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| Games of the XXVII Olympiad | |
 |
|
| Host city | Sydney, Australia |
|---|---|
| Motto | Share the spirit |
| Nations participating | 199 |
| Athletes participating | 10,651 (6,582 men, 4,069 women) |
| Events | 300 in 28 sports |
| Opening ceremony | September 15 |
| Closing ceremony | October 1 |
| Officially opened by | Governor-General Sir William Deane |
| Athlete's Oath | Rechelle Hawkes |
| Judge's Oath | Peter Kerr |
| Olympic Torch | Cathy Freeman |
| Stadium | Stadium Australia |
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which took place between 13 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was the second time that the Summer Olympics were held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first one being in Melbourne (1956).
Bidding process
- See also: 2000 Summer Olympics bids
Sydney won the right to host the Games on 23 September 1993, after being selected over Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul and Manchester in four rounds of voting, at the 101st IOC Session in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
| 2000 Summer Olympics Bidding Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | |
 Sydney |
30 | 30 | 37 | 45 | |
 Beijing |
32 | 37 | 40 | 43 | |
 Manchester |
11 | 13 | 11 | - | |
 Berlin |
9 | 9 | - | - | |
 Istanbul |
7 | - | - | - | |
Costs
In 2002, the Auditor-General of New South Wales reported that the Sydney Games cost $AUD6.6 billion, with a net cost to the public between $AUS 1.7 and 2.4 billion.12
It has been estimated that the economic impact of the 2000 Olympics was that $AUS 2.1 billion has been shaved from public consumption. Economic growth was not stimulated to a net benefit and in the years since 2000, foreign tourism to NSW grew by less than tourism to Australia as a whole. A "multiplier" effect on broader economic development is 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."3
Preliminary matches - from 13 September
Although the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony was not scheduled until 15 September, the football competitions began with preliminary matches on 13 September. Among the pre-ceremony fixtures, host nation Australia lost 1-0 to Italy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was the main stadium for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
Day 1 - 15 September
Cultural display highlights
The opening ceremony began with a tribute to the Australian pastoral heritage of the muster (or "roundup", in which the stockmen gather together the livestock from the vast areas of an Australian outback sheep or cattle station), symbolising the drawing together of people from across the world. This was introduced by a lone rider, Steve Jefferys, 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, to a special Olympics version of the theme which Bruce Rowland had previously composed for the 1982 film The Man from Snowy River.
The Australian National Anthem was sung, the first verse by Human Nature 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". Kylie Minogue performed for the Closing Ceremony singing Dancing Queen, the song by ABBA and On A Night Like This. The indigenous occupation of the land, the coming of the First Fleet, 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. Two memorable scenes were the representation of the "Heart" of the country by 200 Aboriginal women from Central Australia who danced up "the mighty spirit of God to protect the Games" and the overwhelmingly noisy representation of the construction industry by hundreds of tap-dancing teenagers.
Because the wife of Juan Antonio Samaranch, the IOC President, was seriously ill and not able to accompany her husband to the Olympics, former Australian Olympic Champion swimmer and member of the NSW state parliament, Dawn Fraser, accompanied Samaranch during the Australian cultural display, explaining to him some of the more obscure cultural references.
Formal presentation
A record 199 nations entered the stadium, the only missing IOC member being Afghanistan (suspended due to the Taliban regime's prohibition against practicing any kind of sports). The ceremony featured a unified entrance by the athletes of North and South Korea, using a specially designed unification flag: a white background flag with a blue map of the Korean Peninsula. The two teams competed separately, however. Four athletes from East Timor also marched in the parade of nations. Although the country-to-be had no National Olympic Committee then, they were allowed to compete under the Olympic Flag. The Governor-General, Sir William Deane, opened the games.
The Olympic Flag was carried around the arena by eight former Australian Olympic champions: Bill Roycroft, Murray Rose, Liane Tooth, Gillian Rolton, Marjorie Jackson, Lorraine Crapp, Michael Wenden and Nick Green. During the raising of the Olympics Flag, the Olympic Hymn was sung by the Millennium Choir of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.
The opening ceremony concluded with the lighting of the Olympic Flame. Former Australian Olympic champion Herb Elliott brought the Olympic Flame into the stadium. Then, celebrating 100 years of women's participation in the Olympic Games, former Australian women Olympic champions: Betty Cuthbert and Raelene Boyle, Dawn Fraser, Shirley Strickland (later Shirley Strickland de la Hunty), Shane Gould and Debbie Flintoff-King brought the torch through the stadium, handing it over to Cathy Freeman, who lit the flame in the cauldron within a circle of fire. 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 spectacular fireworks display.4
Some significant participants
The young girl singer, who featured in the early part of the opening ceremony, was Nikki Webster. Other musical performers were Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham (who sang the duet "Dare to Dream" while walking among the athletes), Vanessa Amorosi (who sang "Heroes Live Forever" while a huge cloth was lowered down to cover the athletes - with sporting images and the image of a white dove of peace then being displayed on the cloth) and Tina Arena (who sang "The Flame"). There was also a massed Millennium Marching Band of 2000 musicians - with 1000 Australian musicians, the remaining 1000 musicians being from other countries around the world. (the massed band was so large that six conductors were required for the segment).
The English-language announcer for the Opening Ceremony was Australian actor John Stanton, while the Channel 7 narrator for the Indigenous section of the display was actor Ernie Dingo.
Events
Day 2 - 16 September
The first medals of the Games were awarded in the women's 10 metre air rifle competition, which was won by Nancy Johnson of the United States.
The Triathlon made its Olympic debut with the women's race. Set in the surroundings of the iconic Sydney Opera House, Brigitte McMahon representing Switzerland swam, cycled and ran to the first gold medal in the sport, beating the favoured home athletes.
The first star of the Games was Ian Thorpe. The 17-year-old Australian first set a new world record in the 400 m freestyle final before competing in an exciting 4 x 100 m freestyle final. Swimming the last leg, Thorpe passed the leading Americans 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 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 beat fellow German Jens Lehmann 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 beat the world record in the 400 m medley, successfully defending the title he won in Atlanta four years prior. Dutchwoman Inge de Bruijn 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 had broken the world record in the semi-finals, taking it from the new Australian hero Ian Thorpe, 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 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 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 9 - 23 September
By rowing in the winning coxless four, Steve Redgrave 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 (Jendrick), Jenny Thompson 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, never a NCAA champion or a world medalist, beat Alexander Karelin of Russia to win gold in the super heavyweight class, Greco-Roman wrestling. Karelin had won gold in Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta. 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 won the 400 metre final in front of a jubilant Sydney crowd at the Olympic Stadium, ahead of Lorraine Graham of Jamaica and Katharine Merry of Great Britain. Freeman's win made her the first competitor in Olympic Games history to light the Olympic Flame and then go on to win a Gold Medal.
Day 13 - 28 September
The Canadian flag at athletes' village is lowered to half-staff as Canadian athletes pay tribute to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau after hearing of his passing in Montreal (Because of the time difference, it was 29 September in Sydney when Trudeau died). The Canadian flag flew at half-staff for the remainder of the Olympics, on orders from both IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy, as the state funeral didn't take place until 3 October.
Day 15 - 30 September
Cameroon won a historic gold medal over Spain in the Men's Olympic Football Final at the Olympic Stadium. The game went to a penalty shootout.
Day 16 - 1 October
The Closing Ceremony commenced with Christine Anu singing a stirring rendition of her hit song, Island Home. She performed with several Aboriginal dancers atop the Geodome Stage in the middle of the stadium, around which several hundred umbrella and lampbox kids created an image of Aboriginal dreamtime.
The Geodome Stage was used throughout the ceremony, which is a flat stage which is mechanically raised into the shape of a Geode.
IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch declared at the Closing Ceremony,
"I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever."
Subsequent Summer Olympics held in Athens and Beijing have been described by Samaranch's successor, Jacques Rogge, as "unforgettable, dream Games" and "truly exceptional" respectively.
The Olympic Hymn was sung by soprano Yvonne Kenny. The ceremony also featured performing artists such as Jimmy Barnes, INXS, Midnight Oil, Kylie Minogue, Slim Dusty, Christine Anu, Nikki Webster, John Paul Young, Men at Work, Melbourne-based singer Vanessa Amorosi, Tommy Emmanuel CGP, and pop duo Savage Garden.
The Games were then handed over to their modern birthplace, Athens, which succeeded Sydney as Olympic host city. The ceremony concluded with a huge fireworks display on Sydney Harbour.
In honor of her gold medal win during the games, Cathy Freeman represented Oceania in carrying the Olympic flag when it was raised again, at the XIX Olympic Winter Games, in Salt Lake City; opening ceremony there took place on 8 February 2002.56
Sports
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
- Wheelchair Racing (Demonstration Event)citation needed
Demonstration
Medal count
These are the top medal-collecting nations for the 2000 Games. (Host country is highlighted)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States |
36 | 24 | 31 | 91 |
| 2 |  Russia |
32 | 28 | 28 | 88 |
| 3 | China |
28 | 16 | 15 | 59 |
| 4 | Australia |
16 | 25 | 17 | 58 |
| 5 | Germany |
13 | 17 | 26 | 56 |
| 6 |  France |
13 | 14 | 11 | 38 |
| 7 |  Italy |
13 | 8 | 13 | 34 |
| 8 |  Netherlands |
12 | 9 | 4 | 25 |
| 9 |  Cuba |
11 | 11 | 7 | 29 |
| 10 | Great Britain |
11 | 10 | 7 | 28 |
Marion Jones, winner of three gold and two bronze medals for the United States, relinquished them in October 2007 after confessing that she had taken tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) from September 2000 through July 2001.7 The IOC formally stripped Jones and her relay teammates of their 5 medals, although her teammates were to be offered opportunity to present a case for retaining their medals.8 Jones was also banned from competing for two years by the IAAF.9
On 2 August 2008, the International Olympic Committee stripped the gold medal from the U.S. men's 4x400-meter relay team, after Antonio Pettigrew admitted using a banned substance.10 Three of the four runners in the event final, including Pettigrew and twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison, and preliminary round runner Jerome Young, all have admitted or tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.10 Only Angelo Taylor, who also ran in preliminary rounds, and world record holder Michael Johnson were not implicated.10 The medal was the fifth gold medal for world record holder Johnson, who stated he had already planned to return the medal because he felt "cheated, betrayed and let down" by Pettigrew's testimony.10 The gold medal position for this event is now vacant.
Participating nations
199 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Sydney Games, two more than in 1996 Summer Olympics. In addition, there were four Timorese Individual Olympic Athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Eritrea, Micronesia and Palau made their Olympic debut this year.
Afghanistan was the only 1996 participant that did not participate in 2000, having been banned due to the extremist rule of the Taliban's oppression of women and its prohibition of sports.
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