2018/15: Should the sails of the Sydney Opera House be used for advertising? - Web links, documents and video clips

On October 22, 2018, Architectureau published a comment by Clare Cousins and Andrew Nimmo titled 'Sydney Opera House: Celebrating and protecting an Australian icon'
The opinion piece outlines the need to preserve the status of the Sydney Opera House.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 17, 2018, AltMedia published a comment by Gabe Merkel titled 'Shame on you, Mr Jones' which suggests the high political price those politicians believed to be influenced by Alan Jones may pay at the next election.
The full text can be accessed at
Please note: you will need to scroll down a page before the opinion piece becomes visible

On October 15, 2018, habitusliving published a comment by Stephen Todd titled 'Are The Sydney Opera House Sails For Sale?'
The comment is particularly critical of Alan Jones' attempt to present himself as speaking for the people of Sydney.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 12, 2018, The Australian published a comment by Gerard Henderson titled 'Great media U-turns of our time'
The opinion piece suggests that the Fairfax media has been hypocritical in its criticism of the use of the Sydney Opera House to promote the Everest Cup.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 12, 2018, Independent Australia published a comment by Binoy Kampmark titled 'The Sydney Opera House: Beauty, dignity and class have a price'
This opinion piece looks at the contest between commercial and aesthetic considerations which have affected the Sydney Opera House from its initial design and construction to the current controversy.


On October 10, 2018,Hunter and Bligh published an analysis by Chris Kelly titled ' Sydney Opera House Promo: Yay or Neigh?' The article gives an overview of the development of the issue and includes links to articles treating different sides of the question.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 10, 2018, The Sydney Morning Herald published a news report titled 'Racing NSW wants to put The Everest Opera House promotion "behind us"'
The report details the decision by Racing New South Wales to promote The Everest Cup differently in 2019.


On October 9, 2018, ABC News published a report titled 'Alan Jones apologises for Opera House interview, as petition with 235,000 signatures delivered'
The report gives the background to the issue and includes Alan Jones apology to Louise Herron, the chief executive of the Sydney Opera House, for any offence given in his interview with her. Jones also explains what he intended via his previous comments.


On October 9, 2018, The Daily Telegraph published a comment by Anna Caldwell titled 'Inside the plan to light up the Opera House sails'
The article argues that the antecedents of the current controversy date back to September 20, 2018, when the chief executive of Racing New South Wales, Peter V'landys, publicly lambasted the New South Wales government for its supposed failure adequately to support the Everest Cup.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 9, 2018, Foreground published a background and opinion piece titled 'The Sydney opera that nobody wants'
The article is critical of the decision taken by Premier Gladys Berejiklian to have the Everest Cup promoted on the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 9, 2018, AdNews published a series of comments from Australian marketers under the headline 'Should the Opera House be open to advertisers?' Most comments were strongly opposed to the Opera House being used for advertising.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 8, 2018, ABC News published a comment by Dr Rohan Miller, senior lecturer at The University of Sydney Business School, titled ' Sydney Opera House wasn't meant to be an ivory tower, so why not advertise on it?'
The opinion piece presents a case in favour of commercialising the Sydney Opera House.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 8, 2018, SBS News published a report titled 'Opera House promotion could be illegal: National Trust NSW'
The article considers the possibility that the current use of the Opera House sails for the promotion of the Everest Cup may be in violation of the laws regulating its use.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 8, 2018, TechGuide published a comment by Stephen Fenech titled 'Should we be outraged about the Everest projection on the Sydney Opera House?'
The comment argues that those critical of using the Opera House for commercial purposes are over-reacting.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 8, 2018, Junkee published a comment by Rob Stott titled ' The Alan Jones Opera House Scandal Is Sydney At Its Absolute Worst' which claims that corruption is endemic in New South Wales politics and that the recent controversy surrounding the use of the Opera House for advertising exemplifies this.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 8, 2018, Architectureau published a report by Linda Cheng titled 'Sydney Opera House "not an advertising billboard".
Though the article canvasses both sides of the issue, it emphasises the views of politicians and architects opposed to the use of the Opera House sails for commercial promotions.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 7, 2018, The Sydney Morning Herald published a comment by Peter V'landys, the chief executive of Racing New South Wales, titled 'Promotion was always going to be good for Sydney', giving Racing New South Wales justification for using the sails of the Sydney Opera House to promote the Everest Cup.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 7, 2018, The Guardian published a comment by Tim Costello titled 'The Alan Jones-Opera House row proves Sydney is in thrall to the gambling industry'
The opinion piece condemns successive New South Wales governments of doing insufficient to discourage gambling within the state. The comment focuses on the current controversy surrounding Alan Jones' apparent influence over the Berejiklian government.
The full text can be accessed at

On October 7, 2018, The New Daily published a news report titled 'PM Morrison declares the Opera House Sydney's "biggest billboard"'.
The article backgrounded the immediate controversy surrounding the use of the Sydney Opera House to promote the Everest Cup, concentrating on the support given this use by the Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The full text can be accessed at

In July, 2017, the Heritage Council of New South Wales released the fourth edition of 'Respecting the Vision: Sydney Opera House - a Conservation Management Plan' by Alan Croker.
The document outlines in great detail the measures which are to be taken to conserve all areas within and around the Sydney Opera House.
The full document can be accessed at

In 2013, The Sydney Opera House released its Enterprise Strategy which includes as part of its mission statement 'The Sydney Opera house embodies beauty, inspiration and the liberating power of art and ideas. it is a masterpiece that belongs to all Australians.'
The full text can be accessed at

On May 3, 2012, the Sydney Opera House Trust released the updated 'Illumination of Sydney Opera Sails Policy'. The policy includes the statement 'No logo or corporate identity shall be permitted to be projected onto the Sails.'
The full text of the policy can be accessed at

In 2005, the Sydney Opera House published the Statement of Values for Sydney Opera House National Heritage Listing. These are the values that the Sydney Opera House is believed to embody which justify its inclusion in the Australian National Heritage Register.
The full document can be accessed at