 In 1999, after a long national debate, the Norwegian legislature decided to construct a new opera house in the city.A design competition was held and, of the 350 entries received, the judges chose that of the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta.Construction started in 2003 and was completed in 2007, ahead of schedule and 300 million NOK (~US$52 million) under its budget of 4.4 billion NOK (~US$760 million).