The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. It is a complex of theaters and halls linked beneath its famous white roof, and is used for staging music, plays, and dance performances. It was built after an international competition was announced in 1956 to design a new opera house for Sydney. The winner of the competition was Jørn Utzon, a Danish architect. Utzon designed the building with a series of arched white roofs shaped like the sails of boats. Construction began in 1959 and the Opera House was opened to the public in 1973. More than 3,000 events take place in the Opera House every year. The largest “sail” of the Opera House is as tall as a 20-storey building!