Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of over 4,200,000 people, and 151,920 in the City of Sydney. Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales, and is the site of the first European colony in Australia, established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, leader of the First Fleet from Britain. A resident of the city is referred to as a Sydneysider.

Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast. The city is built around Port Jackson, which includes Sydney Harbour, leading to the city's nickname, "the Harbour City". It is Australia's largest financial centre and the economic capital, home to many national headquarters of corporations, including the Australian Stock Exchange. Sydney's leading economic sectors include property and business services, retail, manufacturing, tourism and health and community services.

Sydney is a major international tourist destination, often referred to as the international gateway of Australia, and is notable for its beaches and twin landmarks: the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The metropolitan area is surrounded by national parks, and contains many bays, rivers and inlets. It has been recognised as a global city by the Loughborough University group. The city has played host to numerous international sporting events, including the 1938 British Empire Games, 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In 2008, Sydney will also host the 23rd Roman Catholic World Youth Day.

Sydney is one of the most multicultural cities in the world which reflects its role as a major destination for immigrants to Australia. According to the Mercer cost of living survey, Sydney is Australia’s most expensive city, and the 19th most expensive in the world.

Culture

Arts and entertainmentSydney has a wide variety of cultural sites and institutions. Sydney's iconic Opera House has five theatres capable of hosting a range of performance styles; it is the home of Opera Australia—the third busiest opera company in the world, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Other venues include the Sydney Town Hall, City Recital Hall, the State Theatre and the Wharf Theatre.

The Sydney Dance Company under the leadership of Graeme Murphy during the late 20th century has also gained acclaim. The Sydney Theatre Company has a regular roster of local plays, such as noted playwright David Williamson, classics and international playwrights. Other important theatre companies in Sydney include Company B and Griffin Theatre Company. From the 1940s through to the 1970s the Sydney Push, a group of authors and political activists whose members included Germaine Greer, influenced the city's cultural life.

The National Institute of Dramatic Art, based in Kensington, boasts internationally famous alumni such as Mel Gibson, Baz Luhrmann and Cate Blanchett. Sydney's role in the film industry has increased since the opening of Fox Studios Australia in 1998. Prominent films which have been filmed in the city include Moulin Rouge!, Mission Impossible II, Star Wars episodes II and III, Superman Returns, Dark City and The Matrix. Films using Sydney as a setting include Finding Nemo, Strictly Ballroom, Mission Impossible II, Muriel's Wedding, and Dirty Deeds. As of 2006, over 229 films have been set, or featured Sydney.

Sydney hosts many different festivals and some of Australia's largest social and cultural events. These include the Sydney Festival, Australia's largest festival which is a celebration involving both indoor and free outdoor performances throughout January; the Big Day Out, a travelling rock music festival which originated in Sydney; the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras along Oxford Street; the Sydney Film Festival and many other smaller festivals such as Tropfest and Archibald Prize, a competition organised by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The Royal Easter Show which is the largest event in Australia is held every year at Sydney Olympic Park, the final of Australian Idol takes place on the steps of the Opera House, and Australian Fashion Week takes place in April/May. Also Sydney's New Years Eve and Australia Day celebrations are the largest in Australia.

Australian rock bands which formed in Sydney include AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, Midnight Oil, INXS, Noiseworks, Hoodoo Gurus, The Church, Radio Birdman, You Am I, The Cruel Sea, The Whitlams, Alex Lloyd, Wolfmother, indie rockers The Clouds and The Crystal Set, electronic music pioneers Severed Heads, Single Gun Theory and Itch-E and Scratch-E. Jazz groups such as the Sydney-based The Necks have performed at The Basement and the Harbourside Brasserie.

Sydney's most popular nightspots include Kings Cross, Oxford Street, Darling Harbour, Circular Quay and The Rocks which all contain various bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Star City Casino, is Sydney's only casino and is situated around Darling Harbour. There are also many traditional pubs, cafes and restaurants in inner city areas such as Newtown, Balmain and Leichhardt. The local Sydney live music scene has suffered over the last decade due to the advent of poker machines as well as stricter rules and regulations over noise. There are however still various venues (mainly in the inner city suburbs) in which live music is played. Attempts are being made to restore the local live music scene, as Sydney once had thriving live music scene in the 1970s and 1980s, nurturing great acts such as AC/DC, Midnight Oil and INXS.

Sydney also has many shopping centres and retail outlets throughout the city. Westfield Parramatta is currently the largest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere, and Westfield Bondi Junction is a shopping centre in the Eastern Suburbs which caters for the upmarket consumer. The Queen Victoria Building on George Street also contains many shops, as do other parts of the city around Pitt Street and Oxford Street which sell more niche products. Many of the large regional centres around the metropolitan area also contain large shopping complexes.
Sydney has several museums. The biggest are the Australian Museum (natural history and anthropology), the Powerhouse Museum (science, technology and design), the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Sydney is well endowed with open spaces, and has many natural areas even within the city centre. Within the Sydney central business district are the Chinese Garden of Friendship, Hyde Park, The Domain and the Royal Botanical Gardens. The metropolitan area contains several national parks, including the Royal National Park, the second oldest national park in the world and several parks in Sydney's far west which are part of the World Heritage listed Greater Blue Mountains Area.

Tourist attractions

Brash and beautiful, Sydney sits nestled in the sandstone cliffs overlooking Sydney Harbor, basking in its role as a gateway for travelers, a mecca of culture and a playground for tourists and its 5 million residents alike.

Though the region was populated for 100,000 years by the Aborigines, captain Arthur Phillips sailed his First Fleet into Sydney Cove in 1788, bearing nearly 1,000 exiled convicts from British prisons. Settled as a colony of the crown and named "New South Wales," the country grew as more exiled convicts joined free settlers in forming the basis for the community that would become a major financial and cultural center of the Asia-Pacific region.

Today, Sydney abounds with modern interpretations of its colonial past. At waterfront Circular Quay, where Phillips first landed, street entertainers ply their trade along Writer's Walk, where famous writers' words about Australia are fixed in the sidewalk with gold medallions.

The Rocks region has evolved in truly contemporary fashion, from the site of Australia's first permanent European settlement to its current status as a leading shopping venue that offers some of the city's finest gifts, souvenirs, and native crafts. It is also known for great restaurants and cheerful pubs. The Victorian suburbs offer a living history lesson with their cobbled streets and alleyways giving a sense of the former seaport region's rich colonial past.

Home to the Harbourside dining and shopping complex, the National Maritime Museum and the Sydney Aquarium, Darling Harbor invites visitors to enjoy free music and entertainment on weekends. Outlying beaches stretch for miles, and visitors join locals on the sparkling sand.
Vast and blue, Sydney Harbour is truly the city's jewel, crowned by the Sydney Opera House. Designed by architect Joern Utzon in 1955, the majestic structure seems to say, "Welcome to Sydney. Prepare to be swept away."

By www.wikipedia.org