Post-APEC Sydney Returns to Normal

The 2007 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Sydney has finished, the steel security fences are coming down, and no-go areas are being opened to the public once again.

Yes, you can now visit the Sydney Opera House which was closed to the public from September 3.

Nineteen of the 21 Pacific Rim presidents and prime ministers who attended the Sydney summit had left for home by September 10. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was still to hold talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard on the Monday before he headed for home, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was scheduled to address a joint sitting of the Australian Parliament at Parliament House in Canberra on the Tuesday.

So how did Sydney fare during the APEC summit?

Well, I didn't venture into the city at all with all the travel and security restrictions imposed during APEC Week. Residents and visitors alike were hampered and tourists who were in Sydney in only that time missed going to the Sydney Opera House, sometimes the only major reason for visiting the harbour city.

There were some protest rallies and marches but they were relatively peaceful in the midst of a phalanx of police on the ground, snipers on rooftops, and helicopters in the air.

And yes, despite the massive security cost, the comedy team, the Chasers from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation network, pierced the security cordon by passing two checkpoints without incident while the Chasers car, sporting Australian and Canadian flags, had a passenger made up to look like Osama bin Laden.

Oh, well.

Photo: Sydney Opera House at Bennelong Point © Tourism New South Wales