2000 Summer Olympics of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia in Greek. Following this, Tina Arena sang a purpose-written pop song, "The Flame". The opening ceremony concluded with the lighting of the Olympic Flame. Former Australian Olympic champion Herb Elliott brought the Olympic Flame into the stadium. Then, celebrating 100 years of women's participation in the Olympic Games, former Australian women Olympic medalists: Betty Cuthbert and Raelene Boyle, Dawn Fraser, Shirley Strickland (later Shirley Strickland de la Hunty), Shane Gould and Debbie Flintoff-King brought the torch through the stadium, handing it over to Cathy Freeman, who lit the flame in the cauldron within
Belize at the 2000 Summer Olympics for the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics has appeared in every Summer Olympiad since. This made Sydney their eighth appearance at a Summer Olympic Games, although they have yet to appear at any Winter Olympic Games. As of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Belize has yet to win its first Olympic medal. The 2000 Summer Olympics were held from 15 September to 1 October 2000; a total of 10,651 athletes represented 199 National Olympic Committees. The Belize delegation to Sydney consisted of two track and field competitors: Emma Wade and Jayson Jones. Wade was selected as the flag-bearer for the opening ceremony,