Get Ready For Sphere

By Hannah Kinnersley Sep 29, 2023 10:44am

Sphere has opened in Las Vegas with a residency by one of the biggest bands still performing today, and an immersive film experience by one of the most sought-after directors. It dominates the Las Vegas landscape and showcases the work of some of the biggest names in entertainment technology—both designers and manufacturers.

Check out these videos from the first night:

Take a walk through Sphere's Atrium:

Billed as the future of immersive entertainment, in a way, Sphere is a throwback to a much earlier venue, think of Shakespeare's Globe, designed to give the same experience to every seat in the house, and interaction with the standing audience around the stage. Interestingly, London is expected to be home to the next Sphere to be built by Madison Square Garden Entertainment. While the original Globe Theatre created FOMO for Elizabethan passersby hearing the shouts and laughter from the crowd inside, Sphere's next generation globe, designed by Populous, has the capability to broadcast events from the inside to its Exosphere, advertising a taste of the experience to almost the entire city.

The Exosphere on opening night:

Before Las Vegas, Al Wasl Plaza, designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture as part of Dubai Expo, was the world’s largest 360-degree projection immersive experience when it was built in 2021. Part garden and part performance space, the venue is constructed from steel and fabric and uses 252 D4K40-RGB laser projectors from Christie housed in desert-proofed pods made by Kinetica.

If you are not in Las Vegas for Sphere's opening, check out the Live Stream here, or watch the wide-ranging video below with U2's Bono and The Edge that includes comments from designers Willie Williams and Es Devlin to get inside the $2.3 billion building.