The iconic venue’s forecourt concerts have left many concertgoers disappointed by poor sound quality.

The Sydney Opera House has come under fire this week after a series of pop concerts on its newly finished forecourt have left many concertgoers dissatisfied. Poor sound quality was met by chants of “turn it up” by ticket holders attending performances by Tame Impala and Florence and the Machine. Meanwhile the recently completed reconstruction of the Opera House’s southern forecourt has once again been shut off to the public, while a pop-up stage has blighted the view of famous venue for the thousands of tourists who flock to see the building during the summer.

With its sweeping arches and gleaming white sails proudly overlooking the harbour, Australia’s most iconic building may be one of the most recognisable structures in the world, but visitors to the Sydney Opera House in recent years have been met with a rather less shiny vista. Over the course of three and half years, commencing in 2011, a $152 million building project saw a gaping hole gouged out of the Opera House’s forecourt, while beneath the building the most substantial capital works undertaken since the venue opened in 1973, installed new lifts and loading docks.

The reasons behind the ambitious subterranean construction was as much about aesthetics as it was about logistics. By creating an underground laneway and automated loading bay not only would deliveries to the Opera House be streamlined but the several hundred heavy vehicles that transport freight and supplies each week would not longer clutter the forecourt in front of the famous building’s southern steps.

The final cobblestone was laid on the new forecourt at the end of 2014 revealing a fresh faced Opera House restored to its former glory. However the eyesore of vehicles that once clogged the forecourt has now been replaced with a pop-up stage that has played host to a number of major pop acts in recent weeks. Events on the forecourt are nothing new, but the Opera House’s latest series of concerts featuring Chet Faker, Tame Impala and Florence and the Machine have been dogged with complaints that the performances simply were not loud enough. The Opera House’s location so close to hotel and residential accommodation, potential interference with events within the Opera House or State regulations on sound pollution have all been suggested as possible reasons for the low sounds levels, although the Opera House is yet to confirm the cause of the issues. Many ticket holders took to twitter to express their disappointment.

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