Sydney, Australia - Alpha + City

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  • Created by: Megan
  • Created on: 05-03-14 10:31

Economic Characteristics

  • Provides 25% of total GDP
  • Home to numerous foreign bank: Citigroup, UBS Astralia, HSBC Bank Australia
  • The HQ of the Reserve Bank of Australia and more than half of Australia top companies are located here
  • Around 500 MNC's have regional HQs here ie Unilevel Australasia
  • The Stock Exchage has a daily turnover of $4.685 billion
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Political Characteristics

  • 128 foreign embassies
  • No overall governing body - it is divided into local government areas much like the London boroughs
  • Sydney is lead by an Elected Lord Mayor
  • Very few political events have been held here - tend to be regional development conferences
  • Australian UN headquarters are located in Canberra but Australia UNHCR and UNICEF HQs are in Sydney
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Demography

  • Population: 4.6million - 40% were born overseas (UK, New Zealand and China) and only 1% identify as of indigenous origin
  • Sydney University is in the top 3 of the country and 38th in the world rankings - 5 Nobel laureates are associated with the university as students or staff. A hotspot of rresearchers and businesses
  • 81,000 millionaires reside here (25% of all in Sydney)
  •  Immigration was incentivised as there was a lack of public sector professional
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Infrastructure Characteristics

  • 1 major International Airport - Sydney Kingsford Smith which handled 35million passengers in 2011
  • Major base for Qantas airline
  • Was once home to the largest tramline in the world but it has been largely closed due to the convenience and ease of road travel
  • Sydney Harbour is internationally famous  - in 2012/13 14.9million ferry journeys were made in the Harbour and Paramatta River, largely due to toursim. busiest harbour in Australia
  • 28 5* hotels and 133 4* hotels
  • World Class Shopping Centre
  • The Quay is Syndey's mos famous restuarant and has been consistently ranked as the best restaurant in the country - no michelin stars though
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Cultural Characteristics

  • 2.7million international tourists in 2012 on top of 7million domestic visitors.
  • Sydney Harbour Bridge, nicknames the coat hanger bridge, was the world’s longest spanning bridge until the construction of the Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver.
  •  Sydney Opera House was added to the world heritage list in 2007 and is host to the Sydney Symphony. It is famous all over world as a sight of beauty and thousands of tourists flock to the city to see the architecture as well as visit the hall inside.
  •  Sydney hosted the Olympics in 2000, where Sir Steve Redgrave famously won his fifth Olympic gold medal. 
  •  The international attended Sydney film festival in June often premieres the latest blockbusters to be made as well as Sydney being a popular setting for many Hollywood films i.e. The Matrix.
  • Many hugely popular children’s TV shows also originated in Sydney for example Bananas in Pyjamas and the wiggles.
  • The oldest museum in Australia, The Australia Museum, is located in the city
  • The most famous destination in Sydney is Bondi Beach, where millions of people will flock every year. Predominantly British and Irish people who want to have a summer Christmas on the beach
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