Tours PH | They’re Also Called Nuns in a Scrum | Like many other attractions around the world, the Sydney Opera House is one of those places that is easy to identify and obviously associated with Australia.
The Sydney Opera House sits on Bennelong Point, which was named after Woollarawarre Bennelong, a senior Eora man at the time of the arrival of British colonizers in Australia in 1788.
The original cost estimate to build Sydney Opera House was $7 million. The final cost was $102 million and it was largely paid for by a State Lottery.
233 designs were submitted for the Opera House international design competition held in 1956. Jørn Utzon from Denmark was announced the winner, receiving ₤5000 for his design.
Interesting Facts:
Paul Robeson was the first person to perform at Sydney Opera House. In 1960, he climbed the scaffolding and sang Ol’ Man River to the construction workers as they ate lunch.
Sydney Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20th October, 1973. She has since visited four times, most recently in 2006.
Sydney Opera House was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2007. More than 10.9 million people visit the Opera House every year.
When the Sydney Symphony Orchestra is on stage in the Concert Hall, the temperature must be 22.5 degrees to ensure the instruments stay in tune. Temperature and humidity are critical to musical instruments.
Sydney Opera House is cooled using seawater taken directly from the harbour. The system circulates cold water from the harbour through 35 kilometres of pipes to power both the heating and air conditioning in the building.
We hope you enjoyed our simple feature of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Stay tuned next week as we show you another famous tourist spot in the world.
What would you like to see next? Reply to this email for your suggestions.
