The exterior of the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas was lit up for the first time last night as part of the city’s Fourth Of July celebrations. The venue, which is expected to cost $2.3 billion by the time construction is complete, is equipped with an “Exosphere” made up of 1.2 million “LED pucks” that transmit images to the Las Vegas skyline. Last night’s show opened with a “Hello World” welcome screen and included a ton of eye-popping visuals, which made their way around social media.

The Sphere will officially open this fall with a U2 residency; the first date of that residency is September 29. Construction on the venue began in 2018; it was originally scheduled to open in 2021 but was delayed because of the pandemic. Sphere Entertainment Co., which created the Sphere, is already planning an identical project for London.

Here’s some video of the Sphere in action:

https://twitter.com/spherevegas/status/1676636187497476096