Sydney Opera House
Sydney, Australia
13.05.2014
The Sydney Opera House: A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Australia
The Opera House in Sydney, Australia is an iconic landmark and one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. Located in the Harbour City, it is a symbol of both the city and the country, attracting millions of visitors every year. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee recognized its cultural and architectural significance in 2007, adding it to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the world.
The story of the Opera House began in 1956 when the government of New South Wales launched an international design competition for a national opera house. Out of 233 entries, the design by Danish architect Jørn Utzon was chosen as the winner. However, the construction of the Opera House was plagued with numerous challenges and delays, including budget overruns and structural issues. It wasn't until 1973, 17 years after the competition, that the Opera House was finally completed and officially opened to the public.
The Opera House is renowned for its innovative design, featuring a series of white sail-like shells that appear to float on the harbour. The building also incorporates elements of expressionist and modernist architecture, making it a unique and striking addition to the Sydney skyline. The Opera House is also home to multiple performance venues, including the Concert Hall, Opera Theatre, and Drama Theatre, which host a wide range of cultural events throughout the year.
Aside from being a world-renowned performing arts center, the Opera House is also a popular tourist destination, offering guided tours that allow visitors to explore the interior and learn more about its history and architecture. It is also a popular spot for photos and selfies, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge providing a stunning backdrop.
Today, the Opera House continues to be an important symbol of Australian culture and a must-visit destination for anyone traveling to Sydney. Its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List further solidifies its status as a masterpiece of human creativity and a testament to the enduring vision of Jørn Utzon.
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Inaugurated in 1973, the Sydney Opera House is a great architectural work of the 20th century that brings together multiple strands of creativity and innovation in both architectural form and structural design. A great urban sculpture set in a remarkable waterscape, at the tip of a peninsula projecting into Sydney Harbour, the building has had an enduring influence on architecture. The Sydney Opera House comprises three groups of interlocking vaulted ‘shells’ which roof two main performance halls and a restaurant. These shell-structures are set upon a vast platform and are surrounded by terrace areas that function as pedestrian concourses. In 1957, when the project of the Sydney Opera House was awarded by an international jury to Danish architect Jørn Utzon, it marked a radically new approach to construction.
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings, and a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture.
Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall, the building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973, 16 years after Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The Government of New South Wales, led by the premier, Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction. The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect's ultimate resignation.
The building and its surrounds occupy the whole of Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbour, between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove, adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens, and near to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The building comprises multiple performance venues, which together host well over 1,500 performances annually, attended by more than 1.2 million people. Performances are presented by numerous performing artists, with many resident companies such as Opera Australia, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, the site is visited by more than eight million people annually, and approximately 350,000 visitors take a guided tour of the building each year. The building is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust, an agency of the New South Wales State Government.
In 2007 the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, having been listed on the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate since 1980, the National Trust of Australia register since 1983, the City of Sydney Heritage Inventory since 2000, the New South Wales State Heritage Register since 2003, and the Australian National Heritage List since 2005. The Opera House was also a finalist in the New 7 Wonders of the World campaign list.
