Carved into the sandstone beneath Barangaroo Reserve, The Cutaway sits apart from conventional venue categories. For organisers seeking a stronger sense of destination, story and connection, that distinction may be one of its greatest strengths.
The principal event space brings together an expansive concrete floor, a striking sandstone wall and an opening towards the Sydney sky architecturally designed to optimise acoustics. Around it, organisers can draw on pre-function areas, galleries, green rooms, dressing rooms, a commercial kitchen and integrated rigging infrastructure, creating a canvas for formats that feel immersive rather than expected.
Across approximately 5,000 sqm of cultural and event space over two mezzanine levels, The Cutaway can accommodate around 2,000 people. Event bookings are available from August 2026.
The venue creates room to reconsider the established congress formula. Rather than replicating the offer at ICC Sydney, it extends the range of settings available to organisers working with its experienced team, adding a place with its own character, rhythm and sense of occasion.
A Space Shaped by Place and Story
Located beneath the parkland of Barangaroo Reserve and close to Sydney Harbour, The Cutaway gives delegates a tangible connection to the destination while remaining within the city centre. Barangaroo Metro Station, public transport, parking and pedestrian links are all nearby, placing a distinctive experience within easy reach.
Standing on the land of the Gadigal people, The Cutaway’s design and architecture carries a deeper local narrative, revealing the memories of Saltwater Country through soft, natural forms. Curved, cave-like interiors reference giba gunya (rock shelters), while sculptural timber elements evoke the space beneath the Damun (Port Jackson Fig). Constructed from individual timber elements, the thirteen sculptural forms rise between seven and 17 metres, adding cultural and visual depth to the venue’s scale.
Sustainability has also informed the venue’s considered fitout. The Cutaway is powered by 100% renewable energy through Barangaroo’s precinct-wide Green Product Purchase Agreement, supported by energy-efficiency measures intended to reduce operational carbon.
An Early Demonstration of Possibility
On 25 June 2026, The Cutaway hosted the 13th BESydney Global Ambassador Dinner, the first gala dinner staged at the venue following its transformation.
Under the theme “Ignite Growth”, the event brought together more than 400 members of Sydney’s academic, commercial, government and innovation communities. Six new Global Ambassadors were formally welcomed into a network that helps the city attract international meetings and connect them with local expertise.
The dinner exemplified how The Cutaway can combine scale with a strong sense of occasion. Its audience reflected the partnerships that increasingly shape the long-term value of an international congress: researchers, policymakers, business leaders, destination representatives and institutional ambassadors.
These networks are central to Sydney’s business events proposition. A distinctive venue can capture attention, but a successful international congress also relies on people who strengthen a bid, shape the intellectual programme, engage local sectors and build legacy beyond the closing session. The BESydney gathering showed how The Cutaway can provide a stage for that wider ecosystem.
ICC Sydney Expertise Behind the Space
ICC Sydney expanded its portfolio to include The Cutaway in April 2026 through the public-private partnership involving Darling Harbour Live and Placemaking NSW.
The arrangement places the venue within an established operational structure while allowing resources and expertise to be shared across the consortium. For clients, it provides access to a team highly experienced in delivering complex conventions, exhibitions, live events, banquets and formal gatherings with care, precision and scale.
Day-to-day leadership sits with Jack Weatherby-Fell, Venue Manager of The Cutaway, who returned to ICC Sydney after serving as Head of Events at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Weatherby-Fell brings more than a decade of experience across Australian convention, exhibition and entertainment venues. During his previous tenure at ICC Sydney, he contributed to events including the FDI World Dental Congress, AWS Summit, Salesforce World Tour, SXSW Sydney and the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition. Supported by ICC Sydney General Manager – Operations, Lynell Peck, he is joined by Ricky Joseph as AV Manager, bringing dedicated technical leadership to a venue whose architecture invites ambitious production concepts.
Beyond the Traditional Congress Format
The Cutaway has been designed for exhibitions, festivals, banquets, launches, cultural programmes, community gatherings and creative productions. For international associations, its value may lie in bringing several of these formats together within one purposeful event experience.
It could host a congress opening shaped by Australian culture, a public exhibition that translates specialist research for a broader audience, or a leadership gathering connecting international delegates with Sydney’s academic and commercial communities.
It might also provide the setting for a final evening that gives participants a memorable encounter with Sydney and reinforces the purpose that brought them together.
The most valuable association meetings increasingly extend beyond knowledge exchange between registered delegates. They create opportunities for public engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration and stronger relationships with the destination. Rather than asking organisers to fit an established template, The Cutaway gives them room to shape a broader encounter, one grounded in place and designed to be remembered beyond the moment.
Planning an international association event in Sydney from August 2026? Enquire about hosting your event at The Cutaway and explore how ICC Sydney’s team can help shape an experience with meaning, connection and lasting impact.