2000 Summer Olympics torch relay 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. A History of the Olympic Torch Relay has been written by Janet Cahill
Olympic flame it is considered to be a great honor to light the Olympic cauldron, and similarly it has become a tradition to select notable athletes to conduct this part of the ceremony. After being lit, the flame in the Olympic cauldron continues to burn throughout the Games, until the day of the closing ceremony and celebration, when it is finally put out, symbolizing the official end of the Games. The first well-known athlete to light the cauldron in the stadium was ninefold Olympic Champion Paavo Nurmi, who excited the home crowd in Helsinki in 1952. In 1968, Enriqueta Basilio became the