How the dream of a Las Vegas-style Sphere in London fell apart

Transcript

00:00 How the dream of a Las Vegas style sphere in London fell apart.

00:08 The Sphere is a vast $2 billion music and entertainment venue which has transformed

00:13 Las Vegas' skyline. But depending on their views, Londoners were either disappointed

00:18 or breathing a sigh of relief to hear that a similar luminous sphere will not be built

00:22 in East London. Towering over Stratford's Olympic Park and 90 metres tall and 120 metres

00:27 wide, it was expected to host 70 major concerts a year. So what went wrong?

00:34 Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has a role in deciding on London's biggest planning applications,

00:38 said this week that he accepted concerns raised by planning officers about a significant light

00:43 intrusion resulting in significant harm to neighbouring properties. There have even been

00:47 reports of residents having to fit blackout blinds to avoid the glare. Other reasons given

00:52 for refusing the project were its highly energy intensive use and the impact it would have

00:56 on nearby heritage sites. Local politicians were delighted with the news. The area's local

01:01 Green councillor, Nate Higgins, said the scheme was always completely inappropriate for the

01:06 site and has suggested that it be used for social housing instead. And local London Assembly

01:11 member, Unmesh Desai, called it a 'monstrosity' of an application which 'betrays the Olympic

01:16 legacy'. So is the project dead in the water? Well,

01:21 not quite. The final decision still rests with the community secretary, Michael Gove.

01:26 He issued a so-called holding directive in February which effectively gives him the final

01:30 say on whether it is granted planning permission. But might it already be too late for the project?

01:36 A Sphere Entertainment spokesperson said, 'While we are disappointed in London's decision,

01:41 there are many forward-thinking cities that are eager to bring this technology to their

01:45 communities. We will concentrate on those.' Other world cities have expressed interest

01:50 in hosting a Sphere, with a memorandum of agreement already signed with the South Korean

01:54 city of Hanam. And in the UK, the Tory Mayor of Teesside, Ben Howchin, has written to Madison

02:00 Square Garden Entertainment CEO, James Dolan, saying that he would be 'excited' to see a

02:05 Sphere built in his part of North East England. Posting on X, the Mayor said, 'Anything is

02:11 possible. Viva la Teesside.'

02:12 (upbeat music)

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