London, United Kingdom
Populous has unveiled a spectacular new iconic, state-of-the-art music venue designed for Stratford, London for client Madison Square Garden Company (MSG), which is affectionally called: the “Golf Ball.”
The 90-meter-high spherical music venue would be built near the Olympic Park in east London.
The new venue will rival the city’s existing largest indoor venue, the O2 Arena, and would have a huge impact on the city’s skyline, joining the Walkie Talkie, Gherkin, and the Shard, and could stand at around 130 meters tall, which would make it almost 20 meters taller than St Paul’s Cathedral.
It will be built on a triangular site, which is surrounded by railway lines, alongside the Westfield Stratford City shopping center.
The main auditorium would be placed within the 90-meter-high sphere along with restaurants, cafes, and a members’ club.
Within the sphere, the interior surface will be covered in an “immersive LED surface” that could be utilized for esports.
The glass orb will be “equipped with game-changing technologies that push the limits of connectivity, acoustics, video, and content distribution,’” according to MSG, with the idea that audiences will be able to enjoy powerful and immersive multi-sensory experiences that will transform live events in future.
Preliminary plans have already been released for the first MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, which can hold as many as 23,000 people—18,000 seated and 5,000 standing.
The London sphere is based on the same concept so it could potentially seat a similar number; the exact capacity will be announced in the coming months as the final plans are subject to consultation.
As well as London, MSG also has designs for a new venue in Las Vegas, with the next-generation entertainment sites being known as “MSG Spheres.”
London will be MSG’s first international venue, with the company purchasing almost five acres of prime land right next to the Westfield Stratford City shopping center and the Olympic Park in Stratford.
London was chosen after research carried out by Sound Diplomacy on behalf of MSG revealed that the city has fewer large-capacity arenas relative to its population, compared to other major cities including Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and New York.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “From intimate grassroots music venues to spectacular arenas, London’s buzzing live music scene is world-renowned. It’s great to welcome another world-class venue to the capital, to confirm London’s position as a music powerhouse, and to boost still further our city’s thriving night-time economy.”
Project: MSG Sphere music and esports arena
Architects: Populous
Client: Madison Square Garden Company (MSG)
