Rumour has it, again from TV Tonight, that Dreamworld are preparing to once again host Big Brother Australia in 2012. Dreamworld has hosted every season of the show for Endemol/Southern Star and the TEN Network from 2001-2008, plus Celebrity Big Brother for Charity in 2002, and the spin-off series Friday Night Games in 2006.
Dreamworld's Amphitheatre was an existing structure before Big Brother. Just a short walk from the former Blue Lagoon pools and waterslides attraction, it was used to host partially covered live stage shows and corporate events. The venue was revamped for Big Brother's inaugural season in 2001, becoming a control room for the entire Big Brother House, production offices, a gift shop, a tourist attraction, a TV set, and an Outside Broadcast facility for up to three consecutive live events (two 24x7 streams recorded from inside the House and broadcast on the web, and a live studio show airing on the TEN Network).
The Big Brother House was purpose-built for the series amidst bushland, though only 250 metres from the back of the Amphitheatre. The outer shell of the House has remained basically unchanged through the 8 seasons. It is an approximately 55 x 30 metre compound, roughly half covered to form the "house" and half uncovered to form the "backyard". Interior walls and rooms can be pulled down and rebuilt between seasons (or during seasons, see 2003!). The structure has occasionally been added to-- a higher wall was added to the back of the house in 2003 to better hide Dreamworld's Tower of Terror from sight, an open-air Friday Night Live Arena was built onto the north side of the house in 2005, then rebuilt more professionally with canvas roofing in 2006, and the Holiday House and Lanai with a second pool were added to the west side of the house in 2008.
The area where the House stands is currently slated for redevelopment into a shopping complex, though ongoing delays have prevented it from yet being touched. It is unknown whether the same House shell will be used for the 2012 season, as it will be needed late in the year (August-November). The latest overhead photos from Nearmap show the House is still standing and in neat condition. The FNL Arena roofing has been removed in the late half of 2010. Other options would be to build a new House closer to the highway or behind Whitewater World, but either of these would reduce the secluded feeling of the Housemates with the operational noises of the two theme parks so nearby.
