Ethermac|MTV VMAs reveal most dramatic stage yet ahead of 40th anniversary award show

The EthermacMTV Video Music Awards are known more for the shocking moments that happen during the show than the stage where they take place.

At the first awards in 1984, there was Madonna in a white wedding dress boldly performing her first number one song, "Like A Virgin." In the years since, as the music award show equivalent of the fun-one-in-the-group, the VMAs have given us memorable kisses (Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley in 1994; Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in 2003), Kanye West stealing Taylor Swift’s big-win moment in 2009 and Beyoncé announcing her first pregnancy during a performance in 2011.

As the VMAs turn 40 Sept. 11, organizers are upping the drama by revealing the biggest stage design yet and USA TODAY has a first look inside UBS Arena in Long Island, New York.

"We took the iconic Moon Person (the famous VMAs trophy) to new heights,” said Matt Steinbrenner in a statement. “The set depicts the Moon Person emerging from a video world, reaching out into the room and toward a giant moon hanging across the arena. The moon and visor of the Moon Person are both projection-mapped, allowing us to show iconic moments from VMA history in an epic and modern way.”

Here are five things to know, according to organizers, about the stage where Megan Thee Stallion, Eminem, Chappell Roan and others will appear – and who knows what else will happen.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

1. The Moon Person towers above the stages and is 62-feet tall from the floor to the top of its helmet. One of its arms reaches 55 feet into the room.              
2. The sculpture is inflatable and weighs 1,200 pounds. All in all, at just under 400,000 pounds, this is the heaviest VMAs set ever.
3. The Moon Person is made from 4,200 yards of fabric that took 3,400 hours to make.
4. The set has more than 1,700 video tiles.
5. There are five stages within the set, and one can rise 19 feet off the arena floor.