What is the opera house on Sydney Harbour?

The iconic building on Sydney Harbour is the Sydney Opera House, in Australia. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, it was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on October 20, 1973. Its white, sail-like shells make it one of the most famous buildings of the 20th century. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

Opera House on Sydney Harbour: The Sydney Opera House

A competition winner

In 1957, Utzon, then little known, won an international design competition among more than 200 entries. One judge, the architect Eero Saarinen, reportedly rescued his sketches from a pile of rejected designs.

A difficult build

Problem	What happened
The shells	No one knew how to build the curved roofs; it took years to solve
The solution	Utzon realized all shells could be cut from the surface of a single sphere, so parts could be prefabricated
Budget	Estimated at A$7 million; final cost about A$102 million
Time	Planned for about 4 years; took 14
Conflict	Utzon resigned in 1966 after disputes with the government and never returned to see it finished

Utzon was later reconciled with the building, designing a renovated room, the Utzon Room, before his death in 2008.

The building today

More than 1 million white and cream tiles, made in Sweden, cover the roof shells and are self-cleaning in the rain.
It houses several performance venues, including the Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre.
It hosts more than 1,500 performances a year, from opera to rock concerts.
On New Year’s Eve, it’s the backdrop to Sydney’s famous fireworks over the harbor.

Bennelong Point

The building stands on Bennelong Point, named after Woollarawarre Bennelong, a Wangal man who acted as a go-between with British settlers in the 1790s.

Prize-winning architect

Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s top honor, in 2003.

For the time in Sydney, see what time it is in Australia. For Australia’s famous red monolith, see what Uluru is.