will debut today with the launch of its U2 residency, titled “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere.” The opening comes about five years after ground was broken on the $2.3 billion project.
“U2 is going to bring a new version of themselves and their music,” said Glenn Nowak, associate professor of architecture at UNLV, when asked how the Sphere sets itself apart from existing concert spaces. “And I think a lot of other artists are going to take the opportunity to think, ‘How do we occupy this new space? How do we entertain at this next level?’ ”
The Madison Square Garden Entertainment venue already has built up a substantial amount of anticipation around opening after the lighting of its “Exosphere”earlier this year. The Sphere’s outer shell boasts the largest LED screen in the world, with 580,000 square-feet of programmable LED lighting.
Since its activation in July, the Exosphere has notably taken the massive forms of an eyeball, an emoticon, a basketball and more.
It’s also created a new approach to brand promotion by transforming into NFL team helmets to advertise YouTube’s NFL Sunday Ticket, promoting its upcoming show, “The Sphere Experience featuring Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Postcard from Earth,’ ” and most recently marketing the release of the Dreamworks film, “Trolls Band Together.”
“Sphere’s Exosphere is a 360-degree canvas for brand storytelling that will be seen around the world, offering our partners an unparalleled opportunity to become part of the greatest show on Earth,” David Hopkinson, president and chief operating officer of MSG Sports, said in a statement this summer. “There’s nothing comparable to the impact from displaying innovative brand and immersive content on the world’s largest video screen.”
People have taken note of the Exosphere all over the world, Nowak said, and many tourists are already stopping to check it out.
As impressive as the Sphere is on the outside, however, experiencing it inside will be even more impactful, he said.
“We had the opportunity to see just how massive it is on the inside,” Nowak said of a field trip to the Sphere while it was still under construction. “And we could just tell from that walkthrough that this is unlike any other building in history.”
The Sphere’s interior boasts a 160,000 square-foot immersive display pane, as well as a next-generation sound system.
Sphere Immersive Sound, powered by a HOLOPLOT, is an ultra-advanced audio system especially conducive to the venue’s round shape, Sphere officials said. The system is hidden behind its LED display and aims to make quality and volume consistent — or immersive — across the 20,000-seat venue.
Jim Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Entertainment, told members of the media at the Sphere in July that the sound system — which will be widely available for other entertainment spaces — is ultimately about connecting with the audience.
“No building in the world will do that better,” Dolan said.
The Sphere, which also announced earlier this month that it would have a resident robot named Aura to interact with guests, has brought together art and science to create both an engineering and digital marvel, Nowak said.
“It’s, arguably, going to push a lot of our art to new levels because it’s a new kind of space for humanity to fill up with more ideas,” Nowak said. “It’s causing people to dream about our built environment in a way that it might not have been able to really envision just a few months ago.”
