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A second Sphere will be built after the success of the Las Vegas site.
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 surrounds half the audience of 17,500 places. It has hosted concerts and sporting events.
Another site will now be built in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Abu DhabiThe Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Sphere Entertainment Co. announced plans to introduce a Sphere to the Middle East on Tuesday evening.
The announcement did not provide any information on funding, nor did it specify where the Sphere would be built in the Emirati capital. Officials from Sphere and the Abu Dhabi government did not immediately respond to questions about the project on Wednesday.
Abu Dhabi has attempted to differentiate itself as a travel destination from its neighbors. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, an energy-rich federation of seven sheikhs from the Arabian Peninsula. The United Arab Emirates is also preparing to open the country's first casino.
However, some projects in the UAE could not be built or were delayed for years after being announced amid an economic downturn.
The Sphere's opening weekend recently took place on September 29, 2023 with a U2 concert, with some of the best seats costing between $400 and $500. Since then, photos of the location have gone viral on TikTok and X – formerly known as Twitter – as images have shown what the inside of the Sphere looks like.
In January this year, plans for a Sphere in London were withdrawn.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) said it could not continue to participate in a process that was “a mere 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 revolutionary technology and the thousands of well-paying jobs it would have created.”
In December, the Housing Secretary Michael Gove used its powers to “call in” and review London Mayor Sadiq Khan's rejection of planning permission for the 21,000-capacity, 300-foot-tall sphere in Stratford, east London.