2014 Sydney hostage crisis
After the siege began, a staged exclusion zone was established with thousands of people evacuated from nearby buildings, including from the floors above the café. The Sydney Opera House was evacuated after a suspicious package was found; however, reports were unconfirmed by police. The US Consulate General in Sydney, located in Martin Place, was also evacuated. Some Sydney schools were put in "white level lockout" due to the hostage situation, which meant that no school group was permitted to leave the school grounds.
History of New South Wales
In recent decades Sydney has also undergone a major social liberalisation, with huge entertainment and gambling industries. Though there has been a decline in the dominance of Christianity through increased secularisation and the growing presence of an increasingly diverse migrant population, Sydney's two outspoken Archbishops, George Pell (Catholic) and Peter Jensen (Anglican) remain vocal in national debates and the hosting of Catholic World Youth Day 2008, led by Pope Benedict XVI, drew huge crowds of worshipers to the city. An evangelical Christian "bible belt" has developed in the north-western suburbs. Buddhist and Muslim communities in particular are growing, but so is irreligiosity. While a grant from the State government permitted the final completion of the spires of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney in 2000 (the foundation stone was laid in 1868), construction of the present structure of the large Auburn Gallipoli Mosque began in 1986 and at Wollongong, south of Sydney, Nan Tien Temple opened in 1995 as one of the southern hemisphere's largest Buddhist temples. Sydney has gained a reputation for secularism and hedonism, with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras becoming a world-famous event. Star City Casino opened in the mid-1990s as Sydney's only legal casino.