New Sydney Opera House Lego set?

Would there be  a Sydney Opera House Lego set bigger than the Taj Mahal set 10189?  If the interview below is true, then yes, it’s possible.  The Taj Mahal set at 5922 pieces is currently the set with the most pieces so if a Sydney Opera House set tops that… hmm… I bet the Australians are pleased!

Given the distinctive curves/lines of the Sydney Opera House, I am very interested to see what a Lego set would look like.

Anyway, since the London Tower Bridge set is not even released, any new large scale set would be released in 2011 at the earliest.

Fingers crossed. And you read it here first! 🙂

Update: Trawled and found 2 Sydney Opera House models by TLG.  Of course these are significantly bigger than what an actual set could be, and I think the curves would be harder to manage on a smaller set…

 

Update again: Cute mini Sydney opera house by brainbikerider

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Q&A with Andy Lown, group manager, commercial partnerships

July 26, 2010 – 11:29AM

What does your job entail?

As head of commercial partnerships, I spend a lot of time thinking about how we fully integrate partners business’s into the performance and tour experience to help make a visit to the Sydney Opera House more compelling, engaging and rewarding. By working with our commercial partners we look to maximise revenues that in turn help fuel the creative ambition of the world’s busiest and most famous performing arts centre.  Our partners include everyone from restaurants, bars and events, retail outlets and so on.

The Opera House has a worldwide reputation – I’d say it’s unrivalled in the performing arts space – so the value of its brand is immense, and leveraging full value from that via Licensing agreements is another area I have responsibility for We are fortunate to have hundreds of creative geniuses producing  thousands of incredible shows and I believe  many opportunities exist to capture  what is created on stage and make that relevant to a global audience through licensing deals including  under the banner “live at the Sydney Opera house” via DVDs, CDs, web streaming etc.

When aligned to the masterpiece that is Jorn Utzons creation, the brand has so much value beyond Bennelong Point, whether that’s National Geographic making a TV program about the Opera House for the series Engineering connections, or Stephen Fry filming his sell out concerts next month.  It’s about seeking out great opportunities with other leading brands and partners. For example Lego who we are now working with to create a Sydney Opera House set. They’ve recently completed the Taj Mahal, which I believe is a 6000-piece Lego set, and they believe this could be bigger. It’s really about capturing the essence of the Opera House, applying the brand to key products, and capturing full value from it. In this instance we have explored the idea of having a finished set being sent to exclusively to Lego fanatics in countries all over the world who would compete in real time to see who can recreate this ‘man made marvel’ first!

What did you do before starting here in 2008?
 
I was the CEO of Tower Records in Europe and also sat on the international board. I was based in the global flagship store on Piccadilly Circus. That was a dream job, too.

What brought you to Australia?

My partner was headhunted to run a company here – before that I’d only been to Australia once, in 2005, to watch the Ashes which we lost five-nil. As I keep joking to friends, never had I faced such disappointment in such a wonderful place. Even in defeat in Australia, I was happy.  

What’s your grand vision for the House?

I spend lots of time, thinking about how we can reinvigorate the Commercial precinct at the House to help ensure every visitors needs are catered for, and in a way that our partners can flourish. We are working on some exciting projects which will come to fruition soon.

Looking beyond Bennelong point to rest of the world, we can leverage value in the brand across key channels. Although interest is huge there are four key segments in terms of the SOH brand licensing plan. The first is opportunities around the performance, whether that’s a live broadcast, CD, DVD, online syndication or the IP licensing of shows we create ourselves. There’s filming and photography, which covers documentaries, movies, TV commercials or people who want to use the Opera House to showcase their brand using these mediums. Then there’s brand alignment, such as the movie premiere for Star Trek that was held here and was seen by millions across the world and other red-carpet events. The fourth covers merchandise, which includes publishing books about the Opera House, corporate gifts, and toys – the list is almost endless. We’ve just concluded a deal with Mattel for a Barbie that’s going to feature the tile design of the Opera House in her dress. They’ve also done the Empire State, the Houses of Parliament, the Eiffel Tower and now the Opera House – they’re over the moon because now they believe the series is complete. That will be sold in Harrods, FAO Schwarz and department stores in Japan.

What about distribution of products?

To maximise potential it is important for SOH and our licensing partners to have access to a wider distribution base than just through the SOH shops onsite, although with over 7 million visitors that’s a good start. So we’ve just done a deal with Lagardère services, a global retail specialist to broaden exposure for SOH and its license partners.

Link to original article.