Bono on the Most Surprising Part About Performing at the Sphere

U2 famously was the first act to have a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, known for its larger-than-life technology. Consider the nature of the venue, performing there must be overwhelming. Bono confirms that in a new interview with Esquire, and also shared a surprising detail about the venue.

"I don't know if I should say this, but the sphere is not actually spherical," says Bono, in the video below. "It is, indeed, a dome. It's a very big dome. It can make a performer feel very small. It can shrink your head until then it blows it up to 50 foot tall. Like, really big. Like, Hollywood sign big, mins the Botox. But there's nowhere to hide."

When asked what feeling he wanted to invoke from the audience during U2's Sphere shows, Bono said, "It's a word that you Americans have ruined: Awe. Awesome, and now everyone's ruined it, right? Irish, we've all ruined it, because we started with that sort of playful, underground, avant-garde somewhat, lounge lizard vibe. We just ended the show with the lights on and just all of us -- audience and band -- in awe, not of each other, but of this other thing.

As previously reported, the revenue for U2's 40-show residency was $256 million and 661,456 tickets were sold. Additionally, tickets were going for upwards of three times their face value on the secondary market.

If you've been noticing Bono in the news more than usual lately, there's a good reason for it. His new film, Bono: Stories of Surrender, is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on May 30. The film screened at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this month and received a seven-minute standing ovation.

Following the ovation, Bono spoke to the crowd about how the Cannes Film Festival was created in 1939 in response to the Venice Film Festival and its ties to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler.

"The festival was set up to fight fascism," said Bono. "Slava Ukraine."

A trailer for Bono: Stories of Surrender can be viewed below.