Last week saw the Sphere in Las Vegas light up for the first time, with its inaugural show took place on July 4th. In production since 2019, the 17,000 seat arena cost a staggering $2.3 billion to build.
The structure’s 580,000 square foot LED “exosphere,” billed as the largest LED display in the world, greeted onlookers with the words “Hello World” before beginning a show featuring fireworks, the American flag, and an assortment of dazzling scenes from the lunar surface to the deep sea. The exosphere features approximately 1.2 million LED pucks spaced eight inches apart.
Internally, the arena features a 16K LED wraparound display. The Madison Square Garden Company’s (MSG) James Dolan and David Dibble commented to Rolling Stone that one of the goals of the internal display was to create a VR experience without the “damn goggles.”
President and Chief Operating Officer of MSG Sports David Hopkinson said, “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. There’s nothing comparable to the impact from displaying innovative brand and immersive content on the world’s largest video screen. The extraordinary experiences we can create are only limited by imagination, and we’re thrilled to finally share with the world the spectacular potential of the Exosphere.”
Developed by an interdisciplinary team under the Sphere Studios umbrella (a subsidiary of MSG), the Sphere is designed to display customized “live entertainment experiences.” Sphere Studios has collaborated with 7thSense and SACO Technologies for programming and hardware, respectively. Engineered transport company Sarens has documented their involvement with the development and construction of the Sphere.
The Sphere officially opens on September 29 with U2 beginning their ‘U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere’ residency.
