Madame Tussauds opens Sydney attraction

Waxworks museum Madame Tussauds opened a branch in Sydney on Monday with Australian personalities Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman sharing the stage with Barack Obama and Lady Gaga. The world-famous London attraction set up shop in tourist precinct Darling Harbour after 56,000 hours of work creating the 70 figures on display. "Madame Tussauds is synonymous with history, heritage and fine artistry and we're so excited that we can finally welcome such an iconic attraction to Sydney," said general manager Hywel Mathais. He said it took 60 artists about 800 hours to create a single figure. "I've got a dedicated team who literally spend all the time re-touching, making it perfect, keeping it 100 percent right," Mathias said. Other waxworks featured in Sydney include Hollywood A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio and Angelina Jolie, TV host Oprah Winfrey, Queen Elizabeth II as well as iconic Australians Elle Macpherson and "Crocodile Dundee" star Paul Hogan. Madame Tussauds first opened its doors more than 200 years ago in London and has since expanded across the globe.