As videos from inside the Las Vegas Sphere go viral, plans for another multi-million dollar sphere in London are ramping up.
The Las Vegas Sphere officially opened on 29 September and incredible footage from both outside and inside the venue have been blowing up the internet since.
Now, we’re learning the London Sphere promises to be just as high-tech and immersive, with wraparound floor-to-ceiling video screens and 160,000 crystal-clear speakers.
READ MORE! Sin City just launched its new $2.3 billion MSG Sphere
The London Sphere was touted by Sphere Entertainment to open around a year after Vegas’ – but work hasn’t started yet.
This is, in part, because there have been a few obstacles pop up.
Planned to be constructed in the former Olympics coach park in Stratford, locals weren’t thrilled about that prospect.
Campaigners from the Stop MSG Sphere campaign group say the Sphere “will severely blight the area” of nearby Newham.
They’re complaining that the Sphere will bring unmanageable overcrowding, noise, air, and light pollution.
Despite the group’s efforts, approval was granted by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) in 2022.
James Dolan, executive chairman of MSG Networks spoke positively about the project to Variety.
“That is definitely a big part of the business plan, to build more Spheres all over the world,” he said.
“And by the way, different-size ones too – probably not much bigger than the one in Vegas, but we’ve actually gone through already architectural drawings and designs for smaller Spheres for smaller markets.”
Meanwhile, the current largest spherical structure in the world, at 336 feet tall by 516 feet wide, is wrapped in over a million LEDs.
The Las Vegas Sphere can be made to look like a Halloween pumpkin, be emblazoned with the American flag, or be branded like it was by the Irish rock stars, U2.
According to Sphere Entertainment, each one of the pucks contains 48 diodes, is about eight inches apart, and can show 256 million colors.
“The Exosphere is more than a screen or a billboard – it is living architecture, and unlike anything that exists anywhere in the world,” Guy Barnett, senior Vice President at MSG Sphere said.
