A scene from The Phantom of the Opera

Queensland's arts scene has had an incredible year, winning awards and celebrating strong ticket sales.

QPAC broke its box office records, selling out the first three weeks of The Phantom of the Opera, in the opening five days of ticket sales, as well as boasting full houses for Spicks and Speck-tacular earlier this month.

The Queensland Orchestra has generated remarkable success, both at the box office and winning praise from its audiences, with annual ticket sales passing the $3 million mark for the first time.

Capping off an already remarkable year, the Queensland Orchestra recently took home one of the nation's most prestigious music awards, winning a 2007 ABC Limelight Award for Best Orchestral Performance.

The Limelight Awards, as named by ABC Limelight Magazine, recognise the achievements of local and international musicians and their contribution to Australian culture in 2007.

The Limelight Award, presented for the Piers Lane Plays Beethoven concert, conducted by Pietari Inkinen, confirms the Orchestra's standing as one of Australia's best.

The State Library of Queensland was awarded the top prize for public architecture at the 2007 RAIA National Architecture Awards in October, while a National Award for Public Architecture was also awarded to the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA).

Since its opening in December last year, the State Library has tallied over 1.2 million visits, GoMA, along with the Queensland Art Gallery recorded over a million visits and the Cultural Centre in its entirety, more than 3,441,500 visits.

For more information visit QPAC, Queensland Orchestra, State Library of Queensland or QAG.

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