The massive sphere in Las Vegas provided some of the iconic moments from last week’s Las Vegas Formula 1 Grand Prix but hopes for a similar building to be built in London have been rejected by the city’s mayor.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Company (MSG) had proposed to build a similar giant dome, which would house an entertainment venue, on the edge of the Olympic Park, However, London mayor, Sadiq Khan, turned down the proposal on three key grounds – concerns about light pollution from it for local residents, its green credentials – especially in terms of its electricity consumption – and the impact on local heritage sites.
The proposed MSG Sphere would have been a copy of the one in Vegas, which was designed by architect Populous. The London Sphere could have been 100 metres high and 120 metres wide and covered in LED panels, which would have enabled it to have the sorts of graphics that lit up the Vegas GP.
But Khan’s rejection isn’t final – Communities Secretary Michael Gove will give the final ruling on the application at some point in the future.
There are hopes to build other Spheres around the world. MSG already has a memorandum of Agreement signed with Hanam in South Korea and other cities are also thought to have expressed an interest in building one.
Would you like to see a Sphere in London? Or anywhere else around the world? Let us know in the comments below.
