The Sphere Launches in Las Vegas, Lights Up the World

The spectacular Sphere lit up the famous Las Vegas skyline as the world’s largest LED screen was fully illuminated for

Jul 5, 2023

The spectacular Sphere lit up the famous Las Vegas skyline as the world’s largest LED screen was fully illuminated for the first time. The captivating display of animated content on the new venue’s exterior – known as the Exosphere – was part of a special show celebrating the Fourth of July.

Sphere’s 580,000 square foot fully-programmable LED exterior was completely lit up in a show that started with a welcome – “Hello World” – before continuing with a display of dazzling fireworks and Stars and Stripes animations. The astonishing visual content included vibrant underwater scenes to performances on vividly-textured lunar surfaces as Sphere was transformed into the moon. The Exosphere comprises approximately 1.2 million LED pucks spaced eight inches apart.

Each puck contains 48 individual LED diodes, each capable of displaying 256 million different colors to create a vivid new landmark on the Las Vegas skyline. The Exosphere was developed by an interdisciplinary team of creative, production, technology, and software experts at Sphere Studios – the immersive content studio dedicated to creating live entertainment experiences exclusively for Sphere., It will continue to display creative activations in coordination with major events in Las Vegas, with more content planned throughout the month.

Later this year, the Exosphere will be prominently featured as part of Sphere’s opening in September with U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere, as well as during the first Sphere Experience, Postcard from Earth directed by Darren Aronofsky, in October.

In November, during the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Sphere will have a prime position along the circuit to showcase the Exosphere to a global audience – in-person and on TV – as well as significant exposure through planned takeovers of the Exosphere for race-related content, activations and advertising. Eventually, the Exosphere will display a wide range of artistic and branded content daily, from rituals such as sunrise and sunset to impactful brand campaigns to delightful moments running at set times.

Guy Barnett, SVP of Brand Strategy and Creative Development, tells CELEB: “The Exosphere is more than a screen or a billboard – it is living architecture, and unlike anything that exists anywhere in the world.” He said the July 4 show “provided a glimpse of the Exosphere’s captivating power and the possibilities for artists, partners, and brands to create compelling and impactful stories to connect with audiences in new ways.”

David Hopkinson, President, and Chief Operating Officer of MSG Sports, who oversees global marketing and brand partnerships across Sphere Entertainment and the MSG family of companies, said: “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. There’s nothing comparable to the impact of displaying innovative brand and immersive content on the world’s largest video screen. 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.”