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The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (
Dharug The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...
: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international
multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...
held from 15 September to 1 October 2000 in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
, New South Wales, Australia. It marked the second time the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
were held in Australia, and in the Southern Hemisphere, the first being in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
, in
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
. Sydney was selected as the host city for the 2000 Games in 1993. Teams from 199 countries participated in the 2000 Games, which were the first to feature at least 300 events in its official sports programme. The Games' cost was estimated to be A$6.6 billion. These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of
Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch (Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh P ...
before the arrival of his successor
Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie Rogge, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator and physician who served as the eighth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, Rogge bec ...
. The 2000 Games were the last of the two consecutive Summer Olympics to be held in a predominantly
English-speaking country The following is a list of English-speaking population by country, including information on both native speakers and second-language speakers. List * The European Union is a supranational union composed of 27 member states. The total Eng ...
following the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, United States. The 2000 Games received universal acclaim, with the organisation, volunteers, sportsmanship, and Australian public being lauded in the international media.
Bill Bryson William McGuire Bryson (; born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has b ...
of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' called the Sydney Games "one of the most successful events on the world stage", saying that they "couldn't be better". James Mossop of the ''
Electronic Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fou ...
'' called the Games "such a success that any city considering bidding for future Olympics must be wondering how it can reach the standards set by Sydney", while Jack Todd of the ''Montreal Gazette'' suggested that the "IOC should quit while it's ahead. Admit there can never be a better Olympic Games, and be done with it," as "Sydney was both exceptional and the best". These games would provide the inspiration for
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
's winning bid for the 2012 Olympic Games in 2005; in preparing for the 2012 Games,
Lord Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medals ...
declared the 2000 Games the "benchmark for the spirit of the Games, unquestionably", admitting that the London organising committee "attempted in a number of ways to emulate what the Sydney Organising Committee did." The final medal tally at the 2000 Summer Olympics was led by the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, followed by
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
with host
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
at fourth place overall. Cameroon, Colombia, Latvia, Mozambique and Slovenia won a gold medal for the first time in their Olympic histories, while Barbados, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam won their first ever Olympic medals. Australia will host the Summer Olympics again in
2032 The 2030s (pronounced "twenty-thirties"; shortened to the '30s) is the next decade in the Gregorian calendar that will begin on 1 January 2030, and will end on 31 December 2039. Plans and goals * NASA plans to execute a crewed mission to Mars be ...
at
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
, Queensland making it the first Oceanian country to host the Olympics three times.


Host city selection

Sydney won the right to host the Games on 24 September 1993, after being selected over
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
,
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
and
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
in four rounds of voting, at the 101st
IOC Session This is the list of International Olympic Committee (IOC) meetings. Olympic Congresses IOC Sessions There has been a session during all Olympic Games except the 1900, 1904 and 1908 Summer Olympics and the 1924, 1928 and 1932 Winter Olympics ...
in
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
,
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
. The Australian city of
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
who also hosted the
1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, w ...
had lost out to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
for the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
three years earlier. Beijing would later be selected to host the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
eight years later on 13 July 2001 and the
2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Bei ...
twenty-two years later on 31 July 2015. Beijing's loss to Sydney was seen as a "significant blow" to an "urgent political priority" of the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
leadership having mounted the most intense and expensive candidacy campaign at the date so far(this include the Summer and Winter Games). Although it is unknown as two members of the International Olympic Committee voted for Sydney over Beijing in 1993, it appears that an important role was played by
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
's campaign to "stop Beijing" because of China's human rights record and international isolation following the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
. Many in China were angry at what they saw as U.S.-led interference in the vote, and the outcome contributed to rising
anti-Western sentiment in China Anti-Western sentiment has been increasing in China since the early 1990s, particularly amongst Chinese young adults. Notable incidents which have resulted in a significant anti-Western backlash have included the 1999 NATO bombing of the Chinese e ...
and a new phase at the tensions in Sino-American relations.


Costs

The ''Oxford Olympics Study 2016'' estimates the outturn cost of the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics at US$5 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 90% in real terms. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, (i) ''operational costs'' incurred by the organising committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e.g., expenditures for technology, transportation, workforce, administration, security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services, and (ii) ''direct capital costs'' incurred by the host city and country or private investors to build, e.g., the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast centre, and media and press centre, which are required to host the Games. Indirect capital costs are ''not'' included, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or for hotel upgrades or other business investment incurred in preparation for the Games but not directly related to staging the Games. The cost for Sydney 2000 compares with a cost of US$4.6 billion for Rio 2016, US$40–44 billion for Beijing 2008 and US$51 billion for Sochi 2014, the most expensive Olympics in history. The average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is US$5.2 billion, average cost overrun is 176%. In 2000, the
Auditor-General of New South Wales The Auditor-General of New South Wales helps the Parliament of New South Wales hold government accountable for its use of public resources. The Auditor-General is responsible for audits of NSW Government agencies, universities, and NSW local go ...
reported that the Sydney Games cost A$6.6 billion, with a net cost to the public between A$1.7 and A$2.4 billion. In the years leading up to the games, funds were shifted from education and health programs to cover Olympic expenses. It has been estimated that the economic impact of the 2000 Olympics was that A$2.1 billion has been shaved from public consumption. Economic growth was not stimulated to a net benefit and in the years after 2000, foreign tourism to NSW grew by less than tourism to Australia as a whole. A "multiplier" effect on broader economic development was not realised, as a simple "multiplier" analysis fails to capture is that resources have to be redirected from elsewhere: the building of a stadium is at the expense of other public works such as extensions to hospitals. Building sporting venues does not add to the aggregate stock of productive capital in the years following the Games: "Equestrian centres, softball compounds and man-made rapids are not particularly useful beyond their immediate function." Many venues that were constructed in
Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially ...
failed financially in the years immediately following the Olympics to meet the expected bookings to meet upkeep expenses. It was only the
2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...
which reconnected the park back to citizens. In recent years, infrastructure costs for some facilities have been of growing concern to the NSW Government, especially facilities in Western Sydney. Proposed metro and light rail links from Olympic Park to Parramatta have been estimated to cost in the same order of magnitude as the public expenditure on the games.
Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...
had been considered for
demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a bu ...
in 2017 by then NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, citing that the stadium was "built for an Olympics" but not for modern spectators. The plan was scrapped in 2020 during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The
Dunc Gray Velodrome The Dunc Gray Velodrome is an Australian velodrome located at Bass Hill approximately 5 kilometres north west of the Sydney suburb of Bankstown. The cycling venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics, the Dunc Gray Velodrome was opened on 28 November 19 ...
has also struggled to keep up its $500,000 per year maintenance costs, although it is still used for track cycling events.


Chronological summary of the 2000 Summer Olympics


Preliminary matches

Although the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony was not scheduled until 15 September, the
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
competitions began with preliminary matches on 13 September. Among the pre-ceremony fixtures, host nation Australia lost 1–0 to
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern ...
, which was the main stadium for the
1956 Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
.


Day 1: 15 September


Cultural display highlights

The opening ceremony began with a tribute to the Australian pastoral heritage of the Australian stockmen and the importance of the stock horse in Australia's heritage. It was produced and filmed by the Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation and the home nation broadcaster Channel 7. This was introduced by lone rider
Steve Jefferys ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...
and his rearing Australian Stock Horse ''Ammo''. At the cracking of Jefferys' stockwhip, a further 120 riders entered the stadium, their stock horses performing intricate steps, including forming the five
Olympic Rings The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...
, to a special Olympics version of the theme, which
Bruce Rowland Bruce Rowland (born 9 May 1942 in Melbourne) is an Australian composer. Biography Rowland composed the soundtrack for the 1982 movie '' The Man from Snowy River'', as well as the soundtrack for its 1988 sequel '' The Man from Snowy River II' ...
had previously composed for the 1982 film ''
The Man from Snowy River The Man from Snowy River may refer to: * "The Man from Snowy River" (poem), an 1890 Australian poem by Banjo Paterson. * '' The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses'' an 1895 poetry collection by Banjo Paterson (including the above) * ''The Man ...
''. The
Australian National Anthem "Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced "God Save the Queen" as the ...
was sung, the first verse by
Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...
and the second by Julie Anthony. The ceremony continued, showing many aspects of the land and its people: the affinity of the mainly coastal-dwelling Australians with the sea that surrounds the "Island Continent". The
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
occupation of the land, the coming of the
First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...
, the continued immigration from many nations and the rural industry on which the economy of the nation was built, including a display representing the harshness of rural life based on the paintings of Sir
Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of mediums, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...
. Two memorable scenes were the representation of the "Heart" of the country by 200 Aboriginal women from
Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...
who danced up "the mighty spirit of God to protect the Games" and the overwhelmingly noisy representation of the
construction industry Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and co ...
by hundreds of tap-dancing teenagers. Because Bibi Salisachs (the wife of IOC President
Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch (Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh P ...
) was seriously ill and unable to accompany her husband to the Olympics,
Dawn Fraser Dawn Fraser (born 4 September 1937) is an Australian freestyle champion swimmer and former politician. She is one of only four swimmers to have won the same Olympic individual event three times – in her case the women's 100-metre freestyle. ...
, former Australian Olympic Champion swimmer and member of the
Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...
, accompanied Samaranch during the Australian cultural display, explaining to him some of the cultural references that are unfamiliar to non-Australians.


Formal presentation

A record 199 nations entered the stadium, with a record 80 of them winning at least one medal. The only missing IOC member was
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
, who was banned due to the extremist rule of the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
's oppression of women and its prohibition of sports. The ceremony featured a unified entrance by the athletes of
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...
and
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, using a specially designed unification flag: a white background flag with a blue map of the
Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...
. Four athletes from
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-w ...
also marched in the parade of nations as
individual Olympic athletes Athletes have competed as independent Olympians at the Olympic Games for various reasons, including political transition, international sanctions, suspensions of National Olympic Committees, and compassion. Independent athletes have come from ...
and marched directly before the host country. Although the country-to-be had no National Olympic Committee then, they were allowed to compete under the
Olympic Flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used througho ...
with country code IOA. The
Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
,
Sir William Deane Sir William Patrick Deane (born 4 January 1931) is an Australian barrister and jurist who served as the 22nd governor-general of Australia, in office from 1996 to 2001. He was previously a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to 19 ...
, opened the games. The
Olympic Flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used througho ...
was carried around the arena by eight former Australian Olympic champions:
Bill Roycroft James William George Roycroft, OBE (17 March 1915 – 29 May 2011) was an Australian Olympic equestrian champion. He grew up on a dairy farm and learnt to ride horses there. After serving in the army in World War II, he moved with his family t ...
,
Murray Rose Iain Murray Rose, (6 January 1939 – 15 April 2012) was an Australian swimmer, actor, sports commentator and marketing executive. He was a six-time Olympic medalist (four gold, one silver, one bronze), and at one time held the world records i ...
,
Liane Tooth Liane Marianne Tooth, OAM (born 13 March 1962 in Sydney, New South Wales) is a retired field hockey forward, who twice won the gold medal with the Australian Women's Hockey Team, best known as the ''Hockeyroos'', at the Summer Olympics: in Seo ...
,
Gillian Rolton Gillian Rolton (3 May 1956 – 18 November 2017) was an Australian Olympic equestrian champion. She competed in two Olympic Games, the 1992 Barcelona Games and 1996 Atlanta Games, winning a gold medal in team eventing both times on her horse, ...
, Marjorie Jackson,
Lorraine Crapp Lorraine Joyce Thurlow, (born 1 October 1938), née Crapp, is a former Olympic swimming champion representing Australia. In world swimming history, Crapp earned a place as the first woman to break the five-minute barrier in the 400 m freestyle ...
,
Michael Wenden Michael Vincent Wenden, (born 17 November 1949) is a champion swimmer who represented Australia in the 1968 Summer Olympics and 1972 Summer Olympics. In 1968 he won four medals: gold in both the 100- and 200-metre freestyle (setting world reco ...
and Nick Green. During the raising of the Olympics Flag, the
Olympic Hymn The Olympic Hymn ( el, Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος, ), also known as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras (1861–1917), with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Both poet and composer were the choice of ...
was sung by the Millennium Choir of the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia is the Australian archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox Church, part of the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The archdiocese is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinop ...
in Greek. Following this,
Tina Arena Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, musical theatre actress and record producer. She is one of Australia's highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwid ...
sang a purpose-written pop song, ''The Flame''. The opening ceremony concluded with the lighting of the
Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...
, which was brought into the stadium by former Australian Olympic champion
Herb Elliott Herbert James Elliott (born 25 February 1938) is a former Australian athlete and arguably the world's greatest middle distance runner of his era. In August 1958 he set the world record in the mile run, clocking 3:54.5, 2.7 seconds under the re ...
. Then, celebrating 100 years of women's participation in the Olympic Games, former Australian women Olympic medalists
Betty Cuthbert Elizabeth Alyse Cuthbert, (20 April 1938 – 6 August 2017) was an Australian athlete and a four-time Olympic champion. She was nicknamed Australia's "Golden Girl". During her career, she set world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres ...
and
Raelene Boyle Raelene Ann Boyle (born 24 June 1951) is an Australian retired athlete, who represented Australia at three Olympic Games as a sprinter, winning three silver medals, and was named one of 100 National Living Treasures by the National Trust of ...
,
Dawn Fraser Dawn Fraser (born 4 September 1937) is an Australian freestyle champion swimmer and former politician. She is one of only four swimmers to have won the same Olympic individual event three times – in her case the women's 100-metre freestyle. ...
,
Shirley Strickland Shirley Barbara de la Hunty AO, MBE (née Strickland; 18 July 1925 – 11 February 2004), known as Shirley Strickland during her early career, was an Australian athlete. She won more Olympic medals than any other Australian in running sports. ...
(later Shirley Strickland de la Hunty),
Shane Gould Shane Elizabeth Gould (born 23 November 1956) is an Australian former competition swimmer. She won three gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze, at the 1972 Summer Olympics. In 2018, she won the fifth season of ''Australian Survivor,'' becom ...
and
Debbie Flintoff-King Debra ("Debbie") Lee Flintoff-King, (OAM) (born 20 April 1960) is a retired Australian athlete, and winner of the women's 400 m hurdles event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Athletics career Flintoff-King was born in Melbourne, the daughter of ...
brought the torch through the stadium, handing it over to
Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman (born 16 February 1973) is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set ...
, who lit the flame in the
cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...
within a circle of fire. The choice of Freeman, an Aboriginal woman, to light the flame was notable given the history of human rights abuses against Aboriginal people in Australia. Following her lighting, Freeman was the subject of racial abuse from some Australians. The planned spectacular climax to the ceremony was delayed by the technical glitch of a computer switch which malfunctioned, causing the sequence to shut down by giving a false reading. This meant that the Olympic flame was suspended in mid-air for about four minutes rather than immediately rising up a water-covered ramp to the top of the stadium. When the cause of the problem was discovered, the program was overridden and the cauldron continued its course, and the ceremony concluded with a fireworks display.


Day 2: 16 September

The first medals of the Games were awarded in the women's 10 metre
air rifle An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chemic ...
competition, which was won by
Nancy Johnson Nancy Elizabeth Lee Johnson (born January 5, 1935) is an American lobbyist and politician from the state of Connecticut. Johnson was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007, representing the 6th d ...
of the United States. The
Triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...
made its Olympic debut with the women's race. Set in the surroundings of the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
,
Brigitte McMahon Brigitte McMahon-Huber (born 25 March 1967 in Baar) is an athlete from Switzerland, who competed in triathlon. McMahon competed at the first Olympic triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal with a total time of 2:00:40.5 ...
representing Switzerland swam, cycled and ran to the first gold medal in the sport, beating the favoured home athletes such as Michelie Jones who won silver. McMahon only passed Jones in sight of the finish line. The first star of the Games was 17-year-old Australian
Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
, who first set a new world record in the 400-metre freestyle final before competing in an exciting 4 × 100 m freestyle final. Swimming the last leg, Thorpe passed the leading American team and arrived in a new world record time, two-tenths of a second ahead of the Americans. In the same event for women, the Americans also broke the world record, finishing ahead of the Netherlands and Sweden. Samaranch had to leave for home, as his wife was severely ill. Upon arrival, his wife had already died. Samaranch returned to Sydney four days later. The Olympic flag was flown at half-staff during the period as a sign of respect to Samaranch's wife.


Day 3: 17 September

Canadian
Simon Whitfield Simon St. Quentin Whitfield (born May 16, 1975 in Kingston, Ontario) is a retired Olympic triathlon champion from Canada. Whitfield won 10 consecutive Canadian Triathlon Championships titles and carried the Canadian national flag during the 2 ...
sprinted away in the last 100 metres of the men's triathlon, becoming the inaugural winner in the event. On the cycling track,
Robert Bartko Robert Bartko (born 23 December 1975 in Potsdam) is a German former road and track cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2014. Born in the former East Germany, Bartko won two gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, ...
beat fellow German
Jens Lehmann Jens Gerhard Lehmann (; born 10 November 1969) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a member of Arsenal's " Invincibles", playing every match of their unbeaten title-winning season. He holds the UEFA Ch ...
in the individual pursuit, setting a new Olympic Record. Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel set a world record in the semi-finals the same event for women. In the swimming pool, American
Tom Dolan Thomas Fitzgerald Dolan (born September 15, 1975) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Dolan grew up in Arlington, Virginia. He attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, wh ...
beat the world record in the 400-metre
medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music * Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People * Medley (surname), list of people with this n ...
, successfully defending the title he won in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
four years prior. Dutchwoman
Inge de Bruijn Inge de Bruijn (; born 24 August 1973) is a Dutch former competitive swimmer. She is a four-time Olympic champion and a former world record-holder. Personal De Bruijn was born in Barendrecht, Netherlands. Inge is the sister of Olympic water p ...
also clocked a new world record, beating her own time in the 100 m butterfly final to win by more than a second.


Day 4: 18 September

The main event for the Australians on the fourth day of the Games was the 200 m freestyle. Dutchman
Pieter van den Hoogenband Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband (; born 14 March 1978) is a Dutch retired swimmer. He is a triple Olympic champion and former world record holder. Early life Born in Maastricht, Limburg, he is the son of Cees-Rein van den Hoogenban ...
had broken the world record in the semi-finals, taking it from the new Australian hero
Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
, who came close to the world record in his semi-final heat. As the final race finished, Van den Hoogenband's time was exactly the same as in the semi-finals, finishing ahead of Thorpe by half a second. China won the
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
in the men's team all-around gymnastics competition after being the runner-up in the previous two Olympics. The other medals were taken by
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
and Russia, respectively. Zijlaard-van Moorsel lived up to the expectations set by her world record in cycling in the semis by winning the gold medal.


Day 7: 21 September

During the Women's Gymnastics All-Around, female athletes suffered damning scores and injuries due to improperly installed gymnastics equipment. Gymnasts performing on the
vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...
gave uncharacteristically poor performances and fell. Officials blamed the series of falls and low scores on performance anxiety. It wasn't until Australian gymnast
Allana Slater Allana Amy Slater (born 3 April 1984 in Perth, Western Australia) is a retired Australian artistic gymnast. The Australian senior all-around National Champion in 2000, 2003 and 2004 and a multiple medalist at the Commonwealth Games, Slater is c ...
and her coach, Peggy Liddick, voiced concerns about the equipment that officials discovered the apparatus was five centimetres, or almost two inches, lower than it should've been. While athletes were given the opportunity to perform again, for some of them, the damage to their mental or physical health caused by the vault was irreparable. Chinese gymnast
Kui Yuanyuan Kui Yuanyuan ( Simplified Chinese: 奎媛媛; born June 23, 1981) is a former artistic gymnast from China who competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Gymnastics career Kui won the floor exercise at the 1996 World Artistic Gymnastics Ch ...
and American gymnast Kristen Maloney both injured their legs while attempting to stick their landings, with Kui needing to be carried to an examination area and Maloney damaging a titanium rod that had recently been implanted in her shin. Romanian gymnast
Andreea Răducan Andreea Mădălina Răducan (; born 30 September 1983) is a retired gymnast from Bârlad, Romania. She currently works as a sports announcer and journalist. Răducan began competing in gymnastics at a young age and was training at the Romanian j ...
ultimately took gold while her teammates,
Simona Amânar Simona Amânar (; born 7 October 1979) is a Romanian former artistic gymnast. She is a seven-time Olympic and ten-time World Championship medalist. Amânar helped Romania win four consecutive world team titles (1994–1999), as well as the 200 ...
and
Maria Olaru Maria Olaru (born 4 June 1982)
Maria Olaru
is a ...
took silver and bronze, respectively.


Day 9: 23 September

By rowing in the winning coxless four,
Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold ...
of Great Britain became a member of a select group who had won gold medals at five consecutive Olympics. The swimming 4 x 100-metre medley relay of B.J. Bedford,
Megan Quann Megan M. Jendrick ( Quann, born January 15, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer, former world record-holder, and fitness columnist. She won two gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. J ...
(Jendrick),
Jenny Thompson Jennifer Beth Thompson (born February 26, 1973) is an American former competition swimmer and anesthesiologist. She is one of the most decorated Olympians in history: twelve medals, including eight gold medals, in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 200 ...
and Dara Torres became the first women's relay under 4-minutes, swimming 3:58 and setting a world record, claiming the gold medal for the United States.


Day 10: 24 September

Rulon Gardner Rulon Ellis Gardner (born August 16, 1971) is an American retired Greco-Roman Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler. He competed at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and won the gold medal in 2000, defeating Russia's three-time reigning gold medalist Aleksan ...
, never an
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
champion or a world medalist, beat
Alexander Karelin Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin ( rus, Александр Александрович Карелин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ kəˈrʲelʲɪn; born 19 September 1967) is a Russian politician and retired athlete. Karelin comp ...
of Russia to win gold in the super heavyweight class,
Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling ( Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mo ...
. Karelin had won gold in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
and
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
. Before this fight, he had never lost in international competition, had been unbeaten in all competitions in 13 years, and had not surrendered a point in a decade.


Day 11: 25 September

Australian
Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman (born 16 February 1973) is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set ...
won the 400-metre final in front of a jubilant Sydney crowd at the
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
, ahead of
Lorraine Graham Lorraine Fenton (born Lorraine Graham on 8 September 1973 in Manchester) is a retired Jamaican athlete who specialized in the 400 metres. Career Her career highlight came when she won the Olympic silver medal in 2000, being the first Jamaican ...
of Jamaica and
Katharine Merry Katharine Merry (born 21 September 1974) is an English former sprinter. She won the bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was the fastest woman in the world over 400 m in 2001, with her career best of 49.59 seconds. She ...
of Great Britain. Freeman's win made her the first competitor in Olympic Games history to light the
Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...
and then go on to win a
Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
. The attendance at the stadium was 112,524 – the largest attendance for any sport in Olympic Games history. In a men's basketball pool match between the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the USA's
Vince Carter Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who serves as a basketball analyst for ESPN. He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, but occasionally played p ...
made one of the most famous dunks in basketball history. After getting the ball off a steal, the 6'6"/1.98 m Carter drove to the basket, with 7'2"/2.18 m centre
Frédéric Weis Frédéric Weis (born 22 June 1977) is a French former professional basketball player. Professional career During his pro career, Weis played with Unicaja Málaga and Iurbentia Bilbao of the Spanish ACB League, PAOK Thessaloniki in the Greek ...
in his way. Carter jumped, spread his legs in midair, scraped Weis' head on the way up, and dunked. The French media dubbed the feat ''le dunk de la mort'' ("the dunk of death").


Day 14: 28 September

The Canadian flag at the athletes' village was lowered to
half-mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salut ...
as Canadian athletes paid tribute to the former prime minister
Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...
after hearing of his
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
in Montreal (because of the
time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it ...
difference, it was 29 September in Sydney when Trudeau died). The Canadian flag was flown at half-mast for the remainder of the Olympics, on orders from both IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister
Lloyd Axworthy Lloyd Norman Axworthy (born December 21, 1939) is a Canadian politician, elder statesman and academic. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Following his retirement from parliament ...
, as the state funeral did not take place until 3 October, two days after the closing ceremony, and the Canadian athletes subsequently rushed back to attend his funeral after 1 October. 


Day 16: 30 September

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...
won a historic gold medal over
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
in the Men's Olympic
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
Final at the Olympic Stadium. The game went to a penalty shootout, which was won by Cameroon 5–3.


Day 17: 1 October

The last event of the games was the Men's Marathon, contested on a course that started in North Sydney. The event was won by
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
n Gezahegne Abera, with Kenyan
Erick Wainaina Erick Wainaina (born December 19, 1973, in Nyahururu) is a Kenyan marathon runner, who won an Olympic bronze medal in 1996 and a silver medal in 2000. He finished seventh in the 2004 Summer Olympics marathon in Athens, making him one of the fe ...
second, and
Tesfaye Tola Tesfaye Tola (born 19 October 1974) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, most known for winning a bronze medal in marathon at the 2000 Summer Olympics. The next year he finished fourth at the 2001 World Championships, and fifth in the World Hal ...
, also of Ethiopia, third. It was the first time since the 1968 Olympics that an Ethiopian won the gold medal in this event. The closing ceremony commenced with
Christine Anu Christine Anu (born 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home". Anu has been nominated for 17 ARIA Awards. Early life Anu was ...
performing her version of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home", with several Aboriginal dancers atop the Geodome Stage in the middle of the stadium, around which several hundred umbrella and lamp box kids created an image of Aboriginal Dreamtime. The Geodome Stage was used throughout the ceremony, which was a flat stage mechanically raised into the shape of a Geode. IOC President
Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch (Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh P ...
declared at the Closing Ceremony, Subsequent Summer Olympics held in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
,
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
and
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
have been described by Samaranch's successor
Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie Rogge, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator and physician who served as the eighth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, Rogge bec ...
as "unforgettable, dream Games", "truly exceptional" and "happy and glorious games" respectively – the practice of declaring games the "best ever" having been retired after the 2000 Games.


Sports

The 2000 Summer Olympic programme featured 300 events in the following 28 sports: Although demonstration sports were abolished following the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
, the Sydney Olympics featured
wheelchair racing Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...
as exhibition events on the athletics schedule. Special
quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
conditions were introduced to allow entry of horses into Australia to participate in equestrian events, avoiding the need for such events to take place elsewhere as had happened at the
1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, w ...
in Melbourne.


Calendar


Medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals in the 2000 Games. The ranking in this table is based on information provided by the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
. Some other sources may be inconsistent due to not taking into account all later doping cases. Host nation (Australia)


Participating National Olympic Committees

199
National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
s (NOCs) participated in the Sydney Games, two more than in the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
; in addition, there were four
Timorese Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...
Individual Olympic Athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics Four athletes from East Timor, at the time under United Nations administration, competed as individual Olympic athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Results by event Athletics ;Track and road events Boxing Weight ...
.
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...
, the
Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states compr ...
and
Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...
made their Olympic debut this year.
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
was once again designated under that name, after it participated as
Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
from
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
to
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
. Afghanistan was the only 1996 participant (and the only existing NOC) that did not participate in the 2000 Olympics, having been banned due to the Taliban's totalitarian rule in Afghanistan, their oppression of women, and its prohibition of sports.


Venues


Sydney Olympic Park

*
Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...
: Ceremonies (opening/closing), Athletics, Football (final) *
Sydney International Aquatic Centre The Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC) , formerly Sydney International Aquatic Centre (SIAC), is a swimming venue located in the Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Built in 1994, the SOPAC was a major venue for t ...
: Diving, Modern Pentathlon (swimming) Swimming, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo (medal events) *
State Sports Centre The State Sports Centre (known commercially as the Quaycentre) is a multi-use indoor arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and was opened in November 1984. With a total of 3,854 fixed and retractable seats the main arena is a focal point o ...
: Table Tennis, Taekwondo * NSW Tennis Centre: Tennis * State Hockey Centre: Field Hockey * The Dome and Exhibition Complex: Badminton, Basketball, Gymnastics (rhythmic), Handball (final), Modern Pentathlon (fencing, shooting), Volleyball (indoor) *
Sydney SuperDome The Sydney SuperDome (currently known as the Qudos Bank Arena) is a large multipurpose arena located in Sydney, Australia. It is situated in Sydney Olympic Park, and was completed in 1999 as part of the facilities for the 2000 Summer Olympics. ...
: Gymnastics (artistic, trampoline), Basketball (final) * Sydney Baseball Stadium: Baseball, Modern Pentathlon (riding, running) *
Sydney International Archery Park The Sydney International Archery Park was specially designed for archery during the 2000 Summer Olympics. The stadium is located in Sydney Olympic Park. It was designed by Stutchbury and Pape. Goad, Philip: ''New Directions in Australian Archite ...
: Archery


Sydney

*
Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre The Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre was a convention, exhibition and entertainment complex in Darling Harbour, Sydney. Designed by Philip Cox, the complex opened in 1988 as part of an urban renewal and redevelopment of the Darling Harbou ...
: Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Weightlifting, Wrestling *
Sydney Entertainment Centre Sydney Entertainment Centre (later known as Qantas Credit Union Arena) was a multi-purpose arena located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished in 1970 to make way for the ...
: Volleyball (indoor final) *
Dunc Gray Velodrome The Dunc Gray Velodrome is an Australian velodrome located at Bass Hill approximately 5 kilometres north west of the Sydney suburb of Bankstown. The cycling venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics, the Dunc Gray Velodrome was opened on 28 November 19 ...
: Cycling (track) *
Sydney International Shooting Centre The Sydney International Shooting Centre in Cecil Park, New South Wales, Australia was built for the shooting events at the 2000 Summer Olympics. It has also been used for ISSF World Cup events in 2002, 2004, 2007 and the 2007 rifle and pistol e ...
: Shooting *
Sydney International Equestrian Centre The Sydney International Equestrian Centre (SIEC for short) is the facility which was used to host equestrian events during the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2000 Summer Paralympics. The centre is located 45 kilometres from Sydney's business district ...
: Equestrian * Sydney International Regatta Centre: Rowing, Canoeing (sprint) *
Blacktown Olympic Centre Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP) (formally known as Blacktown Olympic Park) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australian r ...
: Baseball, Softball *
Western Sydney Parklands The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ...
: Cycling (mountain biking) *
Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre The Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre is an aquatics venue located in Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. The original venue was demolished in November 1998 with rebuilding commencing in April 1999. Rebuilding was completed in April 2000 with opening in M ...
: Water Polo *
Penrith Whitewater Stadium The Penrith Whitewater Stadium is located near Sydney, Australia. It is an artificial whitewater sporting facility which hosted the canoe/kayak slalom events at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The facility is part of the Penrith Lakes Schem ...
: Canoeing (slalom) *
Bondi Beach Bondi Beach is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council, in the Easter ...
: Volleyball (beach) *
Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier recta ...
: Football * Olympic Sailing Shore Base: Sailing * Centennial Parklands: Cycling (road) *Marathon course: Athletics (marathon) * North Sydney: Athletics (marathon start) *
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
: Triathlon.


Outside Sydney

*
Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium for commercial reasons) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports ven ...
,
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
: Football * Hindmarsh Stadium,
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
: Football *
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern ...
: Football *
The Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Ga ...
(Brisbane Cricket Ground),
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
: Football


Organisation


Organisations responsible for the Olympics

A number of quasi-government bodies were responsible for the construction, organisation and execution of the Sydney Games. These included: *the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG), primarily responsible for the staging of the Games *Olympic Coordination Authority (OCA), primarily responsible for construction and oversight *Olympic Roads & Transport Authority (ORTA) *
Olympic Security Command Centre Olympic Security Command Centre (OSCC) was formed in 1995 to plan for and conduct security of the 2000 Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games. The OSCC was commanded by Assistant Commissioner Paul McKinnon of the NSW Police. The OSCC was formed along ...
(OSCC) *Olympic Intelligence Centre (OIC) * JTF Gold the
Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...
Joint Taskforce Gold *Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation (nominally part of SOCOG) * IBM, provider of technology and the Technical Command Centre *
Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 2 ...
, provider of telecommunications *
Great Big Events Established in 1995, Great Big Events is an international Sport Presentation and Event Management company with offices in Sydney (Australia), London (United Kingdom) and Doha (Qatar) with satellite offices around North America, Europe, Gulf Region a ...
, event management and marketing These organisations worked closely together and with other bodies such as: *the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
(IOC) *the
Australian Olympic Committee Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
(AOC) *the other 197
National Olympic Committees A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Gam ...
(NOCs) *the 33 International Sports Federations (IFs) *all three levels of Australian government (federal, state and local) *dozens of official sponsor and hundreds of official supplier companies These bodies are often collectively referred to as the "Olympic Family".


Organisation of the Paralympics

The organisation of the
2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...
was the responsibility of the
Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...
(SPOC). However, much of the planning and operation of the Paralympic Games was outsourced to SOCOG such that most operational programmes planned both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.


Other Olympic events

The organisation of the Games included not only the actual sporting events, but also the management (and sometimes construction) of the sporting venues and surrounding precincts, the organisation of the
Sydney Olympic Arts Festival The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
, and the
Olympic torch relay The Olympic torch relay is the ceremonial relaying of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the site of an Olympic Games. It was first performed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and has taken place prior to every Games since. Although in the pa ...
, which began in Greece and travelled to Australia via numerous Oceania island nations.


Phases of the Olympic project

The staging of the Olympics were treated as a project on a vast scale, broken into several broad phases: *1993 to 1996 – positioning *1997 – going operational *1998 – procurement/venuisation *1999 – testing/refinement *2000 – implementation *2001 – post-implementation and wind-down


SOCOG organisational design

The internal organisation of SOCOG evolved over the phases of the project and changed, sometimes radically, several times. In late 1998, the design was principally functional. The top two tiers below the CEO
Sandy Hollway David Alexander Hollway is a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker. He retired from the Australian Public Service in 1996 to head the 2000 Summer Olympics. Background and career Hollway graduated from the University of Sydney ...
consisted of five groups (managed by Group General Managers and the Deputy CEO) and twenty divisions (managed by divisional General Managers), which in turn were further broken up into programmes and sub-programmes or projects. In 1999, functional areas (FAs) broke up into geographic precinct and venue teams (managed by Precinct Managers and Venue Managers) with functional area staff reporting to both the FA manager and the venue manager. SOCOG moved to a matrix structure. The Interstate Football division extant in 1998 was the first of these geographically based venue teams.


Volunteer program

The origins of the volunteer program for Sydney 2000 dates back to the bid, as early as 1992. On 17 December 1992, a group of Sydney citizens interested in the prospect of hosting the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games gathered for a meeting at Sports House at
Wentworth Park Wentworth Park is a park near the suburbs of Glebe and Ultimo in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The park contains several muti-purpose sporting pitches, cricket nets and a number of fitness installations. There is a playground in the s ...
in Sydney. In the period leading up to 1999, after Sydney had won the bid, the small group of volunteers grew from approximately 42 to around 500. These volunteers became known as Pioneer Volunteers. The Pioneer Volunteer program was managed internally by SOCOG's Volunteer Services Department in consultation with prominent peak groups like The Centre for Volunteering (Volunteering and
TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...
. Some of the Pioneer Volunteers still meet every four months, an unseen legacy of the games which brought together a community spirit not seen before. During the Olympic games, tens of thousands of volunteers (the official figure placed at 46,967) helped everywhere at the Olympic venues and elsewhere in the city. They were honoured with a parade like the athletes had a few days before.


Marketing


Official logo

The bid logo, created by architect and designer
Michael Bryce Michael John Strachan Bryce, (21 June 1938 – 15 January 2021) was an Australian architect and graphic and industrial designer. He was the husband of the 25th governor-general of Australia, Dame Quentin Bryce. Early life and career Michael ...
, featured a colourful, stylised image of the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
.Some people see the clear reference to the beliefs of traditional peoples, as a clear image of the
rainbow serpent The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity often seen as the creator God, known by numerous names in different Australian Aboriginal languages by the many different Aboriginal peoples. It is a common motif in the art and religion ...
.Beliefs in this mythological figure is common to all the original peoples of Australia,as due your gigantic size,your moviment causes drastic changes in geographic space and around. These peoples believed that every time the snake came out of the depths of bodies of water, its movement dissipated so much energy and related them to the phenomena of nature such as rains, storms and waterspouts,wherever it passed, everything around her changed.They also believed that the serpent was related to the cycle of life and death, recycling and the occupation of empty spaces and some other beliefs connect it with the ancestral sky with views of and the Southern Hemisphere night skies as main sight of the
Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...
. The official logo revealed in 1996,is also referred to as the "Millennium Man", took the some curves of the bid logo and combined it with a stylised image of a runner to form a torchbearer in motion, formed by two small yellow boomerangs for arms and a larger red boomerang for legs.Now, the Olympic torch is represented through a blue smoke trail, which draws the iconic peaks of the Sydney Opera House and the serpent. The design process of the official logo, as well as all other aspects of the Olympic Games' visual design identity, was awarded to
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
design studio FHA Image Design. The Sydney Olympics brand identity project officially started in 1993,and lasted 7 years. It was also up to FHA Design to prepare the visual identity of the Paralympic Games and this also absorbed some elements as the identification signals and the pictograms.


Mascots

The official
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as ...
s chosen for the 2000 Summer Olympics were Syd the
platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or mono ...
, Millie the
echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...
, and Olly the
kookaburra Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...
, designed by Matthew Hattan and Jozef Szekeres and named by Philip Sheldon of agency Weekes Morris Osborn in response to the original SOCOG recommendation of Murray, Margery and Dawn after famous Australian athletes. There was also
Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat was an unofficial mascot of the 2000 Summer Olympics created by Sydney cartoonist Paul Newell with Roy and HG from the Australian Channel Seven sports/comedy television program '' The Dream with Roy and HG''. Fatso is ...
, an unofficial mascot popularised by comedy team Roy Slaven and HG Nelson on the TV series ''
The Dream with Roy and HG ''The Dream with Roy and HG'' was a sports/comedy talk show, broadcast every night during the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics, presented by Australian comedy duo Roy and HG. Their telecasts became one of the most popular events of the Gam ...
''. Roy and HG also frequently disparaged the official mascots on their television program.


Sponsors


Medals and bouquets

A total of 750 gold, 750 silver and 780 bronze medals were minted for the Games. The gold and silver medals contained 99.99 percent of pure silver. The bronze medals were 99 percent bronze with one percent silver, they were made by melting down Australian one-cent and two-cent coins, which had been removed from circulation from 1992 onward. The bouquets handed to medal recipients incorporated foliage from the Grevillea baileyana, also known as the white oak.


Awards and commendations

The International Olympic Committee awarded Sydney and its inhabitants with the "Pierre de Coubertin Trophy" in recognition of the collaboration and happiness shown by the people of Sydney during the event to all the athletes and visitors around the world. After the games' end, the
New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...
was granted use of the Olympic Rings in a new commendation and citation as the IOC consideration after having staged the "safest" games ever.


Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the
Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...
), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. (wins only) , - , 2000 Sunmer , Olympic Games Opening Ceremony , Special Event of the Year , , -


In popular culture

In F.J. Campbell's 2018 novel ''No Number Nine'', the last part of the book is set at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. In
Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels have b ...
's thriller ''
Rainbow Six Rainbow Six may refer to: * ''Rainbow Six'' (novel), a 1998 novel by Tom Clancy *''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six'', a video game franchise published by Ubisoft ** ''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six'' (video game), a tactical shooter video game *"Rainbow Six", a ...
'' and its video game adaptation, the 2000 Olympic Games are the setting of a plot by
eco-terrorists Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violen ...
, who plan to use the games in order to spread a terrible new plague throughout the world. In
Morris Gleitzman Morris Gleitzman (born 9 January 1953) is an English-born Australian author of children's and young adult fiction.Toad Rage ''Toad Rage'' is a children's novel by Australian author Morris Gleitzman. It was first published in Australia in 1999 by Puffin Books. Plot summary Limpy, a young cane toad who narrowly escapes from becoming roadkill, enters the gates of the O ...
'', a cane toad travels to Sydney in a bid to become the Olympic mascot. The Games was a
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
television series run on the ABC network, with two seasons that ran in 1998 and 2000. The series satirized corruption and cronyism in the Olympic movement, bureaucratic ineptness in the New South Wales public service, and unethical behaviour within politics and the media. An unusual feature of the show was that the characters shared the same name as the actors who played them.


See also

* The Games of the XXVII Olympiad 2000: Music from the Opening Ceremony *
Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi" is a cheer or chant often performed at Australian sport events. It is a variation of the Oggy Oggy Oggy chant used by both soccer and rugby union fans in Great Britain from the 1960s onwards. It is usually perf ...
* John Coates * Use of performance-enhancing drugs in the Olympic Games – Sydney 2000


Notes


References


External links

*
2000 Summer Olympics Official site
*Official Repor
Vol. 1Vol. 2Vol. 3
*
2000 Summer Olympics – collection of archived websitesSydney Olympic Games InformationSydney Olympic ParkSydney Olympic Games, 2000 – Australian GovernmentSydney 2000 Games Collection at the Powerhouse Museum
 – information and audio files *
Spirit of Sydney Volunteers Website
nbsp;– Website maintained by and for Sydney 2000 Volunteer Alumni
Official 10th Anniversary Volunteers Website
nbsp;– Official 10th Anniversary Volunteers Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Summer Olympics 2000 in Australian sport 2000 in multi-sport events International sports competitions hosted at Sydney Olympic Park September 2000 sports events in Australia October 2000 sports events in Australia 2000s in Sydney