Las Vegas is no stranger to eye-popping structures and wild events, and the new $2bn Sphere is shortly to join the fun and games in Sin City.
The Sphere at the Venetian (to give its full name) is 366 feet tall (111m) and 516 feet wide (157m) and is preparing for one of the splashiest debuts in recent live event history. The project has a lot riding on it for parent company Sphere Entertainment Co., but it already has the makings of a Vegas success story.
Here’s what Bloomberg says we should expect:
The Arena: The 4D venue has 17,600 seats made to mimic human skin (to not mess up sound quality), an interior plastered with “the highest-resolution LED screens on Earth,” and high-def sound that can allegedly pick up even the most nuanced sounds. Of the 17,600 seats, 10,000 are immersive with a special sound system that allows guests to “feel” sound vibrate.
The Tech: A new camera system, dubbed Big Sky, was developed to capture images for the array of big screens, whilst a proprietary algorithm ensures everyone will be able to hear musicians the same way, no matter where they are in the arena.
The Entertainment: Sphere will host high-profile residencies, starting with U2 (who were, apparently, paid handsomely) on 29 September, while the first film made for the arena, Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard From Earth, will premiere on 6 October.
The Exterior: The arena’s exterior is called the Exosphere and is covered in fully programmable LED, and can display 256 million colors. It's has already become rather well known thanks to its wild projections (such as the eyeball pictured above). Brands can also book ad space for a not inconsiderable $650,000 per week.
According to Kevin Reichard of Arena Digest (who knows a thing or two about such things), who’s had a preview, “It’s just so far advanced in terms of capabilities, I don’t have any baseline comparison.” So, it's revolutionary; and Bloomberg reckons it's the future of entertainment.