A major theme in this ceremony 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, 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.