As far as house guests go, they don't come much bigger or more demanding than Oprah Winfrey, as staff at the Sydney Opera House are fast learning.

But that's just the beginning of the Oprah headache for organisers of the largely taxpayer-funded trip.

Tourism officials are keen to show Australia as a holiday destination to Winfrey's huge audience, but the rising Australian dollar, the depressed US economy and the grounding of Qantas's A380s are posing problems for the Winfrey entourage.

''It could backfire in a big way … her audience is middle America,'' an expatriate US television executive said. ''When they see how expensive things are in Australia compared to the US, like buying a Coke for $3, they won't be happy.''

This week a series of conference calls between Winfrey's team in Chicago and Sydney organisers have been nailing down final preparations for the taping on December 14 of the US chat show queen's two Sydney shows on the Opera House Forecourt.

While the official line from the Opera House team is the show will be no bigger logistically than the ARIAs, unofficially organisers are nervous about the potentially huge crowd Winfrey is likely to attract - much larger than the 6000 ticket holders.

PS was told the entire Opera House precinct will be a no-go zone for several days as Winfrey's show ''bumps in and out'' of the iconic venue.

While Winfrey is yet to dispatch her envoy to Sydney, producers have been busy lining up guests and potential stories for the shows.

Hugh Jackman and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, have been confirmed. Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman are firming up to join them, too, along with Russell Crowe.

Ian Thorpe has been keeping tight-lipped about his involvement, politely informing PS recently he ''can't say a thing'', the same response given by the foodie Curtis Stone and the gardener Jamie Durie.

However, it appears the king of the global hip-hop scene, Jay-Z, will be involved in the Sydney shows.

This week Oprah's website asked fans: ''Are you, or someone you know, a diehard Jay-Z fan? … Is there a special place in Australia that you want to show him, like a favourite restaurant, your home, a favourite beach?''Bodyguards send interest rate soaring

PAPARAZZOS chasing celebrities around the genteel streets of Darling Point is common, but lately things have been getting especially tense around one multimillion-dollar address.

This time there are no Nicole Kidmans or Lara Bingles involved, but rather one of our most powerful bankers, the Commonwealth Bank boss, Sir Ralph Norris.

It was not so long ago neighbours would glimpse the Yarranabee Avenue resident taking his morning constitutional around the area's manicured pathways.

But he has hardly been seen since last week's move by the Commonwealth to almost double the Reserve Bank's interest rate rise, creating an avalanche of bad press for Norris and his bank.

After telling outraged customers not to vent their anger at bank staff but to aim it at him, Norris - who earned $16.2 million last financial year - three burly bodyguards have started to patrol his home. The presence of the trio did not go unnoticed among neighbours. Undercover police stopped one of the men outside Norris's home to discuss their activities.

A bank spokesman yesterday denied Norris was taking extra precautions, such as arriving at public events via the loading dock, and declined to comment on security arrangements.

These sorts of shenanigans would be terribly novel for Norris, who - despite his title - spent his youth living with his mother in a state housing estate in one of Auckland's toughest suburbs, Mount Roskill.

If it all gets too much in Darling Point, he always has his $10 million hideaway on Waiheke Island to escape to.Dinner cancelled, but no ribbing, please

GOSSIP around Sydney's art galleries this week centred on an ill-fated dinner party that had been planned in honour of the controversial British artist Tracey Emin.

At $750 a pop it was to be held at art consultant Amanda Love's Woollahra home, where Emin has been showing her latest work, to raise money for the Contemporary Collection Benefactors to add to the permanent collection of contemporary Australian art at the Art Gallery of NSW.

PS hears only five tickets had sold, resulting in it being cancelled ''due to lack of interest''.

However, Emin's Sydney friends say the artist's latest show and visit had been ''fantastically successful''.

Emin, famous for her outspoken remarks and provocative art focusing on such taboo subjects as abortion, rape and teenage promiscuity, arrived in Sydney nursing several broken ribs, which has somewhat restricted her activities here. She is due to return to Britain in coming days.

Pushing on nevertheless, she has managed a talk at the Art Gallery of NSW in front of 1500 people, and she gave up time to meet members of the Museum of Contemporary Art at Love's home this week.RESTING

Breakfast radio star Jackie O was admitted to the Mater Hospital on Thursday and kept overnight. She and her husband, the photographer Lee Henderson, are expecting their first child in about six weeks. A spokesman was unavailable at press time yesterday.

BUBS CLUB

The former David Jones boss Mark McInnes, and his partner, Lisa Kelly, are counting down the days to the arrival of their first child. Friends say McInnes, who has weathered a very public storm in his professional life during the pregnancy over sexual harassment claims, and Kelly have been busy ''nesting''. The baby is expected to arrive some time next week. The twice-married McInnes has children from a previous relationship.

OH YES SHE IS

The British pantomime market continues to be healthy revenue stream for Australian soap stars during the holiday break. While it is not quite a West End production, Lynne McGranger, who plays Irene in the long-running soap Home and Away, is heading off to Britain in coming days for her 15th season in a panto. McGranger appears to have been typecast as a witch in the productions; this time she'll be once again playing the baddie in Jack and the Beanstalk, which is set to hit the stage in - ahem - glamorous Portsmouth in three weeks. Also joining the cast is the once-legendary Swedish sexpot Britt Ekland, who is taking on the role of the Good Fairy.

KYLIE PARADES

Kylie Minogue continues to plug away at the American music market, success in which continues to elude her after two decades. Following performances on the US shows Dancing With the Stars and The Tonight Show, Minogue has announced she will be performing at the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade before a crowd of more than 3 million who usually turn up to watch the spectacle, along with 50 million television viewers across the country.