It seems no Australian venue is safe from the scourge of noise complaints from local residents, not even an iconic institution like the Sydney Opera House. This time around though, residents claim they’re upset because the noise is ruining the venue’s iconic status.
As The Australian reports, the Sydney Opera House Concerned Citizens Group, a collective of residents who live near the Opera House, have sent a paper entitled ‘The Trashing of the Opera House’ to several authorities, including the Premier’s office and UNESCO.
In the paper, the residents, who include prominent investment banker Bill Moss and radio host Alan Jones, claim the site of the Opera House is increasingly becoming the backdrop for noisy and unruly events which cause noise disturbance and just plain look ugly.
According to The Australian, Jones himself is particularly critical of the “shipping containers” set up around the Opera House before outdoor concerts such as Tame Impala’s performance on the forecourt, saying the setup looks like a “bomb site”.
The committee has even accused Opera House management of harbouring a “culture of lies, denials and cover-ups” and of breaching the terms of expansions and renovations to the venue, which they claim could see the Opera House delisted from the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Many of the gripes are apparently coming from residents of the prestigious and highly exclusive Bennelong apartment building, better known as “the Toaster”. They object to concerts being held on the forecourt, as well as the noise of crowds leaving the shows afterwards.
As far as the residents are concerned, the “greed” of Opera House management has led to a commercialisation of the venue, i.e. renovations, expansions, and more concerts in the forecourt, which threatens the very reason the venue was special in the first place.
Whilst the residents are adamant that they have the good of the Opera House itself at heart, it seems they’re missing the point of expanding and renovating the Opera House, as well as hosting concerts in the forecourt, such as the upcoming performances from Crowded House.
These aren’t ploys to squeeze more bucks out of Sydney punters. They’re a way for the Opera House to ensure its own future by opening itself up to new, younger generations of punters who may take the Opera House for granted or write it off as a stuffy, high-end venue for opera and ballet.
It seems local residents would prefer the latter.
