After six months of tests and teasers, The Sphere at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas will unveil its exosphere LED screen—the largest in the world—with a 4th of July display. This news comes five years and over $2 billion after plans for the groundbreaking entertainment complex from Sphere Entertainment—the publicly traded spin-off of the project’s originator MSG Entertainment—was announced and just a few months before U2 hosts the first-ever concerts there.
Details on the Independence Day presentation are slim, but given the typical Vegas razzle-dazzle and the nearly 600,000 square feet of LED displays, it’s likely the show will stack up with the glitz and glamour of the Sin City Strip. The Las Vegas Review Journal quotes a press release stating that the “vivid canvas will display stunning and dynamic imagery unlike anything ever seen before — all at an unparalleled scale.” The display is set to begin at 8:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
In the days leading up to the unveiling, remarkable videos of the exosphere’s capabilities have popped up on social media. Amid a flurry of rotating red and black swirling lights, the simple message “hello world” appears on the massive exterior as an understated greeting to the public that has waited for years to see the Sphere in action.
Espectacular!
MSG Sphere Las Vegas LED Panel testing
Vía JoyVegas#U2 #U2sphere #LasVegas #Bono #TheEdge #AdamClayton #LarryMullenJr #BramVanDenBerg #AchtungBaby pic.twitter.com/EpRKVY64NJ— U2 PERU – Comunidad (@u2peru) July 2, 2023
The Death Star has some fancy new lights. ✨ pic.twitter.com/hipiKXUNj5
— Las Vegas Issues (@VegasIssues) July 1, 2023
FINALLY OUR 1ST LOOK AT GRAPHICS ON THE #MSGSPHERE!!!! @LasVegasLocally#lasvegas
“HELLO WORLD” 😁😁😁😁 pic.twitter.com/r9SFCJmjaV— LaSuarezzz (@LaSuarezzz) July 2, 2023
This development comes shortly after U2 confirmed that it will host the first-ever concerts at the Sphere. Currently up to 25 dates, the Dublin rockers will take over the Sphere from September through December 2023 for an immersive residency centered around their multi-platinum 1991 album, Achtung Baby. While U2 stands as the only band so far confirmed to play the Sphere, reports emerged shortly after the U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere announcement that Sphere CEO James Dolan was in talks with Madison Square Garden-favorite jam band Phish about booking a residency.
“It’s a work in progress,” Sphere EVP & COO Rich Claffey told Live For Live Music at the time. “But we’re Madison Square Garden. We talk to everybody.”