That Giant LED-Clad Orb In Las Vegas To Launch With U2 Concert Residency This Fall

February 13, 2023 by Dave Haynes

That giant LED-clad orb now getting finished off inside and out in Las Vegas will launch later this year with the Irish rock band U2 in “residency” with a series of live concerts.

The MSG Sphere has been going up for at least a couple of years – perhaps more – over by that giant ferris wheel and the old Sands Expo. The $1.9 billion entertainment and media venue will feature what is touted as being the biggest HD LED screen on the planet. The outside of the sphere will have almost 600,000 sq. ft. of programmable lighting, as well. The venue is bankrolled by Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. and casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Says PR on the venue’s opening (dates not set as yet, but Fall 2023):

“Fans will feel the impact of the greatest band in the world’s most experiential venue. MSG Sphere introduces the first 16K screen that wraps up, around, and behind the audience. Sphere Immersive Sound delivers pitch perfect audio to every seat in the house. 4D technologies will let the audience feel the wind on their face, the heat on their skin and the rumble of thunder. The ‘U2 UV Achtung Baby Live At The Sphere’ opening series of shows will tap into this exclusive technology, allowing fans to experience something completely new.”

The LED lighting and display supplier is a Montreal firm, Saco, which specializes in LED video lighting and has produced custom LED tiles for the display. Saco is the company that has turned the Burj skyscraper in Dubai into a very, very, very, very tall programmable LED canvas.

Some of the numbers on this thing are insane: The LED display will be larger than three American football fields, and the audio system will use about 170,000 speakers, using beam-forming to tailor audio to specific guest locations in the seating bowl.

The venue will hold 17,500 people – about the equivalent of a typical sports arena.

This is a long-format commercial produced to announce the MSG Sphere during the Super Bowl last night. I dunno if this full version ran or a shorter one.