£800 million Las Vegas-type sphere set to be built in London
Just when you thought the England capital had enough big, fancy buildings, another one pops up - but one building in the works is going to be a little different to the rest.
The Las Vegas sphere was plastered across the internet last week when U2 kicked off their residency there (29 September) – with Bono calling it a ‘fancy pad’.
For those wanting an immersive experience of ‘With Or Without You’, the band hosted the first ever concert in the 336 feet high and 516 feet wide Sphere.
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And yes, it’s as mad as it sounds.
The high-tech music venue has floor-to-ceiling video screens and cost $2.3billion (£1.9billion) to make.
There’s been plans to build one here in the UK for a while now, but there’s just been a few obstacles to starting construction.
The £800million London Sphere project plans were unveiled not long after the American one in 2018 - and it would be just as epic and high-tech.
It was supposed to be open in the UK about a year after Vegas', but it’s not even close.
MSG London Sphere is planned for a former Olympics coach park in Stratford in the capital but locals have complained against it.
Among their complaints, campaigners argue the screens on the outside of the mega venue would worse light pollution in the area.
Planning approval was granted in 2022 by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC).
However, an article issued earlier this year by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove stops the LLDC or London Mayor Sadiq Khan from approving the plans without his oversight.
Negotiations now continue to get the MSG Sphere construction started.
James Dolan is behind the Las Vegas Sphere project and told Variety building the Sphere in London is still going ahead: “That is definitely a big part of the business plan, to build more Spheres all over the world. And by the way, different-size ones too – probably not much bigger than the one in Vegas, but we’ve actually gone through already architectural drawings and designs for smaller Spheres for smaller markets.”
Following the U2 concert over the weekend, Bono called Dolan a ‘mad ba***rd’.
On X, users called the sphere ‘incredibly awesome’ and potentially ‘the best $2.5billion ever spent’.
Others say it’s a ‘completely epic’ venue for concerts and has ‘by far the most mind blowing visuals’ with ‘limitless’ potential.
However, the Stop MSG Sphere campaign group says the Sphere ‘will severely blight the area, cause noise and light pollution, unmanageable overcrowding and transport chaos in Stratford and Maryland’.
LADbible has contacted Sphere London for comment.
Jess Battison