World Youth Day organisers are constructing what they describe as a "mini-city" in the Barangaroo precinct in Sydney's East Darling Harbour. Organisers are describing the new 22-hectare Barangaroo site at East Darling Harbour as a mini-city, ABC News reports.
The site will be the main venue for the six-day event, accommodating up to 140,000 people, with an altar two storeys high, stages, large screens and other facilities.
It is there that Pope Benedict will arrive by what organisers describe as a papal "boatacade" on Sydney Harbour to make his first public appearance on July 17.
But New South Wales Government's spokeswoman for the event, Kristina Keneally, says there will be fencing around the site and it will only be accessible with accreditation at times.
"Barangaroo at certain times will be a pilgrim-only venue for some of the major events but it will be a central gathering point for people throughout the week to come to youth festival events and be really the centre of things for World Youth Day," she said.
Young people who had registered for WYD would need to wear a "pilgrim pass" around their necks during some of the planned activities, she added.
"It is their ticket, if you will, for pilgrim-only events," Ms Keneally said.
Bishop Anthony Fisher said plans for the site - previously known as The Hungry Mile - were ambitious, but that building work was expected to be completed on time.
"Barangaroo will become a mini-city housing two main stages, 45 pilgrim areas, 1200 toilets, 25 catering outlets, 25 lighting towers, six large screens, a 300-seat media tribune with seven translation booths, VIP areas, merchandise facilities and a special needs area," he said.
A 17m-tall altar was being created especially for those events, Bishop Fisher said.
"The sanctuary will be 78m wide across, 20m wide at the front and 46m-deep, right there on the water, so the young people are going to see behind the Pope or the cardinals and bishops celebrating the mass, the beauty of Sydney Harbour as they are welcomed by us here."
"It's a spectacular location and it's one that I think is sure to impress all of our visitors."
Bishop Fisher also denied claims the Church's use of Hyde Park could be in jeopardy following its failure to pay a $150,000 bond for use of the site.
"The Church has paid $10 million to the State Government to secure for us all the public venues and I'm sure they will be secured for us. I'm quite confident that will happen," he said.
"It's a tiny part of the money that we've set aside for the public venues."
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