ICC Sydney was designed by two architectural firms,
Hassell and
Populous. It replaces the former
Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre that was demolished in December 2013. Construction began in early 2014; an estimated of concrete was used to construct the building. ICC Sydney is a 1.5 billion development being delivered through a
Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the
Government of New South Wales and Darling Harbour Live (comprising LendLease,
Hostplus, Capella Capital, AEG Ogden and Spotless). The development of ICC Sydney is part of a broader 3.4 billion works program at Darling Harbour that includes a new 590 room hotel tower (under the
Sofitel brand), a residential and commercial development (Darling Square), pedestrian boulevard and improved public domain upgrade. The works also include a reconfiguration of
Tumbalong Park to provide an additional of green space acting as a new adaptable event space. In accordance with the contractual agreement with Darling Harbour Live and the NSW Government, secured First State Super, an equity partner in the PPP's consortium, as the naming rights sponsor for the venue's 9,000-seat entertainment theatre, which was called "First State Super Theatre". In 2020, following First State's rebrand to Aware Super, the theatre was named Aware Super Theatre. These naming rights ended in December 2023 and the theatre reverted to its original name of ICC Sydney Theatre. In November 2025,
TikTok acquired the naming rights to the theatre and renamed it the "TikTok Entertainment Centre". The new name pays homage to the former
Sydney Entertainment Centre, which the theatre replaced as Darling Harbour's main concert venue.
Construction milestones • July 2015, ICC Sydney Hotel construction commenced. The hotel consists of 35storeys and approximately 600rooms. It is managed by
AccorHotels under its
Sofitel brand. • September 2015, Topping Out Ceremony for the ICC Sydney Theatre. The ceremony that marked the completion of the concrete pour for the top floor of the ICC Sydney Theatre was attended by NSW Premier
Mike Baird and Infrastructure Minister
Andrew Constance. ==Controversy==