Oprah Winfrey is bringing a new immersive live show called Oprah Winfrey's AHA to the Las Vegas Sphere next year, marking the 72-year-old media mogul's first major venture in the city after five decades in show business.
The two-hour show will run at the Sphere from April 2 through 4 in 2027 and will include music, film, sensory effects and performers such as musician Jacob Collier and author Ocean Vuong.
Winfrey told People that the project is "the culmination of everything I've been trying to say for years." She said she worked with Ethan Tobman and Baz Halpin, two of the creative minds behind Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, to build a show that reflects "the ginormity of the universe."
The experience is scheduled for just one weekend, but Winfrey said she is open to doing more performances if it is well received. She called it one way she hopes to "leave her mark." Winfrey, who recently defended Trump-friendly Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, said she had a message she wanted to share when she started her career decades ago, and that it is only now coming to fruition.
A Message Refined Over 25 Seasons
Winfrey said she has always hoped to spread the message: "We're more alike than we're different. You're responsible for your life. There's something inside you that's really special. You have come to this planet and you have a calling."
She said she returned to that idea throughout the 25-season run of The Oprah Winfrey Show. "I said it in 4,561 shows, and I don't even know how many magazine articles and podcasts," she recalled.
With AHA, she said she can share that message through experience rather than words alone. "It's an opportunity to immerse yourself in a way that allows you to feel connected to yourself, but also to everybody else who's there," she explained.
Inspired by U2's Sphere Debut
Winfrey said she came up with the idea for the show almost three years ago after watching U2 open the Sphere in 2023. "I was mesmerized," she said. "I was enthralled. I was excited."
She described being inside the venue as being under "this dome that isn't a dome, but it's like a window," pointing to its 160,000 speakers, moving seats and effects that engage the sense of smell. "If you're looking at the beach, you can smell the beach. At one point I was like, 'I don't even know what is happening,'" she added.
Winfrey said she experienced a "knowing feeling" at the U2 concert and had an "aha moment," which inspired the name of her show.
Taking Audiences to the Edge of Space
She recalled thinking the show "could be one of the most magnificent opportunities," adding: "You could take people to the edge of space, and allow them to see their connection to the universe, and to themselves, and to each other."
Winfrey said another reason for making the show was "humanity within each of us." "I keep hearing how divided we are," she said. "But I know there is a commonality in the human experience. We actually all want the same things."
"And I know there is a middle ground, where there are things we do agree on that allow the humanity within each of us to be extended beyond ourselves," she continued. "I'm reaching for that thing."
Performers Are Not the Point
Asked about the performers chosen for AHA, Winfrey said: "We probably could get a few [stars] to come on and sing and perform, but it's not about star power. It's about the power of the people in the audience."
"It's about using performers and entertainers who are going to create a feeling within you that allows you to go inside yourself, connect to yourself. It's not about them. It's about you," she said, describing AHA as a production the audience becomes part of.
"I'm calling it AHA for a reason," Winfrey added. "From the moment you come into the Sphere in Las Vegas, you will be filled with awe and wonder, and you will leave with a great sense of joy. You will leave with a very good feeling about what your life is, what it can be and the potential for the future for you and for all of us. That's the idea."
