Experiences
There’s always something to do and see beyond the stage. Explore free events, exhibitions, art installations, fireworks, tours and spectacular seasonal experiences. Discover what’s lighting up our sails, taking over the Forecourt and popping up throughout our venues.
Experiences
Film at the House Exhibition
3 Jun – 3 Dec 2026
Box Office Lounge presented by Mastercard
Stream, read & listen
Badu Gili’s Frances Belle Parker
Ten thousand pegs washed in plaster form the shape of an island across a gallery floor. On each peg, the words ‘Ulgundahi Island’ are handwritten then hidden. As time goes on, the plaster is designed to flake off and reveal the name of the island the artwork takes its form from.
Lighting of the Sails 2023: Life Enlivened by John Olsen and Curiious
We farewelled one of Australia’s most admired artists, Dr John Olsen AO OBE. We proudly paid tribute to Olsen’s extraordinary six-decade career in Lighting of the Sails: Life Enlivened when his works were animated and projected on the Opera House sails for Vivid Sydney in 2023.
The inside story of Olsen’s celebrated Opera House mural
The story went like this. It was a Saturday night. There was much jollity. They heard there was a party that night in Mosman, so they all went down to the ferry. Joe Lynch, the cartoonist, was with them. It had been a rainy day and Joe had two bottles of beer in each pocket of his overcoat. And so they all got on to the ferry and then, when they were near what is now the Opera House, a big liner passed by, the ferry jostled in the turbulence, and after a while someone said: ‘Where’s Joe?’ Joe had fallen overboard, anchored down by those bottles of beer. A true Australian death.
