Yas Island sphere sharpens Abu Dhabi entertainment push

Abu Dhabi will add a Sphere entertainment venue to Yas Island by the end of 2029, placing a $1.7 billion immersive arena beside some of the emirate’s biggest visitor attractions and intensifying its drive to become a global leisure and live-events hub.

The project, announced by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and Sphere Entertainment Co., will be the first Sphere venue outside the United States. Planned capacity is up to 20,000 guests, depending on event configuration, putting it in the same scale category as the Las Vegas venue that opened in September 2023.

Sphere Abu Dhabi will be built on a site between Yas Mall and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, with Ferrari World Yas Island, Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld also located nearby. The venue is expected to host immersive productions, concert residencies, sporting events, conferences, product launches and brand showcases, widening Yas Island’s offer beyond theme parks, hotels, motorsport and retail.

The investment places Abu Dhabi deeper into the global competition for destination entertainment, where cities are using high-capacity venues, intellectual property, cultural programming and mega-events to attract longer visitor stays. Yas Island already benefits from the annual Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, large hotel stock, theme parks and proximity to Zayed International Airport.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said the project reflected the emirate’s long-term approach to cultural and tourism development. He described the construction-phase investment as a signal that Abu Dhabi is “open, ambitious, and unwavering in its direction”, while also positioning the venue as a platform for local culture, talent and storytelling.

James L. Dolan, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Sphere Entertainment, said Abu Dhabi would be the first step in the company’s plan to build a global network of venues. The company has been seeking to extend the Sphere model beyond Las Vegas, where the building’s exterior LED display and wraparound interior screen have become a prominent part of the city’s entertainment economy.

The Abu Dhabi version is expected to draw on Sphere’s core format: large-scale visuals, advanced sound systems and multi-sensory production technologies designed to move live entertainment beyond the conventional arena model. While full technical specifications have not yet been released, the Las Vegas venue uses an enormous interior display, spatial audio and physical effects to create immersive shows.

Programming is expected to include Sphere Experiences, a category of proprietary immersive productions, along with residencies by local, regional and global artists. Plans also include content linked to Abu Dhabi’s culture and heritage, and displays of local artists’ work on the Exosphere, the LED screen forming the venue’s exterior shell.

The project adds momentum to Yas Island’s expanding pipeline. A Disney theme park resort, to be developed with Miral, is also planned for the island, marking Disney’s first theme park in the Middle East. That project, alongside the Sphere, gives Abu Dhabi two internationally recognised entertainment brands capable of broadening the island’s visitor base across family tourism, concerts, experiential media and global events.

Yas Island recorded more than 34 million visits in 2023, a 38 per cent increase from the previous year. The figure underlines why the island has become the preferred location for the emirate’s large-scale leisure bets. Its mix of attractions, hotels, transport links and waterfront development gives new projects an existing visitor ecosystem rather than a standalone destination model.

The Sphere project will also require significant coordination across infrastructure, transport and utilities. Government entities involved in the master plan include the Department of Municipalities and Transport, Abu Dhabi Mobility, the Department of Energy, Taqa, Etihad Rail and Aldar. Their role is expected to cover road improvements, access planning, site-wide infrastructure and integration with surrounding assets.

For Abu Dhabi, the venue supports economic diversification by linking tourism, media, live entertainment, technology and cultural production. It also aligns with a wider regional shift in which Gulf cities are competing to host global entertainment brands, major concerts, sports events and immersive attractions that can attract international visitors and retain domestic spending.