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The US developer behind a Las Vegas-style Sphere in London’s former Olympic Park has withdrawn its plans after the UK capital’s mayor decided to block the music venue.
In a letter to the Planning Inspectorate, a government agency, Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG), which is owned by US tycoon James Dolan, said it would not “continue to participate in a process that is merely a political football between rival parties”.
Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, blocked the Sphere’s planning application in November last year, arguing that the proposal would cause “unacceptable harm” to residents in east London.
The 90 metre-high spherical music and entertainment venue in Stratford, where London hosted the Olympic Games in 2012, would have been clad in luminous screens capable of carrying advertising and videos through the day and into the evening.
Residents objected to the plans, citing the risk of light and noise pollution.
MSG has built a similar sphere in Las Vegas at a cost of $2.1bn. The venue opened last year with a series of acclaimed concerts by U2, which used the internal screens to project images around the audience.
In the letter, MSG said it was “extremely disappointing” that London would “not benefit from the Sphere’s groundbreaking technology and the thousands of well-paying jobs it would have created”.
The developer said it had spent “millions of pounds acquiring our site in Stratford and collaboratively engaging in a five-year planning process with numerous governmental bodies”.
It has been in talks with other global cities about a new site for its next Sphere since the planning application was blocked last year.
MSG’s move to formally withdraw its plans will spark questions over how welcoming London is to overseas investment. A report by advisory firm EY for MSG said the Sphere would have generated up to 3,200 jobs across the UK, and £2.5bn for London’s economy, in its first 20 years.
Communities secretary Michael Gove had been due to decide whether to call in Khan’s decision for review this year.
Sphere Entertainment, which is owned by MSG, said: “We have informed Mr Gove that our decision not to move forward with our plans for Sphere in London stands, and we will not be participating in the call-in process.”
The company added that it was “continuing to work collaboratively with forward-thinking cities around the world who are serious about bringing this next-generation entertainment experience to their communities”.
The venue — which would have hosted 21,500 people — attracted opposition from local bodies such as Newham Council, as well as entertainment group AEG, which owns the rival O2 venue on the other side of the river Thames.
Last year, in letters to Gove and Khan, AEG described the Sphere as an “enormous, glowing advertising ball”.
Responding to MSG’s decision, a spokesperson for Khan said: “London is open to investment from around the world and Sadiq wants to see more world-class, ambitious, innovative entertainment venues in our city.
“As part of looking at the planning application for the MSG Sphere, the mayor saw independent evidence that showed the proposals would result in an unacceptable negative impact on local residents. This included the adverse effects of the substantial external lighting.”
The government declined to comment.
