The Australian Ballet and the Sydney Dance Company also perform at the Opera House. In 1973 Patrick White won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Other internationally known Australian authors are Peter Carey, Germaine Greer, Clive James and Thomas Kenneally. The Australian government spends one billion dollars a year on sporting activities . There are over a hundred national sporting organizations and many thousands of local clubs.
Sport is taken very seriously in Australia, especially cricket and football.
Australian Rules Football is now being played outside Australia. Among other sports played are Rugby Union and Rugby League, tennis, basketball, bowls and Judo. With the long Australian coastline and good weather, surfing and windsurfing are popular. In the year 2000 Sydney is hosting the Olympic Games . National holidays include Christmas, New Year's Day, Easter, Labour Day, Australia Day and the Queen's Birthday.