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A second Sphere will be built after the success of the Las Vegas venue.
The massive $2.3 billion Las Vegas Sphere opened in 2023 as the gambling capital’s most expensive entertainment venue. A high-resolution LED screen wraps halfway around the 17,500-seat audience. It has hosted concerts and sporting events.
Now another venue will be built in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Abu Dhabi‘s Department of Culture and Tourism and Sphere Entertainment Co. announced the plan late on Tuesday to bring a Sphere to the Middle East.
The announcement offered no financing information, nor did it say where the Sphere would be built in the Emirati capital. Officials with the Sphere and Abu Dhabi’s government did not immediately respond to questions about the project Wednesday.
Abu Dhabi has been trying to differentiate itself as a travel destination from neighboring Dubai in the UAE, an energy-rich federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. The UAE is also preparing to open the first casino in the country.
However, some projects in the UAE have failed to be built or been delayed for years after being announced in economic downturns.
The Sphere’s opening weekend recently took place on 29 September 2023 with a U2 concert, as some of the best seats were priced between $400 and $500. Since then, photos of the venue have gone viral both TikTok and X – formerly known as Twitter – as footage has shown what the inside of the Sphere looks like.
In January this year, a plan for a Sphere in London was withdrawn.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) said it could not continue to participate in a process that was “merely a political football between rival parties”.
In a letter to the Planning Inspectorate MSG said it was “extremely disappointing” that Londoners would “not benefit from the Sphere’s groundbreaking technology and the thousands of well-paying jobs it would have created”.
In December, Housing Secretary Michael Gove used his powers to “call in” and review the rejection of planning permission by London Mayor Sadiq Khan for the 21,000-capacity, 300ft-tall sphere in Stratford, east London.
