U2 Kicks Off Las Vegas Residency/The Sphere Opening With A Bang

Photo Credit: Rich Fury

Sin City had a monumental weekend with the official opening of The Sphere, which ushered in U2’s official Las Vegas residency.

Photo Credit: Rich Fury

U2 (Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton with Bram van den Berg) lit up the Sphere stage with a mind-blowing opening night of their highly-anticipated U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere shows, reinventing the live music experience with the launch of the world’s most cutting-edge venue.

Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

U2 utilized every part of Sphere’s LED screen – the world’s largest and highest-resolution – into an awe-inspiring gallery that showcased bespoke art from renowned artists including Es Devlin, John Gerrard, Marco Brambilla, and Industrial Light & Magic; all while performing on a Brian Eno-inspired turntable stage.

Photo Credit: Rich Fury
The band celebrated this major live music milestone with fans from all over the world and VIP attendees including Adam Scott, Andre Agassi, Ava DuVernay, Bobby Shriver, Bryan Cranston, Chelsea Clinton, Chris Blackwell, Connie Britton, Dakota Fanning, Darren Aronofsky, Diplo, Dr. Dre, Elizabeth Banks, Flava Flav, Gayle King, Guy Oseary, Henrik Lundqvist, Jane Buffet, Jane Seymour, Jason Bateman, Jeff Bezos, Jimmy Iovine, Jimmy Kimmel, John Starks and Jon Hamm.

Photo Credit: @FlyByChicago

Additional VIPs included Josh Duhamel, Katy Perry, Lars Ulrich, Lebron James, Luke Wilson, Oprah, Orlando Bloom, Oscar De La Hoya, Mario Lopez, Maria Sharapova, Martin Garrix, Matt Damon, Michael Rapino, Neil Patrick Harris, Paul McCartney, Paul McGuinness, Sheryl Sandberg, Skylar Astin, Snoop Dogg, Tom Schanley, Zane Lowe, and more.

Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
The 25-date run of shows celebrates the band’s acclaimed album Achtung Baby, as well as its accompanying industry-defining ZOO TV Tour, which broke the mold in 1991.

Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
The band also performed their new song “Atomic City,” which is an homage to the magnetic spirit of 70’s post-punk with a nod to Blondie, whose pioneering work with Giorgio Moroder inspired and influenced the band. Atomic City is itself a 1950s nickname for Las Vegas from a time when nuclear fascination swept the nation and the city promoted itself as a center of atomic tourism due to its proximity to the Nevada Test Site.

Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images