When Sphere dropped onto Las Vegas, it became the first dome in town. Vegas resorts rose up from the desert and hosted millions of punters for dozens of years. Then the aging resorts simply imploded into a cloud of dust to give rise to more desert bling. The ever-changing city of Vegas hosted mob casinos and mogul megaresorts over decades. Apart from the Luxor pyramid, the Vegas skyline mostly consists of tall rectangular buildings. Until recently. When the largest spherical structure on earth came to town, it changed the Las Vegas skyline forever.
Superlative Sphere
Vegas deals in superlatives. Bigger, faster, brighter, more! Luxor’s Sky Beam is the brightest light on Earth and can be seen from orbit. Vegas wedding chapels churn out 300 marriages per day. Gluttony reaches epic proportions. If the rest of the world does it, Vegas does it larger.
Sphere is no exception. Standing 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide, Sphere is the largest spherical structure on Earth. And if that wasn’t enough, 580,000 square feet of exterior LED displays adorn the exterior. The interior features a top to bottom 16K resolution LED screen, the highest resolution lightshow in the world. And the 160,000-square-foot Sphere dome screen completely surrounds you from floor to ceiling to floor. Talk about an immersive experience.
And Sphere’s lights dazzle both inside and out. One dark night, Sphere’s exterior appeared as the Angry Red Planet. Picture the news headline: Mars Crashes into Earth, Kills Bruno Mars.
Building Sphere
Global architecture firm Populous designed and built Sphere. Sitting just off the Las Vegas Strip, Sphere belongs to the Venetian grounds. The architecture firm originally estimated the cost of building Sphere at $1.2 billion. However, the pandemic caused a global supply chain crisis. Add to that a major inflation surge in 2021, and the final cost rose to $2.3 billion. This ginormous amount makes Sphere the most expensive entertainment venue in Las Vegas history.
The roof of the dome required 3,000 tons of steel to construct. 32 trusses weighing 100 tons each hold up the massive structure. Another fact that makes Sphere so unique is the inside and outside imagery. 1.2 million hockey puck sized LED nodes display 16K imagery to dazzle the 18,000 guests seated inside. But the surface outside the dazzling dome also houses its own LED screens.
This allows Sphere to change imagery with the seasons and special occasions. One night it looks like Mars, the next night it could morph into the moon. Imagine a giant snow globe in the desert during Christmas or a giant pumpkin at Halloween. Maybe a giant eyeball peers at you as you navigate the freeway. Some people feared Sphere’s imagery would cause traffic accidents.
But with a bazillion flashing neon lights on The Strip, what’s one more giant blaze of light in the desert?
Thunder Dome
With all the latest and greatest imaging technology, Sphere’s sound must follow suit. We’ve all been to the cineplex with the thundering surround sound. We’ve seen giant screens in IMAX. But Sphere puts them all to shame.
The world’s largest dome also features the world’s largest loudspeaker array. 1,586 speakers boom bombastic sound throughout the Sphere. Thanks to Holoplot’s X1 Matrix speaker array, every member of the audience experiences the same sound quality. They accomplish this using beamforming and wave field synthesis technology. Speakers behind the screen, on top of the dome, under the floor, and behind you all direct precisely aimed sound to your ears.
And then there’s the seating. Sphere features haptic seating for a truly remarkable immersive experience. Ultra-low frequency sound waves fire through the floor and seats. You will literally feel the sound waves booming through your body. When the elephants in Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard from Earth thunder through, you’ll want to dive out of the way.
Sphere Debut Show
Artist residencies are nothing new to Las Vegas. From Elvis to Sinatra and Celine Dion to Britney Spears, the hits just kept on coming. So, in true tribute to the Las Vegas residency, Sphere opened on September 29, 2023 with the U2 residency called U2:UV – Achtung Baby Live. The U2 residency lasted for 40 shows from September 29, 2023 until March 2, 2024. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. did not perform with the band due to recovery from surgery. It was the first time in their 40-year career that their drummer was absent. Drummer Bram van den Berg took to the skins for the duration of the residency.
U2:UV featured the entire song set from their album Achtung Baby, along with other monumental hits from the band’s repertoire. Many artists and engineers contributed to the project to capture the electro-pop feel of the album. The Zoo TV Tour brought Achtung Baby to the stage in a multimedia spectacle of epic proportions. Belly dancers wiggled while flashing videos and lighting effects dazzled the crowds. An East German Trabant auto suspended above the stage would come crashing down in a crescendo at the right moment.
Setting the Stage
The technical aspects of the Zoo TV extravaganza were the perfect match for Sphere. U2’s commitment to pushing the entertainment envelope dovetailed with Sphere’s high-tech setting. The result is one of the greatest live performances ever produced. But it was a long, uphill journey.
U2 called in long-time collaborators to produce their Sphere show. Early producer Brian Eno contributed to the stage design. He borrowed from his art piece, “Turntable” to design a stage in the shape of a record player turntable. U2’s sound engineer, Joe O’Herlihy, first had to listen to Sphere’s new sound system. He was so impressed with the sound system that he told Bono and the Edge they had to be the first band to play Sphere.
Visual artists and video specialists had to develop U2’s show while Sphere was still being built. Long-time production designer Willie Williams thought the residency was a terrible idea at first. Creating a new experience for a venue still under construction was challenging at best. The new tech would need to be tested and perfectly matched to the live stage show. Williams later embraced the challenge, saying it was like producing “the biggest art project in the history of our species whilst running a three-legged obstacle course.”
Sphere as a Canvas
A true artist makes any space a canvas. From square white frames to chapel ceilings, no space is immune to embellishment. But Sphere’s dome structure proved challenging to everyone involved. Sound engineers fine-tuned the speakers for maximum effect. Visual artists set to work on using the dome surface as a moving, morphing canvas for the U2 show. The dauting task: create imagery and visual effects that complemented the live show without distracting audiences.
Production designer Willie Williams discovered a major artistic breakthrough in Sphere. In addition to hyperreal video visuals, simple patterns and imagery worked wonders as well. Since a dome has no corners as a frame of reference, the canvas came alive with possibilities.
A Theme is Born
Soon, visual artists contributed to the overall show’s theme, which slowly evolved along with the creative process. Bono contacted artist Es Devlin to contribute. Based on her 2022 art installation “Come Home Again” in London, she adapted the endangered species theme to the Nevada desert. The new Sphere sequence for U2’s show, “Nevada Ark”, features 26 of the state’s endangered species.
Industrial Light and Magic produced a computer-generated Las Vegas skyline to project on the interior of Sphere. At one point in the show, Sphere appears to ‘disappear’ to a vast view of the Las Vegas skyline. Soon, it slowly began to degrade and deconstruct, one building at a time. Soon, only the empty desert remained.
Along with dazzling visuals of Elvis Presley and 50s America, a theme emerged. “Nevada Ark” and the deconstructed Vegas sequence added to the conflicting relationship between consumerism and climate change. The Edge said the band did not decide on the theme in advance. It evolved out of the creative process.
Making Entertainment History
The U2 residency at Sphere grossed $244,478,903 from ticket sales of 662,532. It became the fourth highest grossing concert residency of all time.
Sphere continues to offer vibrant and dazzling shows. You can experience mind-blowing theatrical productions and ongoing live concerts. And with Sphere’s hi-tech smorgasbord of visuals, beats, and shaking seats, the show must go on. And it does.
