Las Vegas Sphere Officially Opens With U2 Show

In case your social media feeds haven't been flooded with videos of the truly mind-blowing visuals of the Sphere, we're here to let you know that the new Las Vegas venue officially opened with a concert from U2 over the weekend.

Catch me up: After (probably) terrifying vacationers with a projection of a real-life eyeball this summer, the venue held its first concert on Friday night with a performance from the Irish band, beginning their nearly three-month long residency inside the 366-foot-high orb. In addition to concerts, the Sphere can host other events including film screenings, with Darren Aronofsky's Postcard From Earth set to debut on Friday.

The circular numbers: The Sphere cost $2.3 billion and has a capacity of 18,000. Its 580,000-square-foot exterior can be lit up with images of anything from that eyeball to advertisements, and the interior houses a 160,000 square feet LED screen. While dome-shaped buildings typically don't make for the best-quality audio, the Sphere attempted to rectify that problem with 167,000 speakers, placed around the venue including in individual seats for an immersive sound experience.

Sphere mastermind James Dolan told Variety that he "absolutely" expects the venue, which will likely see a sibling arrive in the U.K. at some point, to turn a profit. "The biggest hurdles in that is making sure that you have a product that the consumer is going to want," he explained. "And what I’ve seen of our product, I think we have that. and then it comes down to marketing and selling tickets and generating revenue and sponsorships, and that all looks like it’s on a very good trajectory."

Who's next? While nothing has been announced, there are rumors about Harry Styles in the orb next year and Irving Azoff said that while it's "premature to tell you what’s coming up," "many of the very biggest, most iconic acts in the business checked [the venue] out," adding that by the time U2's residency ends in late December, "we will be ready to announce other music projects in the Sphere."