The MSG Sphere in Las Vegas revealed one of its flashiest features earlier this week – an 580,000 sq ft fully programmable LED screen, touted as the largest on earth.

As part of a special show to celebrate the Fouth of July, the ‘Exosphere’ lit up with a captivating display of dynamic, animated content for the first time ever.

With thousands of spectators watching from the Las Strip, the show started with a welcome message, “Hello world”, followed by fireworks and stars and stripes animations, a moon in a night sky and an imposing Halloween pumpkin.

“Sphere’s Exosphere is a 360-degree canvas for brand storytelling that will be seen around the world, offering our partners an unparalleled opportunity to become part of the greatest show on Earth,” says David Hopkinson, president and COO of MSG Sports, who oversees global marketing and brand partnerships across Sphere Ent.and the MSG companies, in a statement.

The Exosphere comprises approximately 1.2 million LED pucks, each containing 48 individual LED diodes that can display 256 million different colours that will transform the Vegas skyline.

The Sphere is located behind the Strip’s well-known Venetian Resort with a pedestrian bridge connecting the two sites.

“SPHERE’S EXOSPHERE IS A 360-DEGREE CANVAS FOR BRAND STORYTELLING THAT WILL BE SEEN AROUND THE WORLD”

“There’s nothing comparable to the impact from displaying innovative brand and immersive content on the world’s largest video screen,” Hopkinson continued. “The extraordinary experiences we can create are only limited by imagination, and we’re thrilled to finally share with the world the spectacular potential of the Exosphere.”

The venue is set to open on 29 September with U2’s residency, U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At The Sphere, which elicited a million ticket request registrations for its on-sale.

This special run of concerts – based around the group’s classic 1991 album Achtung Baby, marks their first live outing in four years, following The Joshua Tree 30th anniversary stadium tour, which was seen by 3.28 million fans worldwide from 2017-19, and grossed US$390.8 million.

MSG Sphere will introduce the first 16K screen that wraps up, around, and behind the audience, and also boasts Sphere Immersive Sound and 4D technologies.

In May, Sphere increased the estimated construction cost of the venue, inclusive of technology and soft costs, to $2.3 billion.

A similar project has been proposed for east London but has hit significant delays.

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