How the Las Vegas Sphere will change the future of live entertainment

Irish rock band U2 played the first-ever concert at the Sphere over the weekend, inaugurating the $2.3 billion complex that is being billed as the entertainment venue of the future.

The band's "utterly spectacular multimedia extravaganza" will "surely go down in Vegas history", said The Telegraph. Yet the "real headline stealer was not the band but the Sphere itself", a venue that the paper said has "the potential to change the future of live entertainment".

What is the Sphere?

For several years "a mysterious spherical structure" has been rising on the skyline of Las Vegas, said CNN, "teasing visitors in recent months with its wraparound LED screen transforming the giant orb into a planet, a basketball, or – most distractingly – a blinking eyeball".

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Now, the public have been allowed inside for the first time, with its debut featuring concerts by U2.

Describing the Sphere concert experience "is a challenge because there's nothing quite like it", said CNN. The effect "is a little like being in a giant planetarium, a juiced-up IMAX theatre or maybe VR without the headset".

Built by Madison Square Garden Entertainment Group, the Sphere bills itself as the largest spherical building in the world.

The screen inside is just over 76 metres tall and wraps more than 180 degrees around viewers to achieve an immersive effect. It has a capacity of 20,000 standing spectators or 17,500 seated guests, including 23 VIP suites.

It also has a state-of-the-art audio system which uses "beam-forming" technology that utilises more than 160,000 speakers.

What is U2 doing there?

U2 have embarked on a 25-show residency, largely playing songs from their critically acclaimed 1991 album "Achtung Baby". The show features a minimalist stage that was designed by Brian Eno, and animated artworks by designer Es Devlin, artist John Gerrard and more.

At one of the most dramatic moments in the set, which was recorded in a video that has been watched more than 13 million times on video platform TikTok, the entire screen was taken over by a computer-simulated image of the sun rising above the Nevada desert.

How's it been received?

U2's inaugural show received widespread critical acclaim. Katie Atkinson of Billboard wrote "Sphere never overshadows U2; Sphere magnifies U2, pairing a band that has attempted to innovate with each new tour over their 40-plus-year career with a venue that seemingly has no limits of innovation".

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised the group's performance for retaining spontaneity and rough edges amid the high-tech production, saying, this "cocktail of eye-popping visuals and slightly unruly performances absolutely works, allaying any concerns that a band from the post-punk era and the old showbiz connotations of a residency in Las Vegas constitute a slightly uncomfortable fit".

Neil McCormick of The Telegraph said the concert was "genuinely astonishing" and had "the best visuals and sound you have ever seen and heard", concluding that "what U2 are doing in the Sphere is going to have an impact on the whole of live entertainment."