Opera House's 50th birthday anthem 'Play It Safe' wins Cannes Film Grand Prix

For the Opera House's 50th anniversary, The Monkeys (Accenture Song) had to reframe a landmark seen as exclusive and elite as bold and welcoming — at a moment when Australia's creative culture felt cautious. They invited Tim Minchin to write an original song.

A sarcastic Tim Minchin anthem — 'Play It Safe' — performed by Australia's top artists across the House, turning a 50th birthday into a defiant music video.

Released 18 October 2023 and directed by Kim Gehrig, the film was produced by Revolver x Somesuch: Minchin's ironic anthem is performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The Australian Ballet, Jimmy Barnes, Courtney Act and more, staged on the building's stages, steps and sails and intercut with archival construction footage. It premiered on YouTube and spread via Spotify and the artists' own channels.

Reached 1.8 billion people through 662 media stories; 73% of people with no prior connection to the Opera House reported a more favourable opinion after seeing it, and 49% intended to visit. Won the 2024 Cannes Film Grand Prix, a Grand Clio, and One Show Best of Branded Entertainment.

To mark the Sydney Opera House's 50th anniversary, The Monkeys (part of Accenture Song) created 'Play It Safe', an original music video starring Tim Minchin and dozens of Australia's leading artists. The film treats the landmark itself as the subject: its architecture, its history and the defiant spirit behind it.

Minchin wrote and composed the song as an ironic salute — a cheerful anthem instructing listeners to play it safe, which in practice celebrates everyone who refused to. Kim Gehrig directed; the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The Australian Ballet, Jimmy Barnes, Courtney Act and William Barton were among the performers on the building's stages, steps and sails, intercut with archival footage of its construction.

Released on 18 October 2023, the film travelled the world: it generated 1.8 billion impressions and 662 media stories, and 73% of Australians with no prior connection to the House reported a more favourable view after seeing it, with 49% intending to visit. At Cannes Lions 2024 it won the Film Grand Prix; it also took a Grand Clio and One Show's Best of Branded Entertainment.

An original song, not a corporate film, let the building's own artists tell its story — the cast made the message credible.

The ironic title inverted the anniversary brief: telling people to 'play it safe' while celebrating risk made the point through the work itself.

Launching the anthem as a music video on YouTube and Spotify met audiences on entertainment platforms, where it could travel as content rather than advertising.

Tourism Australia joined the push, so one film served culture, national identity and travel marketing at once.

Turn a milestone into a creative medium: an original anthem and defiant message made a 50th birthday reach 1.8B people — irony and star power beat reverence.

The film became the centrepiece of the Opera House's anniversary year and its most awarded campaign. The song lives on Spotify and the film on the Opera House's own stream; advertising educators now cite the campaign as proof that a cultural institution can generate global attention with a single brave idea — and that an anniversary brief can be answered with art, not heritage nostalgia.