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Sydney Opera House Celebrates 50th Birthday with Light Show, Free Tours

(FILE) The sails of the Opera House are illuminated with lights at the start of the Vivid Sydney festival in Sydney on May 27, 2022. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)
(FILE) The sails of the Opera House are illuminated with lights at the start of the Vivid Sydney festival in Sydney on May 27, 2022. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)
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Sydney Opera House Celebrates 50th Birthday with Light Show, Free Tours

(FILE) The sails of the Opera House are illuminated with lights at the start of the Vivid Sydney festival in Sydney on May 27, 2022. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)
(FILE) The sails of the Opera House are illuminated with lights at the start of the Vivid Sydney festival in Sydney on May 27, 2022. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)

Sydney Opera House celebrated its 50th birthday on Friday, with a laser show planned to illuminate the iconic building.
Officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973, the Opera House is widely regarded as one of the greatest architectural designs of the 20th century, with 10.9 million people visiting every year.
The building will be illuminated on Friday evening by a light show created by Australian audio-visual artist Robin Fox, before welcoming an expected 37,000 people on Saturday for free tours, its first open day in eight years.
"A symbol around the world and a national treasure turns 50," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Happy Birthday to an Australian icon."
As part of the 1956 Opera House international design competition, 233 designs were submitted by architects from around the world with Jorn Utzon from Denmark chosen as the winner.
Construction began in 1959 with the project meant to take four years to complete, but after Utzon resigned due to a change in government, design differences and a blow out in costs, the structure took 14 years to complete.
The Sydney Opera House was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2007.

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Varieties

Indonesia Rescuers Evacuating Thousands after Volcano Erupts

A woman and child look on at volcanic ash rising into the air during the eruption of Mount Ibu, as seen from Duono Village in West Halmahera, North Maluku province, on January 15, 2025. (Photo by AZZAM / AFP)
A woman and child look on at volcanic ash rising into the air during the eruption of Mount Ibu, as seen from Duono Village in West Halmahera, North Maluku province, on January 15, 2025. (Photo by AZZAM / AFP)
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Indonesia Rescuers Evacuating Thousands after Volcano Erupts

A woman and child look on at volcanic ash rising into the air during the eruption of Mount Ibu, as seen from Duono Village in West Halmahera, North Maluku province, on January 15, 2025. (Photo by AZZAM / AFP)
A woman and child look on at volcanic ash rising into the air during the eruption of Mount Ibu, as seen from Duono Village in West Halmahera, North Maluku province, on January 15, 2025. (Photo by AZZAM / AFP)

Hundreds of islanders have been evacuated, with thousands more awaiting their turn following increased volcanic eruptions in eastern Indonesia, officials said on Thursday.

Mount Ibu, located on the remote island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, erupted on Wednesday, sending a column of smoke up to four kilometers (2.5 miles) into the sky.

The volcano's alert status was immediately raised to the highest level by Indonesia's Geological Agency, prompting local authorities to call for the evacuation of 3,000 people living nearby.

As of Thursday morning, 517 residents from the village closest to the volcano had been evacuated, with the remaining residents scheduled to be moved later in the afternoon.

"The evacuation shelters have been prepared by the local administration, and today a thorough evacuation will be conducted for all residents in six villages," said a spokesman of local disaster management agency, Irfan Idrus.

He added that evacuations began on Wednesday at 6:00 pm (1100 GMT) but were delayed due to administrative and logistical issues.

Rainfall since Thursday morning further hampered the process, he said.

According to an AFP reporter, residents were still carrying out their daily activities in their respective villages as trucks prepared for evacuation.

"Of course, there is some fear and concern, but we are already used to the eruptions here," 32-year-old resident Rista Tuyu said.

"In a week, eruptions could happen three to four times, but the biggest ones occurred this week," she said.

She added that she hoped the volcano would calm down soon so the village community could resume to their daily lives.

Mount Ibu has shown a significant increase in volcanic activity since last June, following a series of earthquakes.

In the first weeks of January alone, the volcano, which is one of Indonesia's most active, erupted nine times.

Residents living near Mount Ibu and tourists have been advised to avoid a five to six kilometer exclusion zone around the volcano's peak and to wear face masks in case of falling ash.

As of 2022, around 700,000 people were living on Halmahera island, according to official data.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity as it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Last November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703-meter (5,587-foot) twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores erupted more than a dozen times in one week, killing nine people in its initial explosion.

Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times last year, forcing thousands from nearby islands to evacuate.