The Sydney Opera House has reviewed the rules for the lighting of its iconic sails, as new figures reveal the shells were lit up a record one night in every five last year – with most illuminations coming at the request of the former NSW government.
New Arts Minister John Graham will consider the findings of the review, which was the first in a decade to examine the number, frequency and duration of projections at the cultural landmark.
“The 2012 framework for lighting the sails was in dire need of an update, and the NSW government thanks the Sydney Opera House Trust for carrying out its review of the policy. Its findings are currently being considered,” Graham said.
News of the review comes just weeks after the Minns government intervened to block a projection to mark the coronation of King Charles III on cost grounds.
It was prompted by a creep of government-initiated illuminations that became a flood in 2022 when the sails were lit for 71 days, almost double the previous year. About three-quarters of the 19 projections were requested by the Perrottet government.
The Opera House sails have come to be regularly lit for reasons of national days of significance (Indian independence), international festivals (Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights; Lunar New Year), military invasions (twice for Ukraine), sporting achievements (Beijing Winter Olympics) and in Australia’s soft diplomatic interests (anniversary of ANZUS Treaty).
The deaths of notable leaders and citizens have been increasingly marked by projections on the state’s most valuable cultural asset, from Queen Elizabeth II to Olivia Newton-John and former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, as well as police officers and paramedics killed while on duty.
The extent of government intervention is documented in an official list of projections at the Opera House going back 10 years. They were released to this masthead by the Minns government, which long argued for such transparency in opposition.
Over the past decade, the Opera House said it had fielded a substantial increase in the number of requests to illuminate the sails, including from community groups, charities, organisations, foreign embassies or consulates, and government.