The Sydney Opera House was a Financial Disaster 

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The Opera House is one of those rare situations where you go: hang the expense, it was totally worth it. I love that place.

other Sydney Opera House trivia: the biggest events it has hosted were outside, like the famous Crowded House concert in 1996 with 250k attendees. Also for some of the year it has a resident long-nosed fur seal named Benny who lounges in the sun at the northern VIP steps which are quite close to water level

The Opera House was built without a carpark. This was later remedied by drilling a huge, vertical cylindrical shaft nearby and installing an 8-level double-helix carpark - which is a pretty unique construction in its own right. If you drive down to the bottom of the spiral, you only actually travel every second level, then you cut across the bottom and spiral up the intermediate levels.

If you saw what was there before, the Sydney Opera House is a millionfold improvement. It was a tram shed made of black stone that called like a child's clay model of a castle.

The Sydney Opera Hose opened in 1973. That was 51 years ago. Any 'financial disaster' would have been averted a million times over since then. The value of the Sydney Opera House is iconic, priceless and legendary.

As an Australian who doesn't live in Sydney it is most definitely worth it. Iconic.

Being Sydney born and having lived here all my life, I would have been 3 when the Opera House opened. I have attended operas, concerts and celebrations both in and on its steps. I have even performed on one of its stages and taken young choirs to perform there. It brings tears to my eyes to visit such a wonderful venue and I could not imagine my city without its iconic “sails”.

There were 2 controversial, expensive projects in Australia at the time. The Opera House & the purchase of 24 F-111C fighter bombers for 240 million after cost blow outs. The F-111s are long gone, the Opera House keeps on giving

🇩🇰Definitely one of the most iconic buildings in the world, and a silhouette that’s recognized world wide. As a dane I’m very proud of it! Think about the shape, and what it reminds people of, sails, shells etc., but more importantly what it doesn’t; it’s not a phallic powerplay, not a mausoleum, not another revival of gothic style, not Brutalism. It’s organic flowing timelessness all of it’s own and I applaud Sydney for building it!

My friend works for the acoustic consulting firm that designed the internal acoustics of the opera house. Apparently it was an absolute mess of a opera house to make it acoustically sound wbere the architect made it borderline impossible to make the internal sound of the opera hall sound acceptable

A few facts: The NSW state lottery paid for most of the construction, so it kind of was taxpayers money. It was built on the site of the old Bennelong point tram terminus. Utzon took inspiration from the inside of a walnut shell for the interior, which, although expensive, would probably have made for good acoustics.

Videos, photos, seeing it on television just doesn’t do it justice! When you see it for the first time, it’s absolutely breathtaking. I know that sounds ridiculous to say that about a building, but it really is! Words don’t really do it justice either! As you enter Sydney Harbour, you’re greeted by the Opera House. Its beautiful white shells glistening in the sun, surrounded by the ocean blue waters of the harbour. As an Aussie, it really is something very special to me! 🇦🇺

As a general rule, projects like this rarely get done under budget and almost always blow past the budget by a mile.

The Sydney Opera House was funded by a lottery which went on for many years after the facility was completed and open. Yes, it cost a lot, but no one person is really to blame for it. Today, it is Sydney's most visited tourist attraction.

inda like how the Louvre Pyramid became a Parisian icon despite being ridiculed at first! The Grand Louvre project was announced in 1981 by François Mitterrand, then President of France. In 1983 the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei was selected as its architect. Besides this, Pei also designed pyramids for Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the East Building of DC's National Gallery of Art. The pyramid completed in 1989 was initially designed by Pei in late 1983 and presented to the public in early 1984. The pyramid and the underground lobby beneath it were created because of deficiencies with the Louvre's earlier layout, which could no longer handle the increasing number of visitors on an everyday basis. The construction of the pyramid triggered many years of lively aesthetic and political debate, stating the modernist style is inconsistent with the classic French Renaissance style, the pyramid being an unsuitable symbol of death from ancient Egypt, the project being megalomaniacal folly imposed by François Mitterrand, and saying a non-French guy like IM Pei shouldn't have been trusted with updating a treasured French landmark. On top of this, there was a myth that the pyramid purposefully had 666 panes despite the official number of panes being 673. Designed to handle 4.5 million visitors a year, the pyramid eventually proved inadequate and it was renovated in 2014.

Considering what I know of NSW public works, this project went smoothly.

A project like this was successful because it became iconic and culturally important, not so much because of financial profitability.

I’ve heard stories of blokes working on the opera house, coming into work and clocking on then going to the pub for the day then clocking off and going home. I think it took an engineering team come in to start getting stuff done.

Reminds me how the Guggenheim Museum by Frank Lloyd Wright in NYC faced just as harsh criticism and difficulties before being viewed as the NYC icon that it is today. When plans were first unveiled for the building, they were highly controversial among artists. Many felt that the curved walls of the building weren’t appropriate for displaying art, and this prompted 21 artists to send a letter to the director of the museum asking them to reconsider their plans. Besides this, the building's construction was delayed, first because of WWII material shortages, then by increasing construction costs after the war. By late 1946, Guggenheim and Hilla von Rebay had redesigned the basement theater to accommodate concerts. Rebay and Wright disagreed over several aspects such as how the paintings were to be mounted. Solomon Guggenheim's health was in decline, but he refused Wright's offer to downsize so it could be completed during Guggenheim's lifetime. After Solomon died in 1949, members of the Guggenheim family had personal and philosophical differences with Rebay. Then the collection grew, and Wright had to redesign it again as a multi-story annex to incorporate a remodel of an apartment building they acquired (though this annex wasn't realized until the 1990s). Then James Johnson Sweeney became museum director in 1952, and he had a strained relationship with Wright because of the museum's lighting and color scheme (originally it was brownish yellow). Wright passed in April 1959, and the museum opened six months after.

Build it and they will come. This is one example that it was true. Show a picture of it to some remote village, and they will recognise it. If you look at the shells you will notice that there are 14 forms that make up all the roof structure. Once the Australian engineers started to understand this unique structure, even they said Utson was a genius.

I'm happy to share that as a Sydneysider I've been fortunate enough to witness a few events and performances here and everything about the experience is just magical - not simply just the performances themselves with the acoustics that are an audio delight - but the visuals, from the stunning interior of the main hall to the fantastically retro fitout and hardware inside, the style is quite a product of its time and it's all the more enjoyable because of it, and on an emotional level it represents an Australia and a Sydney that was growing in leaps and bounds, even if that time is well before I was born, it's still so easy to appreciate it. A must visit for anyone visiting our City 😊😊🇦🇺

Chrissy Amphlett met Mark McEntee at a concert at the Sydney Opera House in 1980 and they formed the Divinyls. This alone makes the project all worth it IMHO.

Finally a Megaproject outside of the US I've actually been able to visit and get a backstage tour of.

It was a hugely brave and visionary step to select Utzon’s design. Despite the difficulties it became a unique and stunning building, standing out into the harbour like a ship in full sail. It is recognised world-wide as an icon of Sydney.

even without watching the video i can tell you it was worth it. However much it costed at the time, its been a driving force behind tourism in Sydney for like 50 years. Hard to even quantify how much money that is. Australia is far away from the rest of the world, we need iconic landmarks like that as drawing cards.

So they lost a great financial opera-tunity

The Government recently spent close to $300 Million redoing the interiors of the 2 main halls, more than the initial cost. Improved acoustics, new stage equipment, improved accessibility for disabled. On time for the 50th anniversary and on budget. No one complained and the acoustics now are fantastic.

Besides being a beautiful venue it is a magnificent Icon and it caught my attention and encouraged me to start researching a trip to Sydney from the U.S.. I've been around it, inside and out and it's amazing. I wonder how many Tourists it's caught the attenenion of and resulted in a visit as it did for me. I've been to Sydney twice now and found a whole lot more than the beautiful Opera House, but maybe I wouldn't have planned a trip in the first place if it wasn't there to catch my attention. Sydney is now my favorite City. I think Sydneysiders will agree and say it was definitely worth it.

As an Australian, this building really represents an annual tradition held on Boxing Day. It’s the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, which the building sort of looks like a sailing yacht. It may have costed a pretty penny, but it looks pretty good.

FYI Joe Cahill was the premier who decided to scrap the Sydney trams. The Cahill Expressway is the ugly highway construct that runs above Circular Quay Railway Station. There were proposals to demolish it all, I’m not sure what happened to that. Probably don’t want to bite the bullet. Scrapping trams was part of a worldwide trend at the time with people in the papers saying “that’s progress”. Melbourne was seen as primitive in not doing the same.

One fun rumour was that by its completion, they had lost 6 rooms - there are over 1000 in total and at complex multiple levels. 🙂 For example there are multiple curved corridors of soundproof practice rooms branching off from the Green Room that sits between the main sails, so it's easy to imagine the occasional storeroom or such being lost in pre-computer days. The building started around when I was born and was opened when I finished secondary school.

This reminds me a lot of the Boston Big Dig. I visited Sydney a few years ago and was fascinated by the whole story and awed by my tour. Before moving to Boston just before the end of construction, I though they Central Artery project was a total waste of money, at then end, it transformed the city even as it continued to have a few glitches. The value of the current parkland vs. the rusty bridges through downtown is not calculable.

I live in Melbourne and in 1965 I went on a holiday to what was before the Gold Coast and then on the way home (via Gosford freeway) rode on a Sydney ferry and saw the partially completed opera house.

I had no idea Utzon was involved in such drama regarding his own creation. At least he was reconciled with and honored with a room in his name.

The Opera House is just an absolutely amazing place to be of an evening. Before or after a show, the views of the harbour are totally amazing, and the interior is a delight. Another fun fact...using water from the harbour for the cooling should rust the pipes. However, they are apparently protected by blocks of 'sacrificial' zinc, which corrode first and are then replaced!

Despite being a financial disaster, I'd still argue it was worth it. That building is iconic and almost everyone worldwide recognizes and connects it with Australia. Not many buildings around the world can pull that off.

The number of tourists - even just internal tourism alone - that it drives to Sydney makes it more than worth it. That's the good thing about public funding - the building in and of itself doesn't need to make money, the general benefits to the economy of the area (for a building this iconic, that area is all of Australia) can count to its value. The ads projected onto the Opera House are bullshit though. Edit: turns out the video makes my point at the end, and just as well - it's correct

You have to physically see it to appreciate its beauty and how astoundingly well it fits in with Sydney Harbour.

I wonder how much money it has generated just by postcards and keychains alone.

We live on Philip Island. Taking our kid to the house this summer was awesome, something we are proud of. Been to London, Stockholm, Paris... Sitting at the Opera House having a beer overlooking the harbor....bucket list cool...not better, but just as amazing as any other place on this plant I've seen.

Extraordinary episode! Very well done! Thanks for producing it.

I was born in Sydney, grew up and spent 40y of my life there, and hate the place. But I love the Opera House and was there as a small boy when it opened, and have been to many events there. Totally worth it.

Great video as always Simon and staff. 😊 Keep up the good work 👏

This was a good one Simon. Thanks brother. Keep up the great work...

And now a former Australian born here is the queen of Denmark! And the opera house itself is an international icon, regardless of any real or perceived flaws or any controversy abouts its planning or construction, it is in essence the most iconic opera house of any city in the world and for that alone it has fulfilled its purpose. And the tourist income alone that its generated has more than made up for its cost.

I feel so lucky to live within walking distance and be able to see it from my balcony. I’ve also seen a show in every single performance space, and during COVID while stood down from my main job, I had the opportunity to be able to work in the opera house which was such a memorable experience!

I don't know how Australians view the Opera House, but as an American I view it like the Eiffel Tower or Statue of Liberty, to me it is THE ICONIC SYMBOL of Australia.

It is truly a spectacular venue and has to be seen in person to truly appreciate it. The location on the bay is just magical. I highly recommend taking the behind the scenes tour for the best understanding of this fantastic complex.

Was fortunate to play the first gig at the opera house after its recent refurb. The sound previously was plagued with issues do to the NSW government not fulfilling utsons wishes. The reverb cost hundreds of millions of dollars and was worth every penny of it. It’s now exceptional and we should all be pleased they properly finished this exceptional icon!

Clive James famously got in trouble for reporting the wings beside the stage in the main theatre were too small to mount full-scale operas and ballets, because there was no room for the company to go at the ends of scenes and for set changes. They'd litterally have to queue to get off stage!

Fun fact: the cooling piping with all the water from the harbour allows for sustainable cooling on super hot days - which we have a lot of - and adds to the 6 star green rating that we have. It also feeds the A/C supply making the cooling super nice. There are special tours you can do to go below sea level and see how the cooling works :)

Please do a video on the Santa Susana field laboratory. You have mentioned it a few times across your channels. It definitely deserves it's own video. I've lived within a few miles of it for 30 years and know that what your writers/researchers will find would be astounding.

As a Sydney sider what a magnificent building and as a courier in and around Sydney made many deliveries to the Sydney Opera House

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Simon. I've been looking forward to your take on this

Great vid, thanks for the story. the Gehry quote was ironic as hes cut from the same crazy design mold

On 28 June 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 States Heritage Register since 2003, and the Australian National Heritage List since 2005. The Opera House was also a finalist in the New7Wonders of the World campaign list.

Absolutely worth it

The timeless tale of bureaucrats being the enemy of art. By the way, that billboard idea was instituted on The Sphere in Las Vegas. I would be PISSED as a resident.

Both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House were criticised at the time for their ambition and scale, and yet the complete opposite became the legacy. It’s like the ambition drove its success, and the bolder the attempt, the better success it had. Totally transformed the psyche of Sydney and Australia.

back in the early 70's I would regularly climb the easternmost sail and sit at the top smoking spliffs. I nearly came a cropper once, when on the descent, when one of my feet got snagged in my flares,...a scary moment.....you could'nt get away with it these days...too much security...back then , nobody imagined someone would even think of doing such a thing

They funded the Opera House with the Sydney Oprra House Lottery. I can't remember if it was a monthly, fortnightly or weekly lottery, but the important thing is that whatever the ultimate cost of the Sydney Opera House Lottery, it was paid off well ahead of schedule. It was started is January 1958 as a means of raising revenue for the Opera House and the last one was drawn in September 1986, because by then all cost had been covered. I can't remember how far ahead of schedule it was paid off, but it was a significant figure. In that respect it doesn't really matter what cost blow outs there might have been, because in the end, all revenue was recovered by means of the lottery. Tickets cost $10 and the first prize was $200,000.

Simon, i fast forward your ad,.So take that.

Worth it. Its iconic and gorgeous.

The Sydney Opera House's building and it's controversies was the backdrop of my childhood. I remember sitting on the grass at Milson's Point and watching the opening. Today, as a sixty four year old, I look at her and am still impressed and so glad that Premier Cahill made a risky architectural decision all those years ago.

The inside of the Opera House has just been re done over covid, opening recently, fixing all the acoustic problems, looks and sounds fantastic, you should come on down and see it!! - Sydney

it was worth it. it is the first and only building that comes to my mind when thinking about Australia (I am from Poland, Warsaw).

It was my Nr one must visit when I went on holiday form Europe. Amazing place

As an Aussie, I am proud this building exists in our country. It’s one of the most recognisable landmarks in the world. Just undervalued by the rest of the world

It's up there with Elizabeth Tower and Eiffel Tower as synonymous buildings with a city. You couldn't imagine a Sydney without it.

As a person born in Sydney and lives here.. Even if it cost 4 times the finished amount….. It would still be worth it, as it’s so beautiful, unique and inspiring

I love it. My mother used to say "You never regret an extravagance!". So, the iconic 'Nuns in a Scrum' was worth it... eventually.

Still a wonderful building. 50 years later I still go there regularly and am proud of the building. Wish they built more building like this rather than endless boring concrete and glass monstrosities.

From memory, there was the Opera House Lottery, which helped fund the construction costs, however, Utzon's original design was extensively modified and many construction techniques basically had to be invented to build the thing, all adding to the cost. Well... It exists now and has been here for 50 years, so it's the maintenance issues now that will really define if it was worth it or not.

As an Australian, I both love and hate our mating turtles. It's as iconic an image of Australia as the kangaroos. It's extremely photogenic - even an amateur using nothing but their phone camera can make a spectacular image of the opera house at sunset. It's in a location in the harbour where it can anchor one end of a shopping-and-culture district. The "city centre" has become a paved and decorated plaza from the opera house, including a variety of cultural buildings, a major shopping district, Circular Quay (a set of docks focussing on passenger vessels), and The Rocks (a historic area preserving some of the first buildings from the European landing). And it's a pain to maintain.

concert hall acoustically reengineered recently, Utzon's internal design revived, been there for orchestral concerts a few times, it' wonderful

Great timing for this video. Im seeing the opera house tomorrow with the misses

I always flying into Sydney and seeing, especially after a good rain when the sun comes out. A jewel in Sydney's hat. Wouldn't be the same without it.

Fun fact, the transition chime in these videos is the same chime used for announcements in Australian airports. This video is fitting, because Megaprojects already reminded me of Sydney Airport every time I hear it.

The first performance at the Opera house happened before even the sails were up. Paul Robeson who had been blacklisted in America as a result of Senator McCarthy's purges of supposed communists was on a world tour sponsored by the international labour movement. The workers downed tools while he addressed them and sang from an improvised stage.

Hey Simon, love your channels. You should do one on The Olympic Stadium. AKA The Big Owe. Cost us a billion dollars and we can't use it.

My dad sang in the Sydney opera house when I was very young. I got to explore it. Very good memory

Could you please discuss the history of Mrs. Simpson and the Duke of Windsor? This is a particularly interesting bit of history and would make many separate programs. Love your videos.

Very impressive, and very beautiful. Unfortunately, my cat scoffed and said he thinks it's shit. I apologize on his behalf, because he's not gonna do it😾

0:55 - Chapter 1 - The vision 2:45 - Mid roll ads 3:50 - Chapter 2 - Trouble brewing 8:45 - Chapter 3 - Sydney's icon 11:00 - Chapter 4 - A lasting legacy

It must be worth its cost ten times over. Incredible building. What is the years' of delay compared to time in memorial.

There is no better place to be in Sydney on New Years Eve than the Opera House. It is a spectacular building in a spectacular setting. I watched them building it over many years, I have been there many times and am still in awe of it. For me, the only buildings that come close or are as good are the Lotus Temple in Delhi or the Taj Mahal.

to put it into perspective, anybody that can remember as far back as the 2000 Olympics will know that the Opera house was prominent on the logo for the games the Opera house Matt may have been expensive, but in terms of PR it continues to deliver each and every year in terms of the number interstate and international tourist that come to see it

Yeah, most people think it was cheap at twice the final price. All you have to do is look at the other buildings in Sydney for comparison.

This is interesting from the ‘laundry’ associated products as - ‘bleach baths’ have been often proposed to me to help with my chronic eczema. From my first experience at the Royal Children’s Hospital over 20 years ago, to my dermatologist literally 2 days ago - recommending this. It’s been recommended for as long as I can remember but I’ve only ‘just’ started doing it again. Chronic eczema however would leave me to any desperate place.

It is such a terrific building. It moves you when you see it and is even more impactful as you walk around it and look up within it. Jørn Utzon was a dreamer and a visionary. It’s so amazing that our government has now fixed the issues (that were created from trying to save money back then) and rebuilt parts of the opera house as Utzon originally designed.

Fun fact: Utzon was not mentioned a single time by anyone during the inauguration

Finally you’ve done this one! 👌👍

I have been there several times and it is as spectacular as you hope and has amazing acoustics and views

Sydneysider here. One minute in and I will watch the whole thing but at the starr you posed the question if it was worth it.... The answer is a uniformed YES. Bright blue Sydney day the view is unmatched with the coathanger and the sparkling harbour. Looking forward to the watch here though ❤

The Opera house also indirectly led to a change in Lottery laws. Winners names and addresses use to be freely published. This led to an infamous kidnapping and murder. As a result the laws were changed to allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.

I have always liked the design of the building. But beyond knowing what it looks like I really didn't know anything else about it.

Now that they've got building the opera house down pat, they should put one on each promontory of the harbor. What fun!

The fault always lays with the jokers who give the project estimate. Now I'm no dumbo, so I'm aware these estimates are to get the project approved so they get going (in the hope, once people caught onto this bogus budget which was based on someone licking their finger, sticking it on the air and saying that will do), it's too late and the project can't be stopped (like HS2).

Anybody who hasn’t seen the SOH 50th anniversary thing, you should absolutely check out Tim Minchin’s song “Play It Safe”