Who is opening up in Southbank?

Seven of Southbank’s most renowned buildings will open their doors this month as part of Open House Melbourne.

The free event is on July 27 and 28 and provides Melburnians with the unique opportunity to gain behind-the-scenes access to some of the city’s most iconic buildings.

The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), Southbank Theatre, Victoria Police Mounted Branch, Arts Centre Theatres Building, Hamer Hall, The Guilfoyle and the National Gallery of Victoria will all be featuring in this year’s event.

Hosting over 1000 events and more than 250,000 visitors annually, MCEC Chief Executive Peter King said that it was proud to show off one of the city’s best kept secret.

“MCEC is a great asset to Melbourne,” he said. “We want Melburnians to see what we do and be proud of what MCEC achieves on a daily basis.”

Mr King said that Open House is a great initiative providing a rare opportunity for people to experience a real insider’s view.

“Visitors are excited by the rare opportunity to stand on the same Plenary stage as the likes of Neil Young and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”

“It’s not often you get to tour a kitchen the scale of MCEC’s and people are sometimes surprised we have a team of chefs who produce all our dishes in-house.”

With a record 111 buildings opening their doors to Melbourne for this year’s event Peter Maddison, Open House Ambassador, said that the program would offer something for everyone.

“Open House Melbourne provides a unique opportunity to see some of the city’s very best buildings and learn how high quality innovative design both improves and makes our city more livable,” he said.

“Melbourne is internationally renowned for its architecture and it is fascinating to see how buildings have changed over the past 150 years.”

For a full list of participating buildings and more information visit: www.openhousemelbourne.org