Venues of the 2000 Summer Olympics for the 2000 Games continue to be in use as of 2018. Australia first hosted the Summer Olympics in 1956 at Melbourne. The main venue used was the Melbourne Cricket Ground which hosted the ceremonies (opening/closing), athletic events, and the finals for both field hockey and football. Sydney first made preliminary plans for the 1972 and 1988 Summer Olympics, but they were not followed through. Melbourne made a bid for the 1988 Summer Games, but withdrew in February 1981. Brisbane made a bid for the 1992 Summer Olympics, losing out to Barcelona while Melbourne finished fourth in the bidding for
2000 Summer Olympics cauldron Sydney Olympic Games Cauldron, Millenium Games Cauldron and Sydney 2000 Games Cauldron. The property is owned by the Sydney Olympic Park Authority. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 September 2010. The Sydney 2000 Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad or the Millennium Games, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney. It was the second time that the Summer Olympics were held in the southern hemisphere (the first being the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne). The Sydney 2000 Games was