2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, History, The design of the Olympic Cauldron
On the day of the opening ceremony (15 September 2000), a press release offered Michael Scott-Mitchell's description of his experience of the design process and his understanding of the symbolism of the spectacle:


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, History, The design of the Olympic Cauldron
"...the technological demands of the design have been daunting, and the intervening years have involved the talents of many people in bringing the design to fruition, befitting the Olympic Spirit. These have included theatrical production managers, mechanical engineers, fire and gas experts, water experts, weather experts, risk management experts; the list goes on ... Ric Birch, Michael Knight and latterly David Atkins have been unswerving in their endeavour to see the project fully realised. Finally Director Richard Wherrett was charged with choreographing and directing the entrance of the torch into the stadium, and the lighting of the flame."


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, History, The tradition of the Olympic flame, torch relay and cauldron
The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and it has been part of the modern Olympic Games ever since. According to legend, the torch's flame has been kept burning, ever since the first Olympics.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, History, The tradition of the Olympic flame, torch relay and cauldron
For the ancient Greeks, fire had divine connotations - it was thought to have been stolen from the gods by Prometheus. Therefore, fire was also present at many of the sanctuaries in Olympia, Greece. A fire permanently burned on the altar of Hestia in Olympia, Greece. During the Olympic Games, which honored Zeus, additional fires were lit at his temple and that of his wife, Hera. The modern Olympic flame is ignited at the site where the temple of Hera used to stand.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, History, The tradition of the Olympic flame, torch relay and cauldron
The Olympic Torch today is ignited several months before the opening celebration of the Olympic Games at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. Eleven women, representing the Vestal Virgins, perform a ceremony in which the torch is kindled by the light of the Sun, its rays concentrated by a parabolic mirror.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, History, The tradition of the Olympic flame, torch relay and cauldron
In contrast to the Olympic flame proper, the torch relay of modern times, which transports the flame from Greece to the various designated sites of the games, had no ancient precedent and was introduced by Carl Diem at the controversial 1936 Berlin Olympics.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, History, The tradition of the Olympic flame, torch relay and cauldron
The Olympic Torch Relay ends on the day of the opening ceremony in the central stadium of the Games. The final carrier is often kept unannounced until the last moment, and is usually a sports celebrity of the host country. The final bearer of the torch runs towards the cauldron, often placed at the top of a grand staircase, and then uses the torch to start the flame in the stadium. It is considered a great honor to be asked to light the Olympic Flame. After being lit, the flame continues to burn throughout the Olympics, and is extinguished on the day of the closing ceremony.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, History, Current presentation of the cauldron
In 2001 the end stand on the northern part of the stadium was removed and Tzannes Associates commissioned to reinterpret the cauldron, relocated nearby to the Overflow, now known as Cathy Freeman Park. There the cauldron's stem was removed and it was repositioned on top of a group of 24 stainless steel poles organized in a haphazard arrangement, approximately 10 metres above the ground. It operates intermittently as a giant fountain with water flowing over the sides of the cauldron onto the pavement below, to the delight of children who in summer often play under the shower.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Description
The 8.5 tonne cauldron is a perforated, corrugated shell structure fabricated from stainless steel. It has an overall diameter of 10m and tapers from 0.85m thick at centre down to 0.15m thick at the edge.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Description
The cauldron was designed to rise out of a circular pond after the flame was lit, and ascend, as though floating, up a waterfall to the top of the northern stand. It was collected by a 50-metre mast rising from behind the stand, and the main burner in the tip of the mast was lit.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Description
In 2001 the end stand on the northern part of the stadium was removed and Tzannes Associates commissioned to reinterpret the cauldron, relocated nearby to the Overflow, now known as Cathy Freeman Park. There the cauldron's stem was removed and it was repositioned on top of a group of 24 stainless steel poles organized in a haphazard arrangement, approximately 10 metres above the ground. It operates intermittently as a giant fountain with water flowing over the sides of the cauldron onto the pavement below, to the delight of children who in summer often play under the shower.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Description
The retrofitted cauldron is complete with a new burner system, and a water feature inside the perforated cladding. Both of these features are fed via services in an underground plant room, directly below the cauldron. This plant room is included within the curtilage and also houses: the light fittings lighting the cauldron; irrigation pumps and manifold; potable and non-potable water meters; and filtration and chemical treatment of the water to the water feature.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Description
The cauldron is surrounded by a decorative elliptical pavement inlaid with the names of all those who won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Sydney Olympic Games, known as the "Roll of Honour". The Roll of Honour is an Olympic traditional whereby medal-winning athletes are permanently acknowledged, typically in the vicinity of the Olympic Stadium. [ It includes] both Paralympic and Olympic athletes. (OCA Tender, 2001


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Description
The integrity and aesthetic significance of the cauldron has been impacted by its change of position since the Sydney 2000 Games. Detached from its stem and removed from its elevated position 50 metres above the ground at the northern end of the Olympic stadium, the cauldron is now perched atop a haphazard arrangement of steel rods in a park near the stadium, where its constantly flowing water forms a popular fountain feature. It can still be lit with a flame for ceremonial occasions.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The Olympic Cauldron at Sydney Olympic Park is of State historic significance as the culmination of the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games on 15 September 2000 and a reminder of Sydney's success and honour in having hosted the Millennium Games. The opening ceremony is considered to be a triumph of Australian showmanship which was watched by hundreds of millions of people around the world.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The Olympic Cauldron is also of State significance for its associations with the Olympic athletes who participated in the Sydney 2000 Games and particularly with the Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman, who was chosen to be the final Australian link in the Olympic Torch relay to light the cauldron, thus marking the commencement of the Games. The image of the lit cauldron flowing with fire and water as it rose around Freeman is one of the most memorable images of the Sydney Olympic Games.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The Olympic Cauldron is of State significance for the esteem in which it is held by Australians proud of the success of the Sydney Olympic Games. It is also of social significance to Sydney Olympic Park visitors for its later role as a popular fountain in the Cathy Freeman Park next to the Olympic Stadium. The Olympic Cauldron is of representative and rarity State significance as the only cauldron designed and built to hold an Olympic flame in NSW.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
Olympic Cauldron was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 September 2010 having satisfied the following criteria.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The Sydney Olympic Park Cauldron is of State historic significance as the culmination of the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games on 15 September 2000. The opening ceremony is considered to be a triumph of Australian showmanship which was watched by hundreds of millions of people around the world. It is also a reminder of Sydney's success and honour in having hosted the Millennium Games.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The Sydney Olympic Park Cauldron is of State significance for its associations with the Olympic athletes who participated in the Sydney 2000 Games and particularly with the Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman, who was chosen to be the final Australian link in the Olympic Torch relay to light the cauldron, thus symbolising the commencement of the Games. The image of the lit cauldron flowing with water as it rose around Freeman is one of the most memorable images of the Sydney Olympic Games.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The place is has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The Sydney Olympic Park Cauldron is of State significance as a symbolic focal point for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, which is held in high esteem by many Australians. It is also likely to be of significance for its later role as a popular fountain in the Overflow next to the Olympic Stadium.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The Sydney Olympic Park Cauldron is of State significance as the only Olympic cauldron to be designed and to hold the Olympic flame in NSW.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, Heritage listing
The Sydney Olympic Park Cauldron is of State significance as the Australian and NSW representative of Olympic cauldrons internationally.


2000 Summer Olympics cauldron, References, Attribution
This Wikipedia article was originally based on , entry number 01839 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under  , accessed on 29 May 2018.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
The 2000 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony also known as "Let's Party!" was held on 1 October 2000 in Stadium Australia. As with the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony was directed by Ric Birch as Director of Ceremonies while David Atkins was the Artistic Director and Producer. The Closing Ceremony was attended by 114,714 people, the largest attendance in modern Olympic Games history. The ceremony celebrated Australiana; Australian cultural celebrities, icons, media, and music, with floats designed in the style of Reg Mombassa. Around 2.4 billion watched the telecast of the closing ceremony.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
Then IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch declared in his concluding remarks (and his last remarks at an Olympic Games) that the 2000 Olympic games were the best Summer Olympics ever.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Prelude
Compared to the Opening Ceremony, the stadium showed the track and field ground as is. The main stage was called the Geodome Stage and was in the center of the stadium. The Prelude segment was hosted by Roy & HG.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Prelude
Just before the closing ceremony, the Men's Marathon finished in Stadium Australia. Not long after, the medal ceremony was presented. Ethiopian runner Gezahegne Abera won the Gold, Kenya's Erick Wainaina took the silver, while Gezahegne's countryman Tesfaye Tola took bronze.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Welcome & Countdown
Just before the Countdown, a slapstick skit was performed just before the countdown showing what could have gone wrong in the opening ceremony. A groundskeeper loses control of his buggy and causes havoc over the stadium and the pomp and ceremony. In one scene, Birch appears on an bike with an inflatable kangaroo featured in the 1996 closing ceremony. Finally his vehicle is dismantled in a comedic way.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Welcome & Countdown
A recording of the countdown composed by Richard Mills performed by Sydney Symphony Orchestra played. The large screens counted down from 60 to 1. Starting at 23, footage from previous games appeared. On 0, footage of fireworks was shown followed by an image of a Ken Done drawing with the phrase "Let's Party!"


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Island Home
After a brief fanfare composed by David Stanhope, Christine Anu performed with Torres Strait Island dancers her rendition of the Warumpi Band's song "My Island Home" written by Neil Murray. She performed on the Geodome Stage, with several Aboriginal dancers atop the stage, around which several hundred umbrella and lampbox kids created an image of Aboriginal dreamtime. The version performed was the recently released Earth Beat mix, which compared to previous versions of the song, identified the island as Australia itself. Near the end of the song, Anu was hoisted on part of the stage, which was folded into a giant 8-sided octagonal figure called The Geode, which had the globe projected on it. Audience members were encouraged to wave their flashlights.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Entrance of the Athletes
The flags from all countries entered with their flag bearers before placing their flags on the Geode stage. Then, after the flags all entered, athletes ran in from all entrances onto the field, while an fanfare 'Olympic Fireworks' by David Stanhope and orchestral piece 'Journey of Angels' by Chong Lim played. Savage Garden performed their hit song 'Affirmation' on the Geode stage while wearing indigenous flag t-shirts. The Geode stage was projected different words relating to what people might affirm about their beliefs. One of the words included Sydney's famous graffiti, Eternity.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Entrance of the Athletes
The last time Australia hosted the Olympics games in 1956, a young Melburnian, John Ian Wing, suggested that during the closing ceremony, instead of marching as separate teams, behind their national flags, the athletes mingled together as they paraded into and around the arena for a final appearance before the spectators. It was implemented then and has been an Olympic tradition that has been followed ever since.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Raising the Greek and Australian Flags
Children from both the Millennium Children's Choir of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and Sing 2001 Choir arrived in white and cream attire and spread themselves around the Geode stage. The Millennium Children's Choir performed "Hymn to Liberty", the National Anthem of Greece, conducted by George Ellis. Two Greece flags were raised; one as protocol to recognise the birthplace of the Olympic Games, and one to recognise Athens as the next host city. Afterwards, with the raising of the Australian Flag the Sing 2001 Choir performed "Advance Australia Fair", the national anthem of Australia, conducted by George Torbay.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Closing Addresses
President of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games(SOCOG), Michael Knight, made a closing address thanking the volunteers, the organising committee and the people of the City of Sydney. He stated:


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Closing Addresses
"All Australians are entitled to feel proud of our athletes, our country and themselves for what our nation has achieved during this period."


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Closing Addresses
As he was introducing Juan Antonio Samaranch, he noted that this would be his last Olympics as President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and would be a special night for him, although his experience of the games came amid personal tragedy.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Closing Addresses
Juan Antonio Samaranch gave a speech echoing Knight's thanks to all those who helped organised the games. He then declared:


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Closing Addresses
"I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever."


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Closing Addresses
Subsequent Summer Olympics held in Athens, Beijing and London have been described by Samaranch's successor Jacques Rogge 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.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Closing Addresses
Samaranch then awarded the on behalf of the IOC the Gold Olympic Order to both Michael Knight, as an expression of gratitude for a perfect organisation, and John Coates, president of the Australian Olympic Committee for fulfilling the promise of making these games the athletes games. In addition, he also gave on behalf of the IOC, the Olympic Cup to the people of Sydney for their enthusiastic and unpartisan support of athletes from all countries.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Closing Addresses
Samaranch then announced the newly elected members of the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission:


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, 'Welcome Home Athens 2004'
This segment was directed by Vangelis, and was the first time where the Antwerp Ceremony (the flag handover ceremony) was within the artistic section. Dimitris Avramopoulos, Mayor of Athens and Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, President of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Committee entered the stadium. Then priestesses of Olympia, from Greece, enter to do a traditional rite in preparation for the Antwerp Ceremony. After their performance, the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Frank Sartor arrives with the Seoul Olympic flag to begin the ceremony. He hands it to Samaranch, the IOC President, who hands it over to Avramopoulos. After the ceremony, the priestesses look around the flag, take the flag off its pole, throw laurel olive branches on top and carry the flag out of the stadium to Athens.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, 'Welcome Home Athens 2004'
Samaranch then officially called the games to its close, calling upon the youth of the world in four years to assemble in Athens, Greece - "the birthplace of Olympism". He ended by saying thank you in 4 languages.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Olympic Flag and Hymn
As the Olympic Flag was lowered, on a separate stage near the flagpole, Australian soprano Yvonne Kenny performed the Olympic Hymn in English, composed by Spiros Samara with lyrics by Costas Palamas. The Sydney Olympics was the first time the hymn was performed in both the IOC's preferred languages. Chong Lim's 'Journey of Angels' was then played. The final flag bearers were 8 young Australian champions:


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Protocol Section, Extinguishing the Olympic Flame - We'll Be One
‘We'll Be One’ was performed by Nikki Webster and the Sing 2001 Choir where she performed the song on a high platform underneath the Olympic Cauldron. The song is about all of humanity coming together and becoming one. The Olympic Flame was then captured by a F-111 Jet and flew out from Olympic Park (the F-111 actually performed a dump-and-burn).


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Let's Party!
The Ceremony ended with an hour long party and dance mix, featuring well known Australian artists and performers.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Let's Party!, Let's Party!
The first two songs in the dance mix were Absolutely Everybody by Vanessa Amorosi and Love Is in the Air performed by John Paul Young. Both performed on the Geode stage in silver and white space attire, with a big focus on different types of dance, including ballroom dancing.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Let's Party!, Heroes Medley
The Medley was a collection of Australian rock songs, performed on two stages designed and influenced by the work of Reg Mombassa, a key Mambo artist.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Let's Party!, Parade of Icons
This section of the dance mix began with a callback to the beginning of the opening ceremony, where the hero girl (Nikki Webster) took a day off at the beach. A large number of Surf Life Savers arrive with Kylie Minogue, dressed as a much older hero girl on a thong (Australian slang for a flip flop) before singing the ABBA song "Dancing Queen" on the Geodome stage.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Let's Party!, Parade of Icons
Then, surrounding athletes, the parade of icons began, showing celebrities of Australiana. Each celebrity arrived on a float with performers surrounding them. The celebrities were Greg Norman, the characters of Bananas in Pyjamas, Elle Macpherson, Paul Hogan as Crocodile Dundee, and Drag Queens from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Let's Party!, Parade of Icons
Finally, Minogue performed from the Geodome stage her recently released single "On a Night Like This".


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Let's Party!, Bye from Oz, see ya in Athens
The show ended with the whole cast performing on the Geodome Stage with Men at Work the Australian classic, "Down Under". Finally, Slim Dusty with guitar in hand performed an acoustic version of "Waltzing Matilda" as a singalong with the cast, athletes, and audience. The Geode had projected two lines, Bye from Oz, and see ya in Athens.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Segments, Closing Night Harbour Spectacular
The 'Closing Night Harbour Spectacular' marked the end of the ceremony, with a 25-minute fireworks display starting at Sydney Olympic Park then fireworks following the Parramatta River, before reaching the Sydney Harbour Bridge. After the spirit of the flame (the F-111 with the Olympic flame) flew over the Harbour Bridge, the bridge erupts with fireworks. It was the largest fireworks display staged in the world at that time, and required the work of five different pyrotechnic companies, headed by Foti Pyrotechnics.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Legacy
A major theme in the Sydney Olympic ceremonies was of reconciliation between Australia and the Australian Indigenous nations. In the years leading up to the Olympics, there was much discussion over what reconciliation would look like and was becoming a central social and political issue. In the Media Guide for the Opening Ceremony, the author notes that 4 months earlier, 250,000 Australians of all backgrounds walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge as support for recognition of past wrongs towards the First Nations peoples. It was shown in the closing ceremonies with a Anu's performance of "My Island Home", and on both Midnight Oil's and Savage Garden's band member outfits which had the word "Sorry" and Indigenous flag clothing.


2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Television coverage
Host Broadcaster: Sydney Olympic Broadcast Organisation (SOBO), with director Peter Faiman


2000 Summer Olympics medal table
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, from 15 September to 1 October 2000. A total of 10,651 athletes from 199 nations represented by National Olympic Committees (NOCs) (with four individual athletes from East Timor) competed in 300 events in 28 sports.


2000 Summer Olympics medal table
Athletes from 80 countries won at least one medal. The United States won the most medals overall with 93, as well as the most gold (37) medals. Host nation Australia finished the Games with 58 medals overall (16 gold, 25 silver, and 17 bronze). Cameroon, Colombia, Latvia, Mozambique and Slovenia won a gold medal for the first time in their Olympic histories, while Vietnam, Barbados, Macedonia, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, and Saudi Arabia won their first ever Olympic medals.


2000 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
The ranking in this table is based on information provided by the International Olympic Committee.


2000 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
The ranking sorts by the number of gold medals earned by a country—in this context, an entity represented by a National Olympic Committee. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If, after the above, countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically.


2000 Summer Olympics national flag bearers
During the Parade of Nations portion of the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country.


2000 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, Parade order
As the nation of the first modern Olympic Games, Greece entered the stadium first; whereas, the host nation of Australia marched last. Other countries entered in alphabetical order in the language of the host country (English), according with tradition and IOC guidelines.


2000 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, Parade order
Whilst most countries entered under their short names, a few entered under more formal or alternative names, mostly due to political and naming disputes. Macedonia entered as "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'" because of the naming dispute with Greece.


2000 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, Parade order
The Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) entered with the compromised name and flag of "Chinese Taipei" under T so that they did not enter together with conflicting People's Republic of China (commonly known as China), which entered as the "People's Republic of China" under C. The Republic of the Congo entered as just "Congo" while the Democratic Republic of Congo entered with its full name. Iran, Micronesia, Moldova, Laos, Brunei and the United States all entered under their formal names, respectively "Islamic Republic of Iran", "Federated States of Micronesia", "Republic of Moldova", "Lao People's Democratic Republic", "Brunei Darussalam" and "United States of America".


2000 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, Parade order
A record of 199 nations entered the stadium with the exception of Afghanistan, a nation banned by the IOC in 1999 because of the extremist rule of the Taliban's oppression on women and its sports. The parade of nations also featured a unified entrance by the athletes of the North and South Korea, holding a specially designed unification flag: a white background flag with a blue map of the Korean peninsula; however, the two teams competed separately. Four athletes from East Timor marched directly in the opening ceremonies as Individual Olympic Athletes before the host nation. Without the existence of the National Olympic Committee, they were allowed to compete under the Olympic flag.


2000 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, Parade order
Notable flag bearers in the opening ceremony featured the following athletes: windsurfer Nikolaos Kaklamanakis (Greece), Olympic beach volleyball champion Sandra Pires (Brazil), tennis player Nicolás Massú (Chile), heavyweight boxing champion Félix Savón (Cuba), long-distance runner Derartu Tulu (Ethiopia), sprint kayaker and five-time gold medalist Birgit Fischer (Germany), coxless pairs rower and double gold medalist Matthew Pinsent (Great Britain), show jumper Princess Haya (Jordan), discus thrower and 1992 Olympic champion Romas Ubartas (Lithuania), dressage rider Anky van Grunsven (Netherlands), middle-distance runner Vebjørn Rodal (Norway), two-time Greco-Roman wrestling champion Andrzej Wroński (Poland), five-time rowing champion Elisabeta Lipă (Romania), four-time Olympic handballer Andrey Lavrov (Russia), six-time Olympic water polo player Manuel Estiarte (Spain), and basketball players Carlton Myers (Italy) and Andrew Gaze (Australia).


2000 Summer Olympics national flag bearers, List
The following is a list of each country's announced flag bearer. The list is sorted by the order in which each nation appears in the parade of nations. The names are given in their official designations by the IOC.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 15 September 2000 in Stadium Australia, Sydney, during which the Games were formally opened by Governor-General Sir William Deane. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history. Veteran ceremonies director Ric Birch was the Director of Ceremonies while David Atkins was the Artistic Director and Producer. Its artistic section highlighted several aspects of Australian culture and history, showing Australia's flora and fauna, technology, multiculturalism, and the hopeful moment of reconciliation towards Aboriginal Australians. The ceremony had a cast of 12,687 performers, seen by a stadium audience of around 110,000.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The ceremony began at 19:00 AEDT and lasted over four-and-a-half hours. Around 3.7 billion viewers worldwide watched the ceremony on TV.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The ceremony was described by the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Juan Antonio Samaranch as the most beautiful ceremony the world had ever seen. Consistent with normal major production management, the music was pre-recorded under studio conditions to ensure its quality.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The stadium's French-language announcer was Pascale Ledeur, while the English-language announcer was Australian actor John Stanton.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
As this was the 'Games of the New Millennium', there was a major reevaluation on how to present the Olympics, which included the ceremonies. In regards to the Protocol of the ceremony, there had been incremental changes in the ceremony format after Rome 1960 where the Olympic Anthem was sung, and with the symbolic release of doves starting at Lillehammer '94. This was the first ceremony which re-ordered the Olympic Protocol section so to have the lighting of the cauldron at the end of the ceremony, rather than having it in the middle of the protocol section. This format and ordering has been the groundwork for all Olympic opening ceremonies after 2000.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
The artistic section as we know it today, where it showed the host countries culture through a separate presentation, began in Moscow 1980 and was becoming more theatrical at each Olympics. The Moscow Opening ceremony was one that Birch had been personally impressed by. This was the first Opening Ceremony which showed the host countries national culture through a narrative.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
Australian director Ric Birch had worked on global ceremonies for over 10 years, including directing the 1984 and 1992 Olympic ceremonies, when he got the job of Director of Ceremonies in September 1993. The idea for the ceremony climax with the cauldron was being planned by 1993, as they needed to consider requirements of the ceremony as part of the design of Stadium Australia, such as the waterproofing of the northern stand and extra supports for the cauldron.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
For the rest of the ceremony, Birch wanted a model where each segment was organised by a director, who had a designer and music composer to work with, and was given free artistic reign in their segment as long as it was telling its part of the story. The team of directors were assembled in 1997, with David Atkins as the head Artistic Director and Producer.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
In August 2000, the organisers announced the eleven principal and main performers, twenty-one composers and four conductors in a Melbourne press conference.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Officials and guests
The wife of Juan Antonio Samaranch, María Teresa Salisachs Rowe, was seriously ill and was not able to accompany her husband to the Olympics (she died the following day, from cancer). Therefore, Samaranch invited former Australian Olympic Champion swimmer, Dawn Fraser, to accompany him at the ceremony. Dawn Fraser explained some of the cultural references in the display section to him.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Prelude
As spectators arrived, they found on their seats a yellow Globite case with Olympic Stickers on the front, reminiscent of those that once prevailed in Australian schoolrooms in the 20th Century. Inside the case were green and gold socks, a torch, cheer band, lapel pin, program, postcard, cards, earplugs, stickers and a Kodak CD Rom. The torch and cheer band – set with movement sensitive lights – illuminated the darkened stands during the Fire segment, Arrivals segment and the lighting of the cauldron, while Australian Olympic Team socks appeared prominently on the sea of waving hands during Australia's entry to the stadium.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Prelude
The Prelude segment lasted an hour before the ceremony started. It was hosted by Seven Network's Sports Commentator David Fordham and news presenter Chris Bath, while seven months pregnant with her first child, live on the northern stage in the stadium. It featured various performances, including a Welcome to Country from the Wangal people, children singing the official Team Welcome Song "G'day G'day", a recognition of the Bidding team and the Olympic volunteers, a recognition from the United Nations of the Olympic Truce, Mexican waves, and a singalong of "Waltzing Matilda" with John Williamson.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Welcome and Anthem
Verse 1 (Sung by Human Nature as A cappella)Australians all let us rejoice,For we are young and free;We've golden soil and wealth for toil;Our home is girt by sea;Our land abounds in nature's giftsOf beauty rich and rare;In history's page, let every stageAdvance Australia Fair. In joyful strains then let us sing,Advance Australia Fair. Verse 2 (Sung by Julie Anthony with orchestra)Beneath our radiant Southern CrossWe'll toil with hearts and hands;To make this Commonwealth of oursRenowned of all the lands;For those who've come across the seasWe've boundless plains to share;With courage let us all combineTo Advance Australia Fair. In joyful strains then let us sing,Advance Australia Fair. Verse 1 Reprise (all voices)


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Welcome and Anthem
The ceremony began with a countdown composed by Richard Mills performed by Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The large screens counted down from 60 to 1. Starting at 23, footage from previous games appeared with the phrase "Opening Ceremony" at the end.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Welcome and Anthem
The Opening Ceremony began with a tribute to the heritage of the Australian Stock Horse, with the arrival of a lone rider, Steve Jefferys, whose Australian Stock Horse, Ammo, reared. Jefferys then cracked his stockwhip and 120 riders and their Stock Horses entered the stadium performing a 'musical ride' with many intricate steps, to the music of Bruce Rowland who composed a special Olympic version of the main theme which he had composed for the 1982 film The Man from Snowy River. Each rider held a flag with the Olympic Rings coloured turquoise. One of the configurations formed the five Olympic Rings.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Welcome and Anthem
A giant banner painted by Sydney artist Ken Done was unfurled, depicting the Sydney Harbour Bridge in bright colours, saying "G'Day" to the world.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Welcome and Anthem
The Governor-General Sir William Deane, the Prime Minister John Howard and the President of the IOC Juan Antonio Samaranch, arrived after a jazz fanfare was performed by James Morrison and Swing City, his brother's Big Band. The Australian National Anthem, Advance Australia Fair, was then sung by both Human Nature and Julie Anthony, accompanied by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Simone Young. The Stock Horse riders still on the field then swapped their Olympic flags for Australian flags before riding out of the stadium.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Deep Sea Dreaming
This segment celebrated Australia's affinity with the sea with the stadium floor being turned into a beach setting. The hero girl, Nikki Webster, arrived in beachwear and basks in the light. She seemed to fall asleep on the beach and drift off into a dream. The performers represented the sea and the various aquatic fauna appear and move around the arena floor. The hero girl was then hoisted up in the air by overhead wires and swam with the sea creatures. Other swimmers were also present, being coached (on a large screen) by Australian swimming coach Laurie Lawrence. This was a tribute to the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Awakening
The Awakening segment celebrated Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, which was claimed at the time to date back over 60,000 years. A special welcome was made to countries competing at the Games. A Yolngu elder and songman, Djakapurra Munyarryun, guided the girl through the indigenous ceremonies of connections to the land and the protocols for welcoming others to indigenous land. The segment featured Indigenous Australians from the Central Desert, the Numbulwar, Yirrkala, Ramingining and Manningrida peoples of Arnhem Land, Torres Strait Islanders, and the Koorie clan of NSW. The segment ended when the Wandjina-ancestral spirit appears (in the form of a 32-metre diameter cloth in the style of rock portrait) roaring and flinging a lightning bolt to ignite a bushfire.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Fire and Nature
The Fire and Nature segment showcased the Australian outback, wildlife and flora. It began with various fire performers (jugglers, breathers) moving across the stadium floor, symbolising the advance of a bushfire. In the aftermath, performers representing the flora stir as the land is replenished with water and life. The stadium floor is filled with performers dressed in costumes representing various flowers including Australia's distinctive wild flowers such as the Golden Wattle (Australia's national flower), the Waratah (State flower of NSW), the Sturt's Desert Pea, Water Lilies and Eucalypt flowers. The fauna, which were represented by seven large paintings by Ngemba artist Jeffrey Sammuels, were then revealed, depicting the Indigenous animal life in Australia. The flowers once more were illuminated before moving out of the stadium.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Tin Symphony
In the Tin Symphony segment, cases of the European settlement in Australia were shown, and the development of Australia into a rural and civic country. The segment began with the arrival of Captain James Cook, with naturalist Joseph Banks and crew, with bicycles to represent his ship, HM Bark Endeavour, during Captain Cook's exploration of the Australian east coast. A caged fake rabbit was shown aboard the ship. The performer acting as Captain Cook lit a firework mark the start of the segment.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Tin Symphony
Tin Symphony Part 1— The music, co-written and co-produced by Ian Cooper and John Frohlich, includes an Irish jig montaged with drums, bush sounds and voice. A multitude of performers dress as the iconic Australian bushranger Ned Kelly (with costumes based on Sir Sidney Nolan's series of Ned Kelly paintings) then appear onto the stadium floor, with other symbolic items of the outback such as corrugated iron and storm water tanks present. A mechanical horse like vehicle was present which then changed into a wind mill. Cultural items such as woodcutting and whip cracking were showcased. Irish dancers present in this section danced on the corrugated iron sheets, with umbrellas made up to look like giant cogs and wheels to represent the industrial growth of Australia.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Tin Symphony
Tin Symphony Part 2— The tempo changes as Australia's rural aspects were introduced. In the middle of the stadium floor, a shed was constructed from the corrugated iron sheets. Out of the shed comes a unique representation of sheep, an important livestock. The sheep were represented by performers in cardboard boxes, that move along with the music. Australian suburbia is then represented as the performers emerged from the cardboard boxes with simulations of Victa lawn mowers to form the Olympics Rings. The giant mechanical horse then made another appearance, before the hero girl gave an apple to it. At the end of the segment, the mechanical horse neighed to signify the conclusion.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Arrivals and Under Southern Skies
The Arrivals segment of the ceremony celebrated Australia's multiculturalism and its migrant culture, with a float and costumes symbolising each continent. First, migrants from the African continent, danced into the stadium wearing black costumes. They were followed by dancers in yellow symbolising the arrival of Asian migrants into Australia, led by two yellow Chinese Lion dancers. European migrants were introduced by the colour green, further adding to the growing party on the stadium floor. The music changed again and a splash of red symbolising the arrival of migrants from the Americas was introduced into the stadium.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Arrivals and Under Southern Skies
Finally, performers representing migrants from the various Pacific Islands, with an emphasis on New Zealand came into the stadium in vivid blue costumes. The five floats manoeuvred into position to represent their respective coloured rings of the Olympic flag. By the crescendo of the segment, four of the floats (Asia, America, Europe and the Pacific Islands) surround the African float as the performers from all the represented continents rushed out from the middle to form the Australian continent.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Arrivals and Under Southern Skies
The performers stood with arms out reached towards the audience, forming the coastline of Australia and thus symbolising Australia's welcoming arms to people from all over the world. Then many children dressed in the Olympic colours flooded into the arena and formed a solid shape of Australia, as the performers from the sequence before left the performance floor. Webster then performed the song Under Southern Skies with five people representing each continent standing with her, as the children formed a large representation of the Southern Cross constellation with their lanterns.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Eternity
The next segment began with Adam Garcia standing on the central float in the middle of the stadium floor. He began his performance by tap dancing and inviting more performers onto the stadium. More dancers filed onto the stands where the audience was sitting who also joined in with performance. Several cherry picker cranes in the centre with the floats began to slowly rise up with the crescendo of the music. The dancers symbolised the workers building a new Australia for the future. The dancers in the stands rushed out onto the stadium floor to join their fellow dancers.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Eternity
Some of the dancers held square sheets of steel that they both danced on and held in their hands to reflect light out as they danced. By the finale of this segment, large steel frames rose from each float to form a tall structure. In the middle were the hero girl and the Aboriginal songman, who looked wondrously out into the audience, surveying the workers. Then as the close of the presentation approached, the performers from the other segments all came out and joined in with those already dancing. A large representation of the Sydney Harbour Bridge composed of sparklers was set off in the middle of the stadium with the word "Eternity" shown in the middle of the bridge.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic Section, Eternity
This segment was inspired by the then popular theatrical show Tap Dogs, and the soon to be released movie, Bootmen. Peewee Ferris's remix of the music was played as the performers slowly moved their way out of the stadium.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Sydney 2000 Olympic Band
A massed marching band of 2,000 musicians performed a melody of Australian and international classics, and previous Olympic themes. It included "Also Sprach Zarathustra", "Chariots of Fire", "Ode to Joy", "Bugler's Dream", "Waltzing Matilda", and John Williams "Olympic Fanfare & Theme". The band consisted of 1,000 Australian musicians, with the remaining 1,000 musicians being from other countries around the world. The massed band was so large that six conductors were required for the segment. The band members wore Driza-Bone riding coats which had been especially modified for the band members. The band was one of the few live sound creations of the night.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Sydney 2000 Olympic Band
Marching and wind bands have made regular appearances in Summer Olympic Ceremonies throughout the 20th century. However, this segment was controversial in the lead up in the local media, over the fact that, when announced in 1999, three-quarters of the band were from overseas while ignoring Sydney based wind bands. The organisers had to renegotiate the number of international performer invitations for this segment so that half the band was made up of Australian performers on the night.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Sydney 2000 Olympic Band
Birch always envisioned the band to be both larger than anyone had seen at an Olympic ceremony, and for an international band to welcome international athletes. Reviews immediately after the ceremony stated that the band was so "skilled and entertaining in their fashion" that "it was hard to believe that their part was ever in doubt." In contrast, Peter FitzSimons opined that the band was a non-sequitur compared to the rest of the Australiana pageantry, and was seen as an element of cocacolanisation by some in Australia. Since 2000, marching and wind bands have not seen an major appearance at an Olympics ceremony, except for the Hellenic Naval Band during the entrance of the Presidents in the Athens ceremony, and an appearance from the Gunthorpe Colliery Band during the Pandemonium segment of the London ceremony.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Nations
Once the Sydney 2000 Olympic Band made their introduction, they took their place in front of the ceremony stage, and volunteers came out to begin the Parade of Nations. Twenty eight of the larger nations entered under a music piece of their country played by the Marching Band (e.g. Land of Hope and Glory was played for Great Britain, Sakura Sakura was played for Japan, Siyahamba was played for South Africa and "Down Under" for Australia), while smaller countries entered in with various Olympic Anthems, Percussion Cadences, and The Warriors as a nod to Australian wind band composer Percy Grainger. As is Olympic tradition, Greece entered first in honour of its position as birthplace of the Olympics, and host nation Australia entered last.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Nations
As in the last Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the last Winter Olympics in Nagano, the countries entered in English alphabetical order. This was also to be seen during the next Olympics, in Salt Lake City.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Nations
A record of 199 nations entered the stadium with the exception of Afghanistan, a nation banned by the IOC in 1999 because of the extremist rule of the Taliban's oppression on women and its sports. The parade of nations also featured a unified entrance by the athletes of the North and South Korea, holding a specially designed unification flag: a white background flag with a blue map of the Korean peninsula; however, the two teams competed separately. Four athletes from East Timor marched directly in the opening ceremonies as Individual Olympic Athletes before the host nation. Without the existence of the National Olympic Committee, they were allowed to compete under the Olympic flag.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Dare To Dream
Veteran pop artists John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John walked among the Olympic competitors and performed the theme song Dare to Dream, which was written especially for the occasion by award-winning songwriters Paul Begaud, Vanessa Corish and Wayne Tester. Begaud and Corish were regular songwriting collaborators both born and raised in Sydney.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Opening Addresses
After a brief fanfare by David Stanhope, the President of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG), Michael Knight, and the President of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch made the opening addresses. In Knight's address, he spoke to the athletes directly about Australians love for sport, that while in the parade "the crowd cheered loudest for the home team, as it will at the sporting competitions," that "there is room in our hearts to support all of you wherever you have come from. Australians love sport, and we admire outstanding skill and courage." Samaranch gave a recognition of Indigenous Australians, by summarising the artistic section in these words: "I would like to express our respect to those who have made Australia what it is today, a great country, with a special tribute to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Opening Addresses
The event was officially opened by Governor General Sir William Deane. This was the first occasion that a Summer Olympics held in a Commonwealth realm was not opened by the monarch or a member of the Royal Family, although it was the second overall, behind the 1988 Winter Olympics. Prime Minister John Howard had originally planned to open the games himself, with the agreement of the organising committee and the IOC. However, in November 1999 he changed his mind and advised the IOC that Deane would be opening the games. Howard said this was due to "a concern that my opening the Olympic Games would become a party political issue."


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Olympic Flag
19-year-old pop star Vanessa Amorosi sang Heroes Live Forever to signify the legacy left by sports stars all over the world. The song was composed by John Gillard and Trevor White.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Olympic Flag
During the song, an enormous white flag the size of the stadium field was passed over the audience on the southern stand and was brought down over the crowd by volunteers. Whilst this happened, images of past sports legends were displayed on the flag. When the flag reached the athletes, a Dove of Peace was projected, followed by the Olympic Rings. This section was a partial recreation of a scene at the 1992 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, where a large Olympic flag covered the athletes.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Olympic Flag
The Olympic Flag was then 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. It was then handed over to eight Australia's Federation Guard members, who carried and raised the flag. During the raising of the Olympic flag, the Olympic Hymn was sung in Greek by the Millennium Choir of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, signifying the large Greek population of Australia.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Olympic Flag
The Olympic Oaths were taken by then captain of the Australian Women's Hockey Team Rechelle Hawkes on behalf of the athletes, and by Australian Water Polo Referee Peter Kerr on behalf of the officials.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, The Flame
For the first time in recent Olympic history, the opening ceremony concluded with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. Tina Arena, the Sydney Children's Choir and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performed The Flame, while showing archive footage of some highlights of the torch relay on the large screens, then cutting to live footage outside the stadium of Australian Olympic Gold Medalist Herb Elliott with the torch.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, The Flame
Then, celebrating 100 years of women's participation in the Olympics, former Australian women Olympic champions and medalists: Betty Cuthbert and Raelene Boyle, Dawn Fraser, Shirley Strickland de la Hunty, Shane Gould and Debbie Flintoff-King brought the torch through the stadium, before handing it over to Cathy Freeman. Freeman then climbed a long set of stairs towards a circular pool of water. She walked into the middle of the water and ignited the cauldron around her feet in a ring of fire. The cauldron then rose out from the water, above Freeman's head, and then was transported up a long waterfall, where it finally rested on a tall silver pedestal above the stadium as the ceremony concluded with a fireworks display.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, The Flame
The planned climax to the ceremony was delayed by a technical glitch of a malfunctioned limit switch, which also severed the communications cable to override the program. This meant that the Olympic flame was suspended in mid-air for about four minutes, rather than immediately rising up the waterfall to the top of the stadium. In interviews after the ceremony, the organizers stated that when the cause of the problem was discovered, engineers overrode the program and the cauldron continued its course. 20 years later, some engineers stated it was fixed through a backup radio signal to the cauldron. Moreover, the gas bottles for the cauldron were close to empty before it was attached to a main gas line, and the backup flames were missing.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
The program celebrated a wide collection of exclusively Australian artists and composers from many different backgrounds. There was a focus on contemporary classical composers, such as Elena Kats-Chernin and Chong Lim, film composers such as Bruce Rowland and David Hirschfelder, Jazz artists such as James Morrison, Indigenous songlines arranged by David Page, House music from Peewee Ferris and pop from John Foreman, Paul Begaud, John Gillard, Trevor White, Vanessa Corish & Wayne Tester. The opening piece to the artistic section, Deep Sea Dreaming, is still regularly performed by Kats-Chernin and by treble choirs in Australia.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra was the orchestra at the ceremony and performed most of the works in the program, although some pieces performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was noted in the program and CD. It came to light in August 2008 that the Sydney Symphony mimed its performance during the opening ceremony to tracks prerecorded by both orchestras, after an incident at the 2008 Opening Ceremony revealed that a girl lip-synched a song and used another girl's voice. All performances were recorded in either the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall or Studio 301, Sydney. All voice artists performed live.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
The Australian bush song "Waltzing Matilda" became a musical motif as performed as a sing-a-long during the Prelude, quoted in Morrison's Fanfare and performed by the Sydney 2000 Band.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
The Flame was released as a single two weeks before the performance.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
The soundtrack The Games of the XXVII Olympiad: Official Music from the Opening Ceremony was released on 18 September. The music album peaked at number 1 on the ARIA Charts and was certified 2x platinum in Australia. It was nominated at the 2001 ARIA Awards for Best Original Soundtrack Album.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
Music which was not on the official soundtrack included a remix of Eternity by Peewee Ferris which was played at the end of the Artistic section, the Marching Band arrangements of Olympic themes by Ken Dye, and an excerpt from the orchestral work The Warriors: Music to an Imaginary Ballet by Percy Grainger, which was played during the rising of the cauldron.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reviews
The ceremony was given rave reviews by the local media. IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch thought it was a successful opening ceremony, giving it a 10-out-of-10. The Sydney Morning Herald said "It was daring. It was dignified. It was witty. It was breathtaking in its large-scale theatricality." Journalist Peter FitzSimons said that the atmosphere at the stadium that night was electric and said of the Artistic section that "it was a colourful and colossal kaleidoscope on overdrive, with Australia's cultural buttons being played like piano keys in the hands of a master."


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reviews
The Sunday Telegraph described it as a "truly great moment" in Australian history, going on to say that about the Awakening segment that it was "Australia's global declaration that it acknowledged its indigenous people and cared about their future, while feeling considerable regret – yes even sorrow – about the past." John Lombard from ABC News pointed out that having Cathy Freeman be the athlete to light the cauldron was a coup, as the extra symbolism of many white, Australian born women passing the torch to an Aboriginal athlete "hit all the right buttons".


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reviews
Foreign press reaction was also very positive; The New York Times also noted the themes of reconciliation given the political climate. The London Daily Express's Shekhar Bhatia described Webster as "the toast of the town and a global sensation". London's Daily Telegraph wrote that the "four-hour spectacle must be classified an unqualified success." The only negative review reported at the time was from The Washington Post, where Sally Jenkins described the ceremony as traditional, expensive and too long; as something that "a roving band of wild dogs couldn't cure." She did go on to say that the lighting of the caldron was "almost worth the price of admission" due to its symbolism of the nation's reconciliation.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Legacy
A major theme in this ceremony was of reconciliation between Australia and the Australian Indigenous nations. In the years leading up to the Olympics, Indigenous reconciliation was becoming a central social and political issue. In the ceremony's Media Guide, the author notes that 4 months earlier, 250,000 Australians of all backgrounds walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge as support for recognition of past wrongs towards the First Nations peoples. The Awakening segment broke new ground by showing Indigenous dance and music in its own context for over 11 minutes and in a deep and significant way. In response, similar segments were developed for the 2006 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, and the artistic section of the 2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony began with the theme of Australian history from an Indigenous point of view.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Legacy
In November 2000, the television footage of Cathy Freeman lighting the cauldron was declared "the sporting image of the year" and won a "Golden Podum" by Sportel, a major international sports television convention held annually in Monaco. At the first Helpmann Awards the ceremony was awarded Best Special Event/Performance, Best Sound Design, and Best Costume Design for the Deep Sea Dreaming segment, and Best Scenic Design for the Awakening segment.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Legacy
The Arts Unit of NSW Education played an important role in providing children and teenagers across NSW to perform at Olympic events. The Sydney 2000 Olympic Band continues as a secondary public school ensemble in New South Wales. Now named the NSW Public Schools Millennium Marching Band, the band performs at large-scale and televised events in both Australia and overseas. This smaller ensemble (consisting of around 100 members) travelled to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics held in China that year, and performed in the United States in 2015 in San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles. The Sing 2001 choir was a NSW schools state choir that continued to perform after the Olympics, and at major events in 2001 celebrating the Centenary of Federation.


2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Television coverage
Around 3.7 billion viewers from 220 countries watched the ceremony on TV. Asian viewership was double compared to the  opening ceremony in Atlanta.


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay
The 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay was the transferral of    the Olympic Flame to Sydney, Australia, that built up to the 2000 Summer Olympics. The torch travelled to various island nations as part of a tour of Oceania before beginning an extensive journey around Australia. For the first time the Flame was taken underwater, with a special flare-like torch taken on a dive down to the Great Barrier Reef. At the opening ceremony the cauldron was lit by Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman.


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements
A History of the Olympic Torch Relay has been written by Janet Cahill covering all relays to Sydney 2000. She is also author of the Olympic Torch Relay section of the "Official Report of the XXVII Olympiad, Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Volume Two - Celebrating The Games".


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torch
The design of the torch reflected three famed areas of Australian culture: the boomerang, the Sydney Opera House, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The concept also reflected the elements of earth, fire, and water. This was achieved across three layers of the torch. The first, inner layer contains the fuel system and combustor, the second contains the fuel canister, and the outer layer is a specially textured aluminium shell. A combination of copper, brass, aluminium, and stainless steel was used in its construction, and the fuel comprised 65 percent butane and 35 percent propane. In total, 14,000 torches were produced. The distance covered by each torchbearer was 105.478 km.


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torchbearers
A total of 13,400 torch-bearers were involved in the relay. The Greek leg of the route saw 800 people carry the torch, while 1,500 people were involved across Oceania. As part of the vast traversal of Australia, 11,000 people carried the torch within the country.


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torchbearers
The first Australian torch-bearer was Sophie Gosper, the daughter of International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice-President Kevan Gosper. Her selection caused considerable controversy with accusations of corruption directed at the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC). Greek-Australian Yianna Souleles was originally due to receive the torch in Olympia but was replaced at late notice by Gosper. Kevan Gosper accepted the invitation for his daughter to carry the torch while claiming to be unaware that this would make her the first Australian to have the honour.


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Torchbearers
The HOC's invitation was seen as an attempt to curry favour with the IOC after being warned that its delays put the planned 2004 Olympics (scheduled to be held in Greece) in jeopardy. Gosper's acceptance of the invitation was portrayed by the media as being nepotistic and inappropriate, with Australian politicians, Olympic athletes, and officials from various Olympic Committees condemning the move. Gosper initially defended his actions but would go on to make a public apology, claiming that fatherly pride had clouded his judgement. He gave up his role in the relay at the Melbourne Cricket Ground despite having previously described it as "the most important moment of my life since I won a silver medal [there]".


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route
The Flame was lit during a ceremony in Olympia, as has been tradition at all the Summer Games since those in 1936. The Flame is initiated by using a parabolic mirror that concentrates the sun's rays. However, due to some cloud cover on the day of the ceremony, there was insufficient sunlight to create the required level of heat. A backup, lit on the previous day during rehearsals, was used instead. The remainder of the ceremony could then take place.


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route
The relay always begins in Greece and travels from Olympia to Athens and the Panathenaic Stadium. The Hellenic Olympic Committee arranged for the torch to be taken to several Greek islands, a first in the history of Olympic relays. The torch arrived in Athens on 20 May, after which it began a tour of Oceania. The Flame was flown firstly to Guam, before moving to Palau, Micronesia, Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Samoa, American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Tonga, and New Zealand. The relay had been scheduled to visit Fiji, but the country was omitted due to ongoing government instability at that time.


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route
After the island tour the Flame arrived in Australia on 8 June. The relay was an extensive journey around the country, involving 11,000 torch-bearers and a variety of modes of transport. On 27 June the Flame was taken underwater, a first in the history of torch relays. Marine biologist Wendy Craig Duncan carried a special version of the torch for a three-minute trip around Agincourt Reef, a section of the Great Barrier Reef popular with divers. The torch was modified to carry a specially designed flare that would burn at 2,000 degrees Celsius underwater while remaining as aesthetically similar to the normal flame as possible.


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Oceania (South Pacific Islands)
May 22 (day 1): Hagåtña, GuamMay 23 (day 2): Koror, PalauMay 24 (day 3): Palikir, Federated States of MicronesiaMay 25 (day 4): Yaren, NauruMay 26 (day 5): Honiara, Solomon IslandsMay 27 (day 6): Port Moresby, Papua New GuineaMay 28 (day 7): Port Vila, VanuatuMay 29 (day 8): Apia, SamoaMay 30 (day 9): Pago Pago, American SamoaMay 31 (day 10): Avarua, Cook IslandsJune 2 (day 11): Nukuʻalofa, Tonga


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in New Zealand
June 5 (day 12): QueenstownJune 5 (day 12): ChristchurchJune 6 (day 13): WellingtonJune 7 (day 14): RotoruaJune 7 (day 14): Auckland


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
June 8 (day 1): Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National ParkJune 8 (day 1): YularaJune 8 (day 1): Alice Springs


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
June 9 (day 2): Mount IsaJune 10 (day 3): LongreachJune 10 (day 3): ToowoombaJune 11 (day 4): WarwickJune 11 (day 4): CoolangattaJune 12 (day 5): SouthportJune 12 (day 5): WoodridgeJune 13 (day 6): NathanJune 13 (day 6): IpswichJune 14 (day 7): Mount Coot-thaJune 14 (day 7)): BrisbaneJune 15 (day 8): RedcliffeJune 15 (day 8):


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
BokarinaJune 16 (day 9): NambourJune 16 (day 9): TewantinJune 17 (day 10): CherbourgJune 17 (day 10): KingaroyJune 18 (day 11): MaryboroughJune 18 (day 11): Hervey BayJune 19 (day 12): BundabergJune 20 (day 13): GladstoneJune 20 (day 13): RockhamptonJune 21 (day 14): BlackwaterJune 21 (day 14): EmeraldJune 22 (day 15): MoranbahJune 22 (day 15): MackayJune 23 (day 16): ProserpineJune 23 (day 16): Airlie BeachJune 24 (day 17): AyrJune 24 (day 17): TownsvilleJune 25 (day 18): TullyJune 25 (day 18): InnisfailJune 26 (day 19): AthertonJune 26 (day 19): CairnsJune 27 (day 20): Port DouglasJune 28 (day 21): Thursday Island


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
June 28 (day 21): KatherineJune 29 (day 22): Kakadu National ParkJune 29 (day 22): NguiuJune 29 (day 22): Darwin


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
June 30 (day 23): Kununurra AirportJune 30 (day 23): BroomeJuly 1 (day 24): Port Hedland AirportJuly 1 (day 24): Karratha AirportJuly 1 (day 24): CarnarvonJuly 2 (day 25): GeraldtonJuly 2 (day 25): AlbanyJuly 3 (day 26): Walpole-Nornalup National ParkJuly 3 (day 26): ManjimupJuly 4 (day 27): BusseltonJuly 4 (day 27): BunburyJuly 5 (day 28): PinjarraJuly 5 (day 28): MandurahJuly 6 (day 29): RockinghamJuly 6 (day 29): FremantleJuly 7 (day 30): JoondalupJuly 8 (day 31): NedlandsJuly 8 (day 31): Victoria ParkJuly 9 (day 32): YorkJuly 9 (day 32): NorthamJuly 10 (day 33): MerredinJuly 10 (day 33): Kalgoorlie


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
July 12 (day 35): Port LincolnJuly 12 (day 35): Port PirieJuly 13 (day 36): ClareJuly 13 (day 36): TanundaJuly 14 (day 37): GawlerJuly 14 (day 37): Tea Tree GullyJuly 15 (day 38): GlenelgJuly 15 (day 38): AdelaideJuly 16 (day 39): HanhndorfJuly 16 (day 39): Murray BridgeJuly 17 (day 40): BordertownJuly 17 (day 40): NaracoorteJuly 18 (day 41): Naracoorte CavesJuly 18 (day 41): PenolaJuly 18 (day 41): Mount Gambier


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
July 19 (day 42): HamiltonJuly 19 (day 42): PortlandJuly 20 (day 43): Port FairyJuly 20 (day 43): WarrnamboolJuly 21 (day 44): Port CampbellJuly 21 (day 44): ColacJuly 22 (day 45): CamperdownJuly 22 (day 45): AraratJuly 23 (day 46): StawellJuly 23 (day 46): HorshamJuly 24 (day 47): St ArnaudJuly 24 (day 47): Swan HillJuly 25 (day 48): KerangJuly 25 (day 48): EchucaJuly 26 (day 49): KyabramJuly 26 (day 49): SheppartonJuly 27 (day 50): BendigoJuly 27 (day 50): MaryboroughJuly 28 (day 51): CastlemaineJuly 28 (day 51): BallaratJuly 29 (day 52): GeelongJuly 29 (day 52): FlemingtonJuly 30 (day 53): BanyuleJuly 30 (day 53): Monash UniversityJuly 31 (day 54): Melbourne


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
August 1 (day 55): BurnieAugust 1 (day 55): QueenstownAugust 2 (day 56): GlenorchyAugust 3 (day 57): KingstonAugust 3 (day 57): HobartAugust 4 (day 58): Campbell TownAugust 4 (day 58): LauncestonAugust 5 (day 59): Deloraine


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
August 7 (day 61): BerwickAugust 7 (day 61): MorwellAugust 8 (day 62): SaleAugust 8 (day 62): BairnsdaleAugust 9 (day 63): MoeAugust 9 (day 63): WarragulAugust 10 (day 64): EmeraldAugust 10 (day 64): HealesvilleAugust 11 (day 65): AlexandraAugust 11 (day 65): SeymourAugust 12 (day 66): BenallaAugust 12 (day 66): WangarattaAugust 13 (day 67): BrightAugust 13 (day 67): Mount Hotham


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
August 14 (day 68): AlburyAugust 15 (day 69): FinleyAugust 15 (day 69): GriffithAugust 16 (day 70): NarranderaAugust 16 (day 70): Wagga WaggaAugust 17 (day 71): CootamundraAugust 17 (day 71): CowraAugust 18 (day 72): West WyalongAugust 18 (day 72): ParkesAugust 19 (day 73): MilduraAugust 19 (day 73): Broken HillAugust 20 (day 74): BourkeAugust 20 (day 74): MoreeAugust 21 (day 75): InverellAugust 21 (day 75): ArmidaleAugust 22 (day 76): Glen InnesAugust 22 (day 76): TenterfieldAugust 23 (day 77): LismoreAugust 23 (day 77): BallinaAugust 24 (day 78): GraftonAugust 24 (day 78): Coffs HarbourAugust 25 (day 79): KempseyAugust 25 (day 79): Port MacquarieAugust 26 (day 80): TareeAugust 26 (day 80): ForsterAugust 27 (day 81): Raymond TerraceAugust 27 (day 81): NewcastleAugust 28 (day 82): Speers PointAugust 28 (day 82): GosfordAugust 29 (day 83): WyongAugust 29 (day 83): CessnockAugust 30 (day 84): MaitlandAugust 30 (day 84): MuswellbrookAugust 31 (day 85): QuirindiAugust 31 (day 85): TamworthSeptember 1 (day 86): CoonabarabranSeptember 1 (day 86): DubboSeptember 2 (day 87): OrangeSeptember 2 (day 87): BathurstSeptember 3 (day 88): KatoombaSeptember 3 (day 88): PenrithSeptember 4 (day 89): CampbelltownSeptember 4 (day 89): BowralSeptember 5 (day 90): Goulburn


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
September 5 (day 90): CanberraSeptember 6 (day 91): BelconnenSeptember 6 (day 91): Phillip


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
September 7 (day 92): CoomaSeptember 7 (day 92): ThredboSeptember 8 (day 93): MerimbulaSeptember 8 (day 93): BegaSeptember 9 (day 94): NaroomaSeptember 9 (day 94): Batemans BaySeptember 10 (day 95): NowraSeptember 10 (day 95): KiamaSeptember 11 (day 96): Wollongong


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Route in Australia
September 11 (day 96): CronullaSeptember 12 (day 97): LiverpoolSeptember 12 (day 97): ParramattaSeptember 13 (day 98): Pennant HillsSeptember 13 (day 98): Hunters HillSeptember 14 (day 99): La PerouseSeptember 14 (day 99): SydneySeptember 15 (day 100): ManlySeptember 15 (day 100): Sydney Olympic ParkSeptember 15 (day 100): Olympic Stadium


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Lighting of the cauldron
The Australian middle distance gold-medallist Herb Elliott carried the torch into Stadium Australia and passed it on to the final runners. The final succession of torch-bearers were selected to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of female participation in the Olympic Games (women were not allowed to compete at the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics but were given the opportunity in 1900). Betty Cuthbert, Raelene Boyle, Dawn Fraser, Shirley Strickland, Shane Gould, and Debbie Flintoff-King, all medallists in previous Games, were given the honour of carrying the Flame before passing it to the final torch-bearer.


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Lighting of the cauldron
The cauldron was lit by Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman, a decision that was at the time reported as being a "bold political and social statement". Freeman was the first competing athlete to light the Olympic cauldron. Two elements from the torch concept, fire and water, were replicated in the design of the cauldron. Freeman stood atop a pool of water and lit a flame that surrounded her. Though a computer glitch delayed proceedings for a few minutes the Flame then lifted around Freeman.


2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, Relay elements, Lighting of the cauldron
The ten-year anniversary of the Games was celebrated in a special ceremony in 2010. Cathy Freeman and Paralympic champion Louise Sauvage (who was the final torchbearer at the Paralympic Games) lit the cauldron during an event attended by numerous athletes and school students. The twenty-year anniversary of the Games was celebrated in a special ceremony in 2020. The cauldron was re-lit by two up-and-coming athletes; Indigenous basketballer Tenayah Logan and teenage Paralympian Tamsin Colley. It was attended by Ian Thorpe, Louise Sauvage and local Sydneysyders who were volunteers during the games. Freeman sent a video message.


2000 Summer Paralympics
The 2000 Paralympic Games  were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 to 29 October. In September 1993, Sydney won the rights to host the 2000 Paralympic Games. To secure this right it was expected that the New South Wales Government would underwrite the budget for the games. The Sydney games were the 11th Summer Paralympic Games, where an estimated 3,800 athletes took part in the programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000. It was followed by the 11 days of fierce international competition and was the second largest sporting event ever held in Australia. They were also the first Paralympic Games outside the Northern Hemisphere.


2000 Summer Paralympics, History of the bid
This was the last edition of the Paralympic Summer Games which was run independently of the Summer Olympics, although efforts to unify the two events had already begun at that time and some areas of both such as the Olympic Village and the operational areas were merged for the first time.


2000 Summer Paralympics, History of the bid
At the beginning of his candidacy for the Olympic Games, the city of Sydney showed no interest in hosting the Paralympic Games. But in 1993, a few months before the final presentation in Monaco, Adrienne Smith, a sporting inclusion activist and also the executive secretary of the newly founded Australia Paralympic Federation, along with Ron Finneran, the Federation President lobbied to ensure the Paralympics were part of Sydney's bid for the 2000 Olympics and underwritten by the Federal and State Governments.


2000 Summer Paralympics, History of the bid
They also insured that the paralympic athletes would have the same treatment, the same conditions and the same support as their Olympic counterparts. Something that until then was unprecedented and would become a point of no return in the Paralympic Games. After the win, Smith commented that,  "We couldn't go public because if we did it would have ruined the Olympic bid. We had no acknowledgement of financial support from the government until the day of the bid in September 1993.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Finance
The games was estimated to cost AUS$157 million, with the NSW Government and Commonwealth Government contributing AUS$25 million each. The Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) contributed $18 million, within the bid estimates. The Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee (SPOC) entered into a Host City contract with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), which outlines the SPOC's obligations in hosting the Paralympic Games. To cover the costs, other revenue was raised via sponsorship and ticket sales.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Finance
The 110,000 seat Stadium Australia was completed three months early in February 1999, this stadium was funded mainly by the private sector at an estimated cost of $690 million, the Government contributed $124 million to this project. Though there is no budgeted profit, if any profit is made though the games, repayment to the Federal and State Governments is the first priority. In October 1998, governing bodies of the Paralympics including the SOCOG and the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee initiated a call for volunteers. An estimated total of forty-one thousand Australians answered this call, non-including those sourced from specialist community groups.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Environment
The major focus between 1999 and 2000 was completion of the first stage of the Millennium Parklands. This is composed of 450 hectares of landscape, with up to 40 kilometers of pedestrian and cycle trails. This major first stage included focus on the surrounding Olympic facilities, providing a beautiful landscape for recreational activities, conservation and environmental education/preservation. During this time work on the Water Reclamation and Management Scheme (WRAMS) will continue to progress. The WRAMS will be in use during the games with the first stage (recycled water to be used for flushing and irrigation) to be implemented.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Environment
This system will continue after the games, and will be fully developed after the games has been completed. The WRAMS system is only one of the many water saving management strategies to be used during the games period. Plans to use stormwater runoff from Newington to be used as irrigation and a requirement for Olympic venues to utilise water saving techniques and devices are also some of the other water saving plans. Stormwater from the Stadium Australia roof is to be collected and used to irrigate the central stadium. An environmental education program is also delivered throughout 1999–2000 to ensure that Homebush Bay and the Sydney Olympics and Paralympics continue to be recognised for their commitment to the environment.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Administration
The Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The Games were organised by the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee (SPOC) led by President Dr John Grant and Chief Executive Officer Lois Appleby. The SOCOG was established at the same time as the Sydney Paralympic organising Committee on 12 November 1993 by the Office of Olympic Co-ordination. In January 1995, SPOC became a public company controlled by the Government, receiving support by both State and Commonwealth Governments. A board of directors including the Premier, Minister for the Olympics, the Treasurer and the Minister for Sport, and Recreation conducted administration.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Administration
The Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee was responsible for planning and staging the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games including tickets, information on events and disability categorisation, converting Olympic venues to Paralympic venues, conducting events, facilitating drug testing, arranging broadcasting, housing for athletes, arranging medal ceremonies, transporting athletes and conducting the Paralympic torch relay. The Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee also regulated the use of Paralympic Games indicia and images. A committee known as the Joint Working Group was established in June 1997, linking the Boards of both the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee and the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. On 29 November, the Sydney Games Administration Act 2000 was passed. The legislation caused the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee to dissolve from 1 January 2001, its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Olympic Coordination Authority.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Political context
The Sydney 2000 Paralympics was only the sixth time that the Paralympics had been held in the same city as the Olympic Games. The transition period of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games was politically tense for Sydney. The decision to remove the Olympic rings from the Harbour Bridge made by SOCOOG completely frowned upon, overshadowing the launch of the Paralympic Games and the start of the Paralympic torch relay, which would be starting exactly that day. A few hours later, the chairman of the Organizing Committee, Michael Knight, announced that he would be withdrawing from the Paralympic Games organization.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Political context
For many, this was seen as another insensitive decision for the Paralympic Games. On the next day, a celebration would be scheduled to celebrate the dedication of the volunteers, who helped the games to turn a great success, however, the local authorities knew that this celebration would coincide with the arrival of the Paralympic torch in the city and refused to re-mark this celebration.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Political context
Paralympic organisers received praise for selecting the Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue and indigenous Australian band Yothu Yindi for the Opening Ceremonies, after have knowledge this fact, the Olympic organisers, quickly made the invitation to Kylie and Yothu Yindi to participate at the Olympics closing ceremony.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Controversy
The Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games were marred by a scandal which saw a classification of athlete removed from the next two Paralympic games. Fernando Vicente Martin, former head of the Spanish Federation for Mentally Handicapped Sports, allowed athletes with no disabilities to compete at the Games in order to win the gold medal. The team at the centre of the row was the Spanish basketball team, who won the gold medal in the Basketball ID, beating Russia 87–63, despite fielding a team mainly composed of athletes with no intellectual disability. It was claimed that at least 10 of the 12 Spanish players had no disability, rather were recruited to improve the team's performance and guarantee future funding. Martin was later suspended by the IPC and expelled by the Spanish Paralympic Committee.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Controversy
The athletes were quickly exposed and the IPC reacted by removing all events from the following Games for athletes with intellectual disabilities. The decision was overturned for the 2012 Games in London. Along with the controversy surrounding the Spanish basketball team, the games turned over 11 positive doping tests out of a total 630. Of these 11 positive tests, 10 were from male athletes and 1 from a female athlete. This leaves the games with the highest number of positive tests from the 1992 – 2008 Paralympics.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Mascot
The mascot for the 2000 Paralympics was "Lizzie" the Frill-necked Lizard.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Logo
The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games logo was representative of a dynamic human form leaping triumphantly forward and 'breaking through' towards the games. Not only, was this depicted through the logo, but so too was the Paralympic Torch and the sails of the famous Sydney Opera House, through the use of three graphic shapes. The colors used are unique to Australia also for the Paralympic Symbol and represent the blue of Sydney Harbour, the warm red of the Earth, and lush forest green. The logo embodies Sydney's vitality, Australia's spirit, and the achievements of a Paralympic athlete.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Ceremonies
The opening ceremony commenced on Wednesday 18 October at 8.00 pm with over 6000 performers taking part. Australian artist Jeffrey St. John sang the national anthem "Advance Australia Fair" and "The Challenge" at the Opening Ceremony. Kylie Minogue ended the ceremony with the songs "Waltzing Matilda","Celebration" and her hit "Spinning Around" at the Opening Ceremony. Australian actor Bryan Brown was selected as ceremony narrator for the evening. Other performers for the Opening Ceremony included the band Yothu Yindi, Nathan Cavaleri, Melissa Ippolito, Taxiride, Billy Thorpe, Jack Thompson, Renee Geyer, Tina Harris, Vanessa Amorosi and Christine Anu.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Ceremonies
Australian country artist Graeme Connors sang his song 'Being Here', which was specially written for the event. Addresses were given by Dr John Grant, President of the SPOC and Dr Robert Steadward, President of the IPC prior to Sir William Deane declaring the official opening of the games. This was followed by Tracey Cross, a blind swimmer, taking the oath on behalf of the athletes and Mary Longden, an Equestrian Referee, taking the oath on behalf of the officials.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Ceremonies
The Paralympic torch entered the stadium and was passed from Katrina Webb to Louise Sauvage who then lit the cauldron.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Ceremonies
The closing ceremony took place on Sunday 29 October at 7.30 pm. The athletes intermingled with other nations and took to the stage for a party filled with fire, emotion and celebration. During this time, the Paralympic flag was handed over to the Athens Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee (ATHOC) to the sounds of Mikis Theodorakis 'Axion Esti, Tis Dikiosinis Helie Noite' performed by the Millennium Choir and the Millennium Children's Choir. The Australian group, The Seekers, sang their hit song "The Carnival Is Over" as the finale to the Closing Ceremony. Judith Durham, who had a broken hip, sang from a wheelchair.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Venues
In total 12 venues were used at the 2000 Summer Olympics were used at the Games in Sydney.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Torch relay
The Torch Relay Programme's objectives were to develop a route and an event which would help maintain momentum between the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, promote the Paralympic Games and encourage ticket purchases. It was also to safely deliver the Paralympic flame to the Opening Ceremony.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Torch relay
While the relay visited each Australian capital city, it also focused strongly on Sydney and the surrounding region, as this was the main catchment area for ticket sales.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Torch relay
The Paralympic Torch Relay succeeded in generating community and media support for the Games, with crowds in many areas and significant crowds lining the Sydney metropolitan route in the final two days of the relay.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Torch relay
The event, which commenced with a lighting ceremony at Parliament House, Canberra on 5 October 2000, involved 920 torchbearers, each of whom carried the flame an average of 500 metres. After visiting each capital city (except Sydney) by air, the relay travelled in New South Wales (NSW) from Moss Vale through the Southern Highlands, Illawarra, Campbelltown, Penrith, Windsor, Hunter and Central Coast areas before heading to Sydney.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Sports and impairment groups
Accompanying its Olympic version,for the first time the powerlifting program was expanded to women. Demonstration sports in Atlanta 1996, wheelchair rugby became an official sport. The number of events for ID also increased and for the first time a basketball tournament for the category was included in the program.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Games highlights
The Sydney Paralympics were deemed the "best Games ever" by Dr. Robert Steadward (then president of the International Paralympic Committee). The games were Australia's most successful in history, with the nation achieving their highest medal count. Of the 149 medals won, 63 were gold, 39 silver, and 47 were bronze, from ten different sports. Ticket sales exceeded organisers' initial targets, with 1.1 million tickets sold; nearly twice that of the 1996 Summer Paralympics.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Games highlights
The Australian team had a number of notable gold-medal winning performances. Individual achievements included swimmer Siobhan Paton's six gold medals in the 200m SM14 individual medley, and S14 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 50m backstroke, 200m freestyle, and 50m freestyle. She set nine world records in the process.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Games highlights
Tim Sullivan topped the track and field medal tally with five gold medals. Sullivan won three gold medals in the T38 200m, 100m, and 400m events, and won two gold medals in relay events alongside Darren Thrupp, Adrian Grogan and Kieran Ault-Connell (T38 4X400m and 4X100m races).


2000 Summer Paralympics, Games highlights
The top performing female track and field athlete was Lisa Llorens, who won three gold medals from the F20 high jump, long jump and T20 200m. Lorens also won a silver medal in the T20 100m. Other track medallists included Neil Fuller won two golds in the T44 200m, and 400m events, as well as one individual bronze medal in the T44 100m. Fuller later combined with Tim Matthews, Stephen Wilson and Heath Francis to win another two gold medals in the T45 4X100m relay and T46 4X400m relay.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Games highlights
Heath Francis went on to win a total of three golds and one silver after also winning an individual gold and silver in the T46 400m and T46 200m events respectively. Other track medallists were Amy Winters with two golds in the T46 200m and 100m T46, and a bronze in the T46 400m. Greg Smith also won three gold medals in the 800m, 5,000m and 1,500m T52 events.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Games highlights
In Cycling, Matthew Gray won two golds in the velodrome in the individual cycling mixed 1 km time trial LC1, and a gold in the mixed team sprint with Paul Lake and Greg Ball. Sarnya Parker and Tania Morda also won two golds in the women's cycling tandem 1 km time trial and women's tandem cycling individual pursuit open.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Medal count
A total of 1657 medals were awarded during the Sydney games: 550 gold, 549 silver, and 558 bronze. The host country, Australia, topped the medal count with more gold medals and more medals overall than any other nation. Great Britain took the most silver medals, with 43, and tied Australia for the most bronze medals, with 47.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Medal count
In the table below, the ranking sorts by the number of gold medals earned by a nation (in this context a nation is an entity represented by a National Paralympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Participating delegations
One-hundred and twenty-three delegations participated in the Sydney Paralympics. Included among them was a team of "Individual Paralympic Athletes" from East Timor. The newly independent country had not yet established a National Paralympic Committee, so the International Paralympic Committee invited East Timorese athletes to compete at the games under the title of Individual Paralympic Athletes.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Participating delegations
Barbados, Benin, Cambodia, El Salvador, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Palestine, Rwanda, Samoa, Turkmenistan, Vanuatu and Vietnam competed for the first time.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Media coverage
Media coverage of the Paralympic Games has steadily increased over the years.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Media coverage
In the table below, the approximate number of accredited media at the Paralympic Summer Games from 1992 to 2008 has been listed.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Media coverage
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation had approximately 200 staff in Sydney for the Olympic games, 6 of whom stayed on to cover the Paralympic games. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation aired four one-hour shows of the Paralympic Games after the event was finished.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Media coverage
TV New Zealand also aired four one-hour specials of the games post event.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Media coverage
In the United States, CBS broadcast a special called Role Models for the 21st Century: The Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. The special was two hours long and aired in November.


2000 Summer Paralympics, Media coverage
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) allowed viewers the opportunity to express their opinions towards the games. Comments were posted under the heading "Has the Sydney Paralympics been a success?" on their website. One viewer, Carole Neale from England, was cited as posting: "I am so disappointed to find the coverage limited to less than an hour per evening, on at a time when most people are still travelling home from work, and dismissed to BBC2, unlike the Olympics which had a prime time evening slot on BBC1 as well as constant live coverage".


2000 Summer Paralympics, Views
Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, multiple Paralympic gold medallist for Great Britain, later said of the Sydney Games:


2000 Summer Paralympics medal table
The medal table of the 2000 Summer Paralympics ranks the participating National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) by the number of gold medals won by their athletes during the competition. This was the eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, a quadrennial competition open to athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities. The Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from October 18 to October 29, 2000, the first time they had been held in the southern hemisphere. With 3,843 athletes taking part in the 18 sports on the programme, the Games were the second largest sporting event ever held in Australia. The location and facilities were shared with the largest event, the 2000 Summer Olympics, which concluded on 1 October. The Games set records for athlete and country participation, tickets sold, hits to the official Games website, and medals on offer.


2000 Summer Paralympics medal table
A record of 122 countries (or 123 delegations including independent athletes from Timor-Leste) participated; 68 countries won medals,  of which seven won a medal for the first time. A total of 1,657 medals were awarded during the Sydney games: 550 gold, 549 silver, and 558 bronze. Among these performances, over 300 world and Paralympic records were set. The host country, Australia, topped the table with more golds and more medals overall than any other nation, and achieved its record medal count. Great Britain won the most silvers, with 43, and tied Australia for the most bronzes, with 47. The medals were designed by the royal goldsmith and jeweller Stuart Devlin. They feature the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, surrounded by the Games arenas. The reverse face shows the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee logos.