The Sydney Opera House remains one of the most recognizable buildings in the world and a popular tourist destination in Australia. The iconic white sails of the building have become synonymous with Australia and feature in almost all tourist advertisements of Australia. It is one of the most quintessential places that is a must-visit when in Australia to explore the country’s cultural scene. Bennelong Point, where the Opera House is situated, was named after a senior Eora man, Woollarawarre Bennelong. Eora was a group of Aboriginal Australian people native to the coastal areas, which later became known as the Sydney basin in New South Wales in modern Australia. The place was initially designed as a fort and was later used as a tram shed.The Sydney Opera House was designed by the Danish architect Jorn Utzon and is often considered a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. Situated at an elevation of 13 ft (4 m) above sea level, it is a great place to experience some of the best-loved performances of both national and international artists. You can opt for a guided tour of some of the thousand rooms of the Opera House, watch outdoor performances, or marvel at the structure and take pictures with it. Fun Facts About Sydney Opera HouseAn initial cost estimate of $7 million was allocated to construct the Sydney Opera House, but the final cost ended up being $102 million! A State Lottery paid a majority of the expenses.Much before the official performance in the opera theater, Paul Robeson became the first person to perform at the Sydney Opera House when he climbed the scaffolding in 1960 and sang ‘Ol’ Man River’ to the construction workers having lunch.Sydney Opera House was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007, citing the incredible architectural prowess of the Danish architect. Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the Opera House of Sydney, Australia, on October 20, 1973, who has since visited the House four times. The sheer size of the heritage site with a thousand rooms warrants thousands of light bulbs that need to be changed, repaired and looked after. On average, the Opera House requires more than 15,500 light bulbs to be changed every year! ‘Helga’s Web,’ a crime novel by Jon Cleary, was set at the Opera House with a dead body discovered in the basement. A film named ‘Scobie Malone’ was made in 1975, based on the book, which starred Jack Thompson. The Sydney Opera House does not harbor any conventional cooling system but uses seawater taken directly from the harbor of New South Wales. About 21 mi (35 km) of pipes are used to circulate cold water from the harbor to power the air-conditioning and heating system in the building.Architectural Facts About Sydney Opera HouseAn international competition was held in 1956 to determine the design of the heritage site. The international contest saw a whopping submission of 233 designs. Danish architect Jorn Utzon won the first prize of ₤5000 for his unique sail-like roof design and became the chief architect of the Opera House. Construction commenced in 1959 and was expected to be finished within four years. It ended up taking 14 years that involved around 10,000 construction workers. Some of the most popular construction companies, such as Rider Hunt, Hornibrook, and Arups Structural Engineering, were involved in the construction. The roof of the Opera House is partitioned into distinct segments to make it look similar to that of a leaf intentionally. The roof has an expanse of approximately 4 ac (1.62 ha) covered by more than a million tiles made in Sweden. The tiles are in different shapes and sizes, with some weighing up to 33069.3 lb (15,000 kg). The Opera House is the biggest column-free chamber in the entire world, with concrete beams acting as substitutes to the columns. It also has the highest roof shell that measures up to 219 ft (67 m), equivalent to a 22-story building.6,223 sq m (0.006223 sq km) of topaz-colored glass constructed the Sydney Opera House. The glass was manufactured by a French firm BoussoisSouchon-Neuvesel in a shade unique to the Opera House. An approximation of 217 mi (350 km) of tension cable was laid during the construction of the building. Though the name hints that the Opera House may be a single venue, it includes several performance venues, an outdoor forecourt, a recording studio, a drama theater, and a concert hall. Situated in New South Wales, the Opera House is so gigantic that it can hold eight Boeing 747 jets or 7 A380 jets wing-to-wing.Tourism Facts About Sydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House witnesses more than 10.9 million tourists every year on average, counting the attendees to the performances. An estimation of 350,000 visitors takes the guided tour of the Opera House every year. The Lunar New Year is celebrated at the heritage site with Lunar lanterns, red-lighted sails, and Mandarin tours. The authorities reported that a rough estimate of 25,000 tourists witnessed the celebrations in 2019. The studio and the performance venues of the Sydney Opera House are some of the busiest concert halls in the world, with more than 1,500 concerts taking place and nearly 1.2 million audience members attaining them. The most reliable way to experience the Sydney Opera House is to see one of the performances taking place in the concert hall. However, a guided tour of the Opera House will help better understand the architectural marvel the Opera House is. The guided tours range in levels, from a simple one-hour tour to an all-area access backstage pass, including breakfast in the famous Green Room.The Sydney Opera House is open to tourists almost all around the year. It is only closed for two days (on Christmas Day and Good Friday), with the staff working all year round. There is no formal dress code, and tourists can visit the heritage site dressed in casuals. Cool Facts About Sydney Opera HouseHeat and humidity are crucial to musical instruments. The temperature must always be around 72.5 F (22.5 C) when the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performs onstage in the concert hall to guarantee the instruments stay in tune.In 1980, the renowned actor and the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won his final Mr. Olympia bodybuilding title in the Sydney Opera House concert hall.The Sydney Opera House hosts a wide selection of performances every year, ranging from the likes of Sydney Theatre Company, Opera Australia, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and the Australian Ballet, among others. While we have read about the first unofficial performance of Paul Robeson in 1960, the first official opera performance that took place at the Sydney Opera House was the Australia Opera’s production of War and Peace on September 28, 1973. The Sydney Opera House saw its largest attendance in 1996 when the band Crowded House performed the Farewell to the World concert that was televised around the globe. The 62-year-old Sydney Opera House has its own opera written about it, called ‘The Eighth Wonder.’ However, it is to be noted that it is not one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.One of the distinguishing features of the Sydney Opera House that separates it from other theater houses is that all the prop items and sceneries are usually stored underneath the floors of the stage of the drama theater. The Sydney Opera House uses large stage lifts to reveal the sceneries and draw the props onto the stage for theatrical performance. The Sydney Opera House Trust Agency administers and operates the Sydney Opera House. The chief architect, Jorn Utzon, famously obtained inspiration for the Sydney Opera House from Aztec and Mayan architecture. He based the concrete podiums of the Opera House on the Mexican temples and drew inspiration from Chinese architecture to design the roof.
The Sydney Opera House remains one of the most recognizable buildings in the world and a popular tourist destination in Australia.
