Sydney

Sydney is known as the Harbour City. It is the largest, oldest and most cosmopolitan city in Australia with an enviable reputation as one of the world's most beautiful and liveable cities. Brimming with history, nature, culture, art, fashion, cuisine, design, it is set next to miles of ocean coastline and sandy surf beaches. Recent immigration trends have led to the cities reputation as one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities in Australia and the world. The city is also home to the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, two of the most iconic structures on the planet.

Sydney is a major global city and one of the most important cities for finance in the Asia-Pacific. Sydney hosted the Olympic Games of 2000, and continues to attract and host large international events. The city is surrounded by nature and national parks, which extend through the suburbs and right to the shores of the harbour.

Sydney is one of the most cosmopolitan cities on the planet, with one third of its population born overseas. European settlement rapidly displaced the Aboriginal people of the Sydney area with the first colonists largely coming from England, Ireland and Scotland. The Australian goldrush in the mid 19th Century attracted many more immigrants, including a significant number of Chinese. In the early 20th century, Sydney continued to attract immigrants - mostly from the U.K. and Ireland, with the White Australia Policy preventing non-European peoples (and even Southern Europeans) from settling. Australia's immigration patterns, and consequently, that of Sydney, changed significantly after WWII, when migrants began to arrive from countries as diverse as Italy, Greece, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, Poland, Lebanon, Iraq, South Africa and the Pacific Islands. In recent decades there has been a huge surge in Asian immigration, especially from China, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Phillippines. Sydney's culture, food and general outlook reflect these varied contributions to the majority Anglo-Celtic institutions and social establishment.