KEY POINTS

  • Videos of the MSG Sphere testing the lights goes viral
  • Construction of the Sphere costs $1.8 billion
  • The Sphere will make its official debut in September, 2023, with a U2 concert

Social media lit up this week with footage from the newly constructed Sphere located on the famous Las Vegas strip.

Construction of The Sphere at The Venetian Resort began 2019, and now it's getting ready to host its first big concert in September.

MSG Sphere testing LED lights.

On Sunday, passersby were wowed with a spectacular light show, and this time it wasn't from a UFO sighting in Las Vegas. Workers at The Sphere tested out the red and yellow lights on the LED screen.

The Sphere is being built by the same company that built the world famous Madison Square Garden in New York and designed by the American architecture studio Populous. According to casino news outlet Vital Vegas, the construction is said to cost around $1.8 billion and is to be the biggest spherical building in the world once completed.

At the beginning of construction, the cost was projected at $1.2 billion, but with the effects of COVID-19 and the cost of land developments, this budget rose to $1.8 billion.

The construction of the Sphere represents a shift in the way the entertainment industry will host concerts and events. Dezeen reported what the owners of the MSG Sphere said at their Independence Day event on Tuesday, "This vivid canvas will display stunning and dynamic imagery unlike anything ever seen before – all at an unparalleled scale."

The 366 feet tall, 516 feet wide building contains 600,000 square feet of programmable lighting that will show up on the LED screen. To boost the surround sound, the venue will have 157,000 ultra-directional speakers that use "beamforming" technology. This technology uses a radio frequency to guarantee strong signals combined with a high-resolution screen of 19,000 by 13,500 pixels.

This means the screen at the Sphere will have the highest resolution of any device in the world. The venue will apparently be able to seat at least 20,000 people, and an infrasound haptic system will be used to let visitors feel the sound as well, creating an immersive experience.

The Sphere is almost ready for its christening: a concert by internationally acclaimed Irish rock band U2. The concert is planned for Sept. 29, and on Tuesday, the revolutionary venue began testing out its lights.

Locals and tourists' alike were treated to a red and yellow light show with the words "Hello World" appearing on the LED screen. Many users online have commented on the "otherworldly" look of the building, and some have even gone so far as to compare it to the "Eye of Sauron" from the Lord of The Rings film trilogy.

Populous plans to build an identical sphere in London's Olympic Park. However, these plans are currently on hold. The U.K.'s version is held up due to additional planning requests from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

So for now, the Las Vegas sphere is the largest spherical building in the world.