Blue Rhine Industries, a UAE-founded audiovisual and digital signage company, has won a subcontract to install the LED screens that will form the Exosphere, the programmable exterior display of Sphere Abu Dhabi, the $1.7 billion entertainment venue planned for Yas Island.
ALEC Engineering and Contracting, part of ALEC Holdings, selected Blue Rhine to install and commission the display, the company said. It did not disclose the value of the contract.
The work forms part of the main construction contract for the venue, which ALEC Holdings secured in May. Blue Rhine described the job as the largest audiovisual integration project in its 20-year history.
The Exosphere will wrap around the 112-meter-high building and turn its outer surface into a fully programmable screen for art, entertainment and visual storytelling. It is expected to show work by Emirati artists.
“As a UAE-founded company, we are proud to be bringing the Sphere Abu Dhabi Exosphere to life by installing the LEDs across the 112-m-high exterior facade,” Blue Rhine Chief Executive Officer John V. Joseph said.
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) is developing the venue with New York-listed Sphere Entertainment Co. It will be the first Sphere venue outside the United States.
DCT Abu Dhabi said in May it would invest $1.7 billion in the construction phase. The venue will hold up to 20,000 people and sit between Yas Mall and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2029.
Sphere Abu Dhabi will host immersive productions, concert residencies, and brand and sporting events, including combat sports.
