Skip to content

Sydney Opera House

multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

One of the 21 Finalists

Sydney Opera House

City of Sydney, Australia

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, Australia. It is one of the 20th century’s most famous and distinctive buildings.

Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the building was formally opened on 20 October 1973 after a gestation beginning with 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 in Sydney Harbour, between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove, adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens, and close by the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Though its name suggests a single venue, the building comprises multiple performance venues which together are among the busiest performing arts centres – hosting well over 1,500 performances annually, attended by more than 1.2 million people. Performances are presented by numerous performing artists, including four resident companies: Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, more than eight million people visit the site 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.

On 28 June 2007, the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Official

New 7 Wonders of the World

Machu Picchu

15th-century Inca site in Peru

Petra

Arabian historical and archaeological city, Jordan

Cristo Redentor

statue of Jesus in Río de Janeiro, Brazil

Colosseum

elliptical amphitheatre in Rome

Chichén Itzá

Pyramid at Chichén Itzá, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Taj Mahal

A white marble mausoleum in Agra, India

Great Wall of China

series of fortifications built along the historical border of China

Worldmap

The 21 Finalists

Latest News

New7Wonders continues, find out how in our News Room

The New 7 Wonders of the World celebrate 15 years

The New 7 Wonders of the World celebrate their 15th anniversary on 7 July 2022, as this is the date when the Wonders were announced at the official declaration ceremony that took place in Lisbon, Portugal in 2007. On a historic night on an equally historic date, 7/7/7 – the 7th of July 2007 – … Continued

New7Wonders virtual reality laboratory visit for The Global Memory project

New7Wonders President and Founder, Bernard Weber, and Director, Jean-Paul de la Fuente, visited the N7W virtual reality laboratory in Düsseldorf, Germany, to see and experience the latest developments for The Global Memory project. Along with partners from Digital Architektur and MIREVI University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf, in-depth testing and briefings took place as the virtual … Continued

New7Wonders courtesy visit to the Association of South East Asian Nations

During the courtesy visit of New7Wonders Director, Jean-Paul de la Fuente, to ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, New7Wonders and ASEAN met to explore areas of common interest. The visit included a tour of the historic records and cultural artefacts in the official exhibition representing all the 10 member nations of ASEAN. The visit was graciously … Continued

Discussions with Indonesian travel industry leaders

Indonesia and New7Wonders have a historic relationship over more than 12 years. This was reactivated during a series of meetings in Jakarta with leading representatives of the Indonesian travel industry. The New7Wonders Director Jean-Paul de la Fuente met with the Indonesian chapter of the Pacific Asian Tourism Association (PATA), specifically its President CEO Bapak Purnomo … Continued

Computer reconstruction of the Bamiyan Buddha

When political or religious ideologies drive people to direct their aggression towards heritage sites, structures of global importance can be wiped off the face of the earth. By using computer reconstruction to record the details that make these places unique, blueprints can be created to facilitate the potential rebuilding of these sites, should they ever … Continued

Wonderful Content loading...

Hello! Contact New 7 Wonders Close

Do you have any questions about the New7Wonders campaigns?
Are you writing an article, do you have a project in mind?
Maybe you have an idea using the New7Wonders concept?
Whatever it is, just say "Hello!" to us, and we will reply as soon as we can.

If you are from the press or a media organisation, or a social media reporter, please use this form to contact our Communications Department.

If you have an idea involving the New7Wonders concept, or maybe you want to associate New7Wonders with your product or brand, or any other commercial or business or new creative idea, please use this form to contact Jean-Paul de la Fuente, New7Wonders Head of Value Development.>