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Friday 2 October 2009

Announcing BridgeClimb’s New Climb Base, a New Climb, and the first Sydney Harbour Bridge Visitor Centre



Today, Friday 2nd October 2009, BridgeClimb Sydney will launch its dramatic new Climb Base, which will be home to the first-ever Sydney Harbour Bridge Visitor Centre, as well as a new climbing adventure called The Express Climb.

Located next to BridgeClimb’s original operation, the new Climb Base boasts a one-of a-kind design, inside a grand heritage archway. The architecture incorporates smart, stylish features that create a theatrical experience for Climbers while still conserving energy and preserving the heritage of the space.

An awesome 7.3 metre ceiling fan, which can move up to 80,000 litres of air per minute, has been installed inside the Climb Base to cool Climbers on warmer days as they prepare for their Climb. Then, once Climbers are wearing their BridgeSuit, they will have the opportunity to walk along a catwalk, which is suspended over the Climb Base’s Café and foyer, before they depart for their Climb adventure on arches of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The new Climb Base will also be home to the first-ever Sydney Harbour Bridge Visitor Centre. Offering free entry and full disabled access, this will be the first fully accessible space situated in and dedicated to Australia’s icon. Visitors will be welcome to immerse themselves in interactive exhibits, display galleries and a 46 seat digital high definition cinema devoted to sharing the stories of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from preconstruction to the present day.

From today, Climbers will now have the choice of three amazing Climb adventures. The newest experience, The Express Climb, is the fastest Climb to the top of the Bridge. The Express Climb offers more of BridgeClimb’s team on hand to assist Climbers with a quicker Climb preparation. Climbers will now have the opportunity to discover the wonders of this amazing structure and the thrilling views of Sydney, in just over 2 hours.

The Express Climb will complement BridgeClimb’s two established 3.5 hour Climb experiences, The Discovery Climb and The Bridge Climb.
All three Climb experiences lead Climbers to the summit of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, are available at Dawn, Day, Twilight and at Night, and will captivate Climbers from beginning to end.

BridgeClimb Facts
-Over 2.4 million people have climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge with BridgeClimb, Sydney.
-BridgeClimb Sydney launched its new website on 2 October 2009.
-Over 9.0 million people have visited the BridgeClimb Sydney website since October 1998.
-58% of Climbers are international visitors, 24% of Climbers live in Sydney and 18% are domestic visitors to Sydney.
-The diameter of the large fan located inside BridgeClimb’s Climb Base is 7.3metres and can move up to 80,000 litres of air per minute.
-The magnificent steel-framed windows in BridgeClimb’s Climb Base, which were originally installed in 1934, have been fully restored to let streams of natural light into the building.
-BridgeClimb Sydney’s base under the arches of the southern approach was once used by the RTA as a tow-truck depot and before that by Darrell Lea as a chocolate factory.
-Celebrities such as Will Smith, Matt Damon, Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz, Robert De Niro, Pierce Brosnan, Cate Blanchett, Teri Hatcher, Prince Harry, and Crown Prince Fredrick and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark have all made ‘The Climb of their Life’.
-The oldest Climber to date was 100 year old Mrs Chris Muller.
-The most frequent Climber is from Sydney. He has completed 22 Climbs.
-On The Bridge Climb route, Climbers will scale 1332 stairs. On The Discovery Climb, Climbers will climb 1002 stairs.
-The largest BridgeSuit is size 6XL and was worn by a contestant from The Biggest Loser (Australia).
-The tallest BridgeSuit was worn by the UK’s tallest man, Neil Fingleton. Neil is 233cm (7ft 7) tall.
-The smallest BridgeSuit is worn by a Climber Bear (toy bear that wears a miniature replica of an actual suit).
-The farthest-flung reported sighting of a BridgeClimb T-shirt was on a traveller in a market in Marrakech.
-It is estimated that over 2500 couples have become engaged whilst climbing the Bridge with BridgeClimb Sydney.
-BridgeClimb Sydney is open up to 24 hours a day, 363 days a year. The earliest dawn Climbs depart at 3:15am.
-All fittings and links installed along BridgeClimb Sydney’s Climb routes are clamped onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge and are fully removable.
-All equipment used during the Climb has been modified or designed specifically for BridgeClimb Sydney’s operation.
-BridgeClimb Sydney has donated over $4.5 million worth of Climbs to various charities, schools and other organisations.

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