What is the Sydney Opera House?
The Sydney Opera House is a world-famous performing arts centre on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour. Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, it opened in 1973.
Utzon won an international design competition in 1957 with his bold idea of sail-like shells rising above the harbour. Building the roof proved extremely difficult, and engineers spent years working out how to construct the curved shells from precast concrete sections.
The project ran far over budget and time. After disputes with the New South Wales government, Utzon left Australia in 1966 and never returned to see the finished building. Australian architects completed the interiors, and Queen Elizabeth II opened the Opera House in October 1973.
A living arts venue
The building hosts well over a thousand performances each year, including opera, ballet, theatre, concerts and comedy. Its largest space, the Concert Hall, seats around 2,600 people, and guided tours explain its history and design.
In 2007 the Sydney Opera House was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, one of the youngest buildings ever to receive that honour. Its roof is covered with more than a million glazed white and cream tiles made in Sweden.
Did You Know?
Bennelong Point is named after Woollarawarre Bennelong, a Wangal man who acted as a go-between with the early British colony.