Plan to project ads onto Sydney Opera House causes outrage
SINCE it was opened in 1973, Sydney Opera House has become a globally recognised icon whose famous white sails are regarded as a wonder of modern architecture.
Perched on the harbour foreshore, the world heritage site has featured concerts and talks by Luciano Pavarotti, Bob Dylan and Nelson Mandela and once hosted a body-building competition won by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But there is one use to which the Opera House has not been put until now – its sails have never been used as an advertising billboard. In a move which has caused outrage, the New South Wales state government agreed to allow an advertisement for a horse race to be projected onto them.
Critics said the decision was akin to placing advertisements on the pyramids or the Taj Mahal. Willy Hall, son of architect Peter Hall, who oversaw the completion of the Opera House, described the plan as a “desecration”. “My father would have been sickened by it,” he said.
Despite the objection of the Opera House’s management, Gladys Berejiklian, the state premier, ruled the sails could be used to advertise The Everest, believed to be the world’s richest horse race.
She was accused of buckling to pressure from broadcaster Alan Jones, who insisted the advertisement should be allowed and the building was not the private property of an artistic “elite”.
Louise Herron, the Opera House’s chief executive, had agreed to feature the colours of jockeys on the sails but refused to directly promote the horse race.
Protesters plan to use lights as a counter-projection to disrupt the advertisement.