The Sydney Opera House is being celebrated as “a symbol of modern Australia” as the world-renowned building marks 50 years since the Queen officially opened it in 1973.
A flashy audiovisual display will light up its famous sails on Friday night, ahead of a weekend of celebrations as the icon opens its doors to the public for the first time in eight years.
The King has sent a message of congratulations, five decades to the day since his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, officially opened it on October 20, 1973.
“Since its opening in 1973 by my beloved mother, the Sydney Opera House has stood as a continuing legacy for Australians, profoundly influencing contemporary arts and culture, both locally and internationally, and having global recognition as a symbol of modern Australia,” the King wrote.
“I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you all for a most memorable and successful celebration.”
The world heritage-listed Opera House was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon.
He quit the project in 1966 over a dispute with the NSW government and vowed never to return to Australia. He died in 2008.
Utzon’s eldest children, Jan and Lin Utzon, are in Australia for the anniversary.
Friday night’s audiovisual laser show is just one part of a festive weekend of events that are free to the public.
Opera House chief executive Louise Herron said celebratory parties for the building’s 400 staff and stakeholders would be held on Friday.
On the weekend, the building will open to the public for free, with 37,000 booked visitors expected.
“Since the Opera House opened 50 years ago today, it really has changed the nation,” Herron told ABC TV.
“It is the symbol of modern Australia. It’s the most recognised thing in Australia, internationally, apart from the kangaroo and the koala, and the most loved.”
Herron said people saw the Opera House as a place of “boldness and creativity … reflecting the Australian spirit of us being able to do things against the odds”.
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Among the celebrations for Friday’s big day is one from comic musician and composer Tim Minchin.
He has penned a musical tribute to the Sydney Opera House, called Play It Safe. It is an ironic salute to the visionary experiment that became the World Heritage-listed Opera House, and was launched earlier this week.
“A big thing about art and a building like the Opera House is it needs to be brave and push boundaries, which is what I hope I do in this little song,” Minchin told The Sydney Morning Herald.
The song also features Jimmy Barnes, drag performer Courtney Act, Bell Shakespeare founder John Bell, singer Kira Pura, Indigenous singer Ziggy Ramo and didgeridoo player William Barton.
Performers from the eight resident arts companies, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The Australian Ballet, the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, feature in the clip, which took four days to film, including six hours of dancing on the monumental steps.
The Opera House is no novice when it comes to famous musical acts, hosting them for five decades and provided a stunning backdrop for visits by monarchs, world leaders, popes, pop stars and protesters.
A newly freed Nelson Mandela in October 1990 gave a speech on the Opera House steps to tens of thousands of people, speaking of forgiveness and thanking Australia for opposing apartheid.
In March 2003, two activists protesting against the war in Iraq famously scaled the building and painted the words “No War” in big red letters at the top of one of the sails.
In 1996, the building provided the backdrop to a goodbye concert by beloved Australian band Crowded House, with up to 150,000 people cramming the forecourt.
The Opera House sails also feature prominently in Sydney’s Vivid festival of light, music and ideas each year and are regularly lit up to mark special events or issues.
Most recently, they controversially showed the colours of the Israeli flag in solidarity with the country’s people following deadly attacks by Hamas.
– with AAP