U2 have reportedly been recruited to stage a Les Vegas residency next year at the all-new MSG Sphere – an upcoming state-of-the-art venue that cost $1.8 billion.
According to Billboard – which cited “multiple sources” – the Irish rock icons will serve as the newly constructed arena’s debut act when it opens its doors to the public for the first time next year.
Dubbed the “next generation of live entertainment”, the MSG Sphere is being built by Madison Square Garden Entertainment, and will supposedly offer attendees “a multi-sensory experience of sound and light inside the largest spherical structure ever created”.
U2 will reportedly take part in a non-consecutive multi-show residency at the arena, with dates spread across the course of 2023.
As for the venue itself, the MSG Sphere at The Venetian – which was originally scheduled for a 2021 opening date before a Covid delay – will supposedly have the capacity for 20,000 standing spectators or 17,500 seated spectators, and will offer 23 VIP suites.
During performances, it will make use of 160,000 square-feet of video viewing space, described by Sphere officials as “interior immersive display”, as well as state-of-the-art spatial audio. It also has an exterior exosphere that alters the sphere’s appearance with LED technology.
The prospect of seeing The Edge and his U2 bandmates christen the MSG Sphere is certainly a tantalizing one – after all, who wouldn’t want to experience The Edge’s trademark dotted eighth delay sounds in what could quite possibly be the highest-quality live set up of all time?
Plus, it leaves the door open for some speculation as to who else could grace the MSG Sphere stage. It speaks volumes that, if reports are true, MSG Entertainment has elected one of the most popular guitar bands in modern times to lead the charge, and it shows that similar acts will most definitely follow suit in the future.
As for the upcoming U2 show, though, they will be the band’s first performances in the US in five years, after they wrapped up their Experience + Innocence tour of North America in July 2018. It will also be the first live appearance for U2 in four years, following a show in Mumbai, India, in 2019 to cap off the Joshua Tree anniversary tour.
As per Billboard, MSG Entertainment declined to comment on the story. Likewise, U2's management did not respond to its requests for comment.
To find out more about the forthcoming venue, head over to the MSG Sphere’s website.
