2018/15: Should the sails of the Sydney Opera House be used for advertising?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: On October 8, 2018, ABC News broadcast a report detailing the controversy surrounding the decision taken by the New South Wales government to project a promotion for the Everest Cup onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House.What they said...
'Why not put it on the biggest billboard Sydney has'
Prime Minister Scott Morrison urging that advertising for the Everest Cup be projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House
Should the sails of the Sydney Opera House be used for advertising?
Architect Alan Crocker, the heritage consultant for the Sydney Opera House
The issue at a glance
On October 5, 2018, Louise Herron, the chief executive of the Sydney Opera House, clashed with Sydney radio talkback host, Alan Jones, who called for her sacking for placing limitations on the manner in which Racing New South Wales could use the Opera House sails to advertise The Everest Cup.
Later that day, the New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, announced the sails would be used as part of a promotion for the horserace, overriding some of the limitations that Herron had wanted imposed.
The dispute escalated to include a range of political leaders. Some, including the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, supported the use of the sails for advertising, and others, such as Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, opposed this use of the building.
Various architectural authorities and cultural spokespeople joined the opposition, while a petition rejecting the use of the sails for this purpose attracted more than 300,000 signatures.
In the event, the advertising promotion for the Everest Cup went ahead; however, the larger question of the degree to which the Opera House should be commercialised continues to be debated.