$2.3 billion worth it! The world's largest spherical LED screen show debuted, stunning Las Vegas
The world's largest 360-degree surround LED screen ushered in the debut.
Irish legendary rock band U2 is known for pushing the boundaries of technology and creativity in live concerts. On Friday night, the band staged its most explosive and spectacle since its inception at MSG Sphere, a spherical immersive experience venue in downtown Las Vegas: an exciting live performance and visual feast on MSG Sphere's 160,000-square-foot LED spherical display.
The 22-winning Grammy Award-winning band U2 performed for two hours with crystal-clear audio inside MSG Sphere's huge, state-of-the-art spherical venue.
Throughout the concert, a host of captivating visuals, including kaleidoscopic images, flaming flags and the Las Vegas skyline, led more than 18,000 spectators on an epic musical journey through U2.
Since the first lighting test of the exterior wall LED screen was opened in July this year, the world's largest sphere building, MSG Sphere, has been a hot topic for netizens.
The 17,600-seat, 20,000-seat venue features a 160,000-square-foot LED spherical display that encloses the top and perimeter of the auditorium to show its proprietary immersive films, as well as live performances and concerts.
Developed specifically for the venue's unique arc-shaped interior, MSG Sphere's immersive audio system, Sphere Immersive Sound, is currently the world's largest concert-grade sound system, with a staggering 168,000 speakers capable of producing realistic and immersive surround sound.
Due to the spherical shape of the space, sound scattering becomes less problematic, and almost every seat in the house should experience the same audio quality.
The interior of MSG Sphere is tall enough to accommodate the entire Statue of Liberty. Its sphere is 112 meters high and 157 meters wide at its widest point, with an average area of 81,300 square meters.
Located on the east side of The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, the building was built in partnership between Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) and Las Vegas Sands. It was originally built at US$2 billion, but due to the pandemic, construction costs rose to US$2.3 billion.
While MSG Sphere's massive structure is enough to make it highly anticipated and talked about by architecture enthusiasts and Las Vegas visitors alike, the science behind its creation is what makes it technically impressive.
Designed with mathematical equations
According to information provided on MSG Sphere's official website, several parts of the entire space of this spherical arena were modeled based on mathematical equations dating back centuries. These equations were originally generated by architects' and engineers on the construction side in virtual reality prior to construction. Mathematical reasoning is added behind the presence of every corner and arch, an idea that somewhat amplifies the astonishing aspect of the structure.
The results should not be underestimated. First, the exterior of the dome is covered by 580,000 square feet (about 53,900 square meters) of programmable LEDs that can display 256 million colors on the skyline, making the building bright enough to be seen from outer space.
The exterior of the building is made up of hundreds of triangles that are connected to each other to form a 360-degree shape of the site.
It is claimed that 6 million pounds (about 2,272 tons) of steel were needed to build the dome alone, which took 18 days to lift by a huge crane. The dome is said to weigh about 13,000 tons and has a surface area of 220,000 square feet (about 20,400 square meters).
From September 29 to December 16, MSG Sphere will host 25 concerts, the first two of which are sold out. In addition, MSG Sphere will also have an exclusive screening of "Postcard From Earth" starting in October. This is a film by Darren Aronofsky that promises to make the most of the giant screen of the sphere to provide viewers with a jaw-dropping journey to the planet. (Mowgli)