Report: The Las Vegas MSG Sphere Has Picked Its Opening Act for 2023 and It’s a Match Made in Heaven
This article was amended to reflect the rumored nature of U2’s performance at the Las Vegas MSG Sphere. While several outlets have reported the news as more or less confirmed, U2 has not confirmed the news themselves.
The Las Vegas MSG Sphere has reportedly picked its opening act for 2023 to inaugurate the grand opening of a new digital LED wall marvel. The decision has landed on legendary rock band U2, the world-renowned Dublin rock band. U2 will be headlining the venue (according to initial reporting from several sources out of Billboard) which is poised to complete construction in the latter half of 2023.
Though it looks like Larry Mullen Jr. will not be joining the legendary band’s rumored residency, the U2 news complements what’s set to be record-breaking launch for the Las Vegas MSG Sphere. At 336 feet tall and 516-foot-wide, the Las Vegas MSG Sphere is poised to become the world’s largest spherical structure and largest LED display on two fronts. The Sphere is expected to house a record 160,000-square-foot wraparound LED display on the interior, while the exterior will be coated with a record 580,000-square-foot exterior LED display, both of which are fully programmable and could accommodate 16K-by-16K picture resolution.
Ben Thomas, Host of “Pro AV Today” and Pro AV market expert weighs in on the latest tech the MSG Sphere plans to feature, and how venues like the Las Vegas MSG Sphere can team up with the experiential entertainment industry to set new industry standards.
Ben’s Thoughts
“News came out this week that apparently the MSG sphere in Las Vegas, which is slated to open in the back half of 2023, has picked its opening act. It’s none other than the legendary rock band U2. If you know anything about both U2 and the MSG sphere, it sounds like a match made in heaven. I had the opportunity to see U2 live on the Joshua Tree tour, the most recent tour and it really was incredible, I think that’s gonna match perfectly with the Sphere because the Sphere is not only an architectural feat in itself, incorporating things like high-resolution LED walls, technology projection, atmospherics, and things like that, but it also really is almost re-envisioning of how live events and live entertainment are happening.
The world’s highest resolution LED wall is inside the theater, but there’s also audio beaming technology from a company called Holoplot, which is able literally to send granular audio signals to different sections, different rows things like that, whether it’s different translations, different audio feeds.
So it’s gonna be incredible to not only see the show, but also to hear it from a completely different perspective, so of course, U2 naturally is the perfect fit for that. It makes incredible sense for the venue. Looking forward to seeing some of the great acts that they draw in. Also some of the great plays and theaters and experiential entertainment that they’re able to draw on as well.”
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