The A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation donated the Opera House to the Danish state in August 2000 (A.P. Møller was a co-founder of the company now known as Mærsk). Some politicians were offended by the private donation, in part because the full cost of the project would be tax deductible, thus virtually forcing the government to buy the building; but the Folketing and the government accepted it in the autumn of 2000. Architect Henning Larsen and engineers Ramboll and Buro Happold and Theatre Consultant Theatreplan designed the facility. The acoustics were designed by Arup Acoustics and Speirs and Major Associates designed the architectural lighting. A.P. Møller had the final say in the design of the building, however, adding steel to the glass front, among other things. Construction began in June 2001 and was completed on October 1, 2004. It opened on January 15, 2005, in the presence of Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and Queen Margrethe II.
