U2 Las Vegas 2023

It’s not official. It hasn’t been confirmed by the band, the venue or any major concert promoter. But when Billboard reported on July 22 that U2 will perform the first concerts at MSG Sphere next year in Las Vegas, it made all the sense in the world.

The $1.8 billion high-tech arena, considered the largest spherical structure ever created and currently under construction just east of the Venetian, has been described as the next level of live entertainment from the day it was first announced more than four years ago. The Sphere’s state-of-the-art audio and visual capabilities—including 580,000 square feet of programmable LED panels—will allow it to host new types of shows and events Vegas hasn’t seen before, and provide the opportunity for superstar acts like U2 to elevate their performances to new heights.

Adele

With capacity expected to level out between 17,000 and 20,000, the Sphere also adds another megavenue to the Strip skyline. (Thought notably, if the U2 shows become reality, it won’t be the first arena-sized residency in Vegas; country music king George Strait has been performing his recurring Strait to Vegas concert series at T-Mobile Arena since it opened in 2016. He’ll return on December 2 and 3.)

The other major residency rooms on the Strip—at Caesars Palace, Park MGM, Resorts World and Planet Hollywood—generally top out around 5,000 seats. But the Sphere isn’t just a bigger space for these and other entertainment events. It’s continuing the evolution of Vegas entertainment with enhanced experiences to better showcase the biggest draws in the industry.

Just a few days after the U2 report, Adele finally rescheduled her residency dates at the Colosseum, unleashing plans to launch the stalled Weekends With Adele shows on November 14.

Even though the 15-time Grammy winner had promised to make good on the Vegas dates she called off just one day before her planned opening in January—and even though the Strip residency masterminds at Live Nation are behind her production in partnership with the legendary venue at Caesars Palace—doubt remained that Weekends With Adele would actually happen. The sudden shutdown was unprecedented for Las Vegas and truly shocking, even during these unpredictable times. And it put a serious dent in the artist’s reputation, disappointing her most dedicated fans.

Come August 10 and 11, when tickets go on sale, we’ll see how much damage was actually done. Adele has already made an obvious effort to atone for the letdown by adding eight Colosseum concerts to her schedule, continuing through March 25. That brings the original 24-show run to a total of 32.

Billboard reports that fans who unsuccessfully tried to get tickets when Weekends was first announced in December will be second in line on Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform, right behind fans who bought Adele tickets and then asked for a refund when the shows were postponed.

Ticketmaster executives have said 32,000-plus tickets up for grabs this month will be bought up by fans from the December wait list, according to Billboard. If that happens, Adele’s residency will continue to be a historic, record-setting engagement as projected, joining the elite Vegas residency ranks of Celine Dion, Elton John and a few others.

With Adele captivating Vegas crowds into next year and U2’s potential arrival at the Sphere at the end of 2023, imagine what could come next.

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An award-winning writer who has been living and working in Las Vegas for more than 20 years, Brock Radke is ...

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