Backstreet Boys at Sphere on New Year’s Eve: Our Las Vegas Experience

For our first trip to Las Vegas, Grace and I decided to do something relatively low-key: ring in 2026 with the Backstreet Boys at Sphere.

We arrived in Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve, stayed at the Excalibur Hotel and made our way across the Strip for a concert that combined one of our favourite bands with one of the most distinctive entertainment venues in the world.

This was my second time seeing the Backstreet Boys. I first saw them in Moncton, New Brunswick, in 2014. For Grace, this was concert number one.

The band’s Into the Millennium residency brought songs from the Millennium album together with some of their biggest hits. The December 31, 2025 performance was one of several additional dates announced for the residency and gave fans the chance to celebrate the arrival of 2026 inside Sphere. The Backstreet Boys were also the first pop act to headline the venue.

Watch our experience below, then keep reading for details about where we stayed, how we reached Sphere, our seats and the complete setlist from the night.

We stayed at the Excalibur Hotel, located toward the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip.

The hotel gave us a recognizable and convenient base for our first visit. We could walk to the MGM Grand, access the Las Vegas Monorail and travel north toward The Venetian and Sphere without needing to drive on New Year’s Eve.

Las Vegas hotels can be much larger than they appear from the outside, so travelling between properties generally involves more walking than first-time visitors may anticipate. Comfortable shoes are essential, especially when your route includes multiple resorts, a monorail trip and a concert.

Our overall experience with the accommodations and trip was excellent. Excalibur worked well for what we needed, and it was exciting to finally experience Las Vegas together.

To reach Sphere, we walked from Excalibur to the monorail station located inside the MGM Grand.

The Las Vegas Monorail begins at MGM Grand and travels north along the Strip, including a stop at Harrah’s and The LINQ that provides access to The Venetian area. The route also passes Sphere, giving riders an excellent view of the building along the way.

After leaving the monorail, we continued through The Venetian and followed the route toward Sphere.

Standard-admission guests can access Sphere through the Venetian Bridge stairway, so approaching through the resort is a practical option. However, crowds and venue procedures may vary by event, particularly on a night as busy as New Year’s Eve.

Give yourself more time than you think you need. Travelling through Las Vegas resorts can involve long corridors, crowds, escalators and security lines even when the properties appear close together on a map.

Seeing Sphere from outside is impressive, but entering the venue introduces an entirely different experience.

The scale of the interior screen changes how a concert can be presented. Instead of visuals appearing only behind the performers, they can expand throughout much of your field of vision.

That was particularly effective for a Backstreet Boys show built around nostalgia, choreography and songs many fans have known for decades.

The concert still felt like a Backstreet Boys performance rather than a technology demonstration. Sphere’s visuals supported the band instead of distracting from them.

It was a genuinely one-of-a-kind venue and the right place for a concert celebrating the Millennium era.

We sat in Section 102, Row 29.

Our tickets indicated that the view was slightly obstructed. Before attending, that description naturally created some uncertainty about how much of the Sphere screen we might miss.

Once the concert started, however, the obstruction did not negatively affect our experience.

We could clearly see the band, the stage and the majority of the visual production. We never felt as though we were missing a critical part of the performance.

Someone who wants a completely unobstructed view of the highest portions of the screen may prefer a different location. Exact sightlines can also vary within the same section depending on the seat and production.

For us, Section 102 provided a strong balance between being relatively close to the performers and still experiencing the scale of Sphere.

For us, no.

The obstruction was noticeable when looking toward the highest parts of Sphere, but the stage and the most important concert visuals remained visible.

I would not claim that obstructed seats are automatically suitable for everyone. Someone attending primarily to see the complete screen may feel differently.

However, we purchased tickets to see the Backstreet Boys, and our seats gave us a very good view of them. The concert never felt compromised.

When comparing Sphere tickets, consider what matters most to you:

• Being closer to the band
• Seeing the complete screen
• Having a central viewing angle
• Remaining within a particular budget
• Avoiding steep upper-level seating

A warning about an obstructed view does not necessarily mean the seat is bad, but it should be considered before purchasing.

One of our smaller recommendations is to purchase the commemorative Backstreet Boys cup.

It was a fun souvenir from a unique concert and occasion. Merchandise can be expensive at major events, but an item tied specifically to the New Year’s Eve Sphere show felt worth bringing home.

Sphere is a cashless venue, so purchases require a credit card, debit card or mobile payment method.

My first Backstreet Boys concert was in Moncton, New Brunswick, in 2014.

Seeing them again more than a decade later was already appealing, but Sphere made this feel like a completely different type of show.

The band delivered the familiar songs, choreography and personalities people expect, but the visual production gave the performance a scale that would be difficult to reproduce in a traditional arena.

For Grace, this was her first time seeing them live. Starting with a New Year’s Eve concert at Sphere set the bar extremely high.

The show brought together longtime fans, nostalgia and a venue that could transform around each song.

The New Year’s Eve setting made the concert more than another stop during the residency.

As midnight approached, the show transitioned into the countdown. Everyone inside Sphere welcomed 2026 together before the band briefly performed “Happy Days” and continued with the final portion of the concert.

New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas already carries enormous energy. Celebrating it inside Sphere with the Backstreet Boys made the occasion feel more organized and focused than trying to find a viewing location somewhere along the Strip.

We had a specific place to be, entertainment throughout the evening and a memorable countdown without needing to move between several crowded locations.

It was the perfect way for us to begin 2026.

The December 31 performance included songs from the Millennium era, deeper album tracks and many of the band’s best-known hits.

1. Larger Than Life
2. It’s Gotta Be You
3. As Long as You Love Me
4. More Than That
5. I Need You Tonight
6. Siberia
7. Don’t Want You Back
8. Get Another Boyfriend
9. Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely
10. Don’t Wanna Lose You Now
11. Hey
12. The One
13. Back to Your Heart
14. Spanish Eyes
15. No One Else Comes Close
16. The Perfect Fan
17. All I Have to Give
18. Drowning
19. Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)
20. Shape of My Heart
21. I Want It That Way
22. Get Down (You’re the One for Me)
23. Happy Days, performed briefly after the New Year’s countdown
24. We’ve Got It Goin’ On
25. The Call
26. Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)

The published setlist for the December 31 show matches this running order, including the brief performance of “Happy Days” following the countdown.

Sphere uses mobile ticketing and recommends adding tickets to your phone’s digital wallet before arriving. This prevents connection problems from slowing you down near the entrance.

Distances in Las Vegas can be deceptive. Walking through multiple hotels, reaching the monorail and navigating The Venetian took time even though the journey was straightforward.

Read the ticket description carefully and research the approximate sightline. Our slightly obstructed Section 102 seats worked well, but preferences vary.

Sphere generally permits small clutches, purses and fanny packs measuring no more than approximately 6 by 6 by 2 inches. Larger bags and backpacks are not permitted, and the venue does not provide a bag-check service. Policies can vary by event, so verify the current rules before attending.

Sphere does not generally permit outside food or beverages, although empty clear soft-plastic water bottles are allowed and can be refilled inside. The venue also does not permit re-entry after leaving.

Professional cameras, selfie sticks, tripods and dedicated audio or video recording equipment are prohibited. Review the specific event policy before bringing anything beyond a phone or standard personal camera.

Popular items may attract long lines before and after the show. We were glad to bring home the commemorative cup.

Transit stations, resorts and pedestrian routes will be busy. Avoid building a schedule that depends on moving quickly immediately before or after midnight.

Absolutely.

Everything from the venue and visuals to the band and New Year’s countdown worked for us.

Our Section 102 seats were slightly obstructed, but the view was still excellent for the type of concert experience we wanted. The monorail and Venetian route gave us a practical way to travel from the southern Strip, and Excalibur served as a good base for our first Las Vegas visit.

Seeing the Backstreet Boys again was already special for me. Sharing Grace’s first Backstreet Boys concert and celebrating the arrival of 2026 made the experience even better.

Las Vegas delivered, Sphere delivered and the Backstreet Boys were fantastic.