fund the project as it considered it to be financially risky. This was not helped by the successful application for funding for the Millennium Stadium, just a few miles away. Eventually, the project collapsed. The project was said to have been destroyed by lack of public support for the design and by Cardiff Council's support for the Millennium Stadium. The decision to formally reject the bid for lottery money by the Millennium Commission was announced on 22 December 1995. Many claim that the bid failed because of the widespread unpopularity of the Millennium Commission support for the Royal Opera House in London, which was seen as elitist. Virginia Bottomley, Secretary of State for National Heritage, announced in a news conference that the project was flawed by uncertainties in the building's financing and construction, which made it the project too risky. Lord Crickhowell interrupted that news conference to denounce the rejection. He said the decision was "...shocking and incomprehensible...If this had been a project in London, it would be getting backing...You can understand the annoyance of people in Wales that we can't get the kind of vitally important projects that London seems to be allowed." The project was succeeded by the Wales Millennium Centre, which included a broader range of artistic offerings and was said to be more in keeping with Welsh culture, whilst retaining the opera element. The Centre opened in November 2004, on the site originally intended for Opera House. References Notes Sources Crickhowell, Nicholas (1997). "Opera House Lottery Zaha Hadid and the Cardiff Bay Project External links The Zaha Hadid design details Nederlands Architectuurinstituut (NAi) design details Reiser + Umemoto design details Pietro Marcozzi Architetto design details Softroom design details Rusli Associates design details Greg Lynn FORM design details Former music venues in Cardiff Zaha Hadid buildings Opera houses in Wales Unbuilt buildings and structures in the United Kingdom