2000 Sydney Summer Olympics
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2000 Summer Olympic Games
Host City: Sydney, Australia (September 13, 2000 to October 1, 2000) Participants: 10,648 (6,579 men and 4,068 women) from 200 countries |
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The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and commonly known as Sydney 2000 or the Millennium Olympic Games/Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was the second time the Summer Olympics were held in Australia, and also the Southern Hemisphere, the first being in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1956. The final medal tally was led by the United States, followed by Russia and China with host Australia at fourth place overall. Several World and Olympic records were broken during the games. With little or no controversies, the games were deemed generally successful with the rising standard of competition among nations across the world. |
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Overview by Sprorts-Reference.com |
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OverviewIn September 1993, when the IOC voted on the host city for the 2000 Olympic Games, Sydney won. And in early October 2000, at the close of the Games of the XXVIIth Olympiad, Sydney had won again. The Australian city demonstrated to the world how to conduct an Olympic Games. At the Closing Ceremony, President [Juan Antonio Samaranch] declared the Sydney Olympics the "best ever", and nobody disagreed. The 2000 Olympic Games were not without their troubles, but most of these preceded those glorious two weeks in September. In late November 1998, the Olympic Bribery Scandal hit, when it was revealed that the Salt Lake City Bid Committee for the [2002 Olympic Winter Games] had paid college tuition for the children of certain IOC members, in an effort to buy their votes. As the scandal escalated, all Olympic groups began to have some problems with fund raising, and the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) was not spared. But most of the venues were already built, and SOCOG overcame the problem. As the reverberations from the Scandal lessened in early 2000, Sydney was able to meet its budget.
The only other significant problem at Sydney was the recurring difficulty with drugs and doping. Prior to the Games, 28 Chinese Olympic athletes were withdrawn when the Chinese Olympic Committee reported that they had tested positive for drugs. Several athletes were disqualified and lost medals, but the most publicity for a doping positive went to an athlete not even competing in Sydney. [C. J. Hunter], the American shot putter, and husband of sprint star, [Marion Jones], had qualified for the 2000 Olympics but withdrew after surgery on his knee. But it was revealed in mid-Olympics that he had tested positive for drugs at meets earlier in the summer. The press, hungry for controversies midst an otherwise almost perfect Olympics, reported this finding with a vengeance, and brought up the other, much less publicized, doping positives. The Games began with an Opening Ceremony in which the Olympic Flame was lit by [Cathy Freeman], a native aboriginal 400 metres runner. It was to a certain degree a political choice, as the Australians are only now admitting their previous poor treatment of aboriginal peoples, and attempting to address the problems this has created. Freeman was probably the single biggest hero to the Australian nation, as she won the [400 metres] gold medal, the only final torch bearer to ever win a gold medal at the same Olympics. Marion Jones was one of the big stories of the Olympics. Prior to the Olympics, she announced plans to attempt to win five gold medals â the [100 metres], [200 metres], [long jump], and both relays. She failed, but hers was still a wondrous Olympics â three gold medals in the sprints and [4x400 metres relay], and bronzes in the long jump and [4x100 relay]. It was the most medals ever won in track & field at a single Olympics by a woman. Sadly, in 2007, she confessed to steroid usage during the period of the 2000 Olympics, and all of her medals and results were annulled. The Australians focused on swimming, almost their national sport. Their big pre-Games hero was [Ian Thorpe], the 17-year-old wunderkind, who had set multiple world records in the past year. Thorpe opened the Olympics by winning the [400 metres freestyle] in world record time on the first night of competition. The Australians expected great things from Thorpe, and later that night he helped the Australian [4x100 freestyle relay] upset the Americans. Thorpe later added another relay gold medal in the [4x200], but he did not win the [200 freestyle], as expected. That victory went to the Dutchman, [Pieter van den Hoogenband], who also won the [100 metres freestyle]. The Dutch swimmers starred at the Olympics, as on the distaff side, [Inge de Bruijn] won gold medals in the [50 metres freestyle], [100 metres freestyle], and [100 metres butterfly], setting world records in the two freestyle sprint races. De Bruijn was equalled for the most gold medals on the Dutch team, by cyclist [Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel], who won the [individual pursuit], the [road race], and the [individual time trial]. But no athlete was bigger than the 2000 Olympic Games themselves. Sydney and Australia set a standard that the Olympic Movement will long remember. Looking back, one almost wonders if the Games were real. Could anything in our imperfect world have been so glorious? The Olympic Games have seen the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was [Rome in 1960], but now it also had the magic that was Sydney. |
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Host city selectionSydney won the right to host the Games on 24 September 1993, after being selected over Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul and Manchester in four rounds of voting, at the 101st IOC Session in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The Australian city of Melbourne had lost out to Atlanta for the 1996 Summer Olympics four years earlier.[3] Beijing lost its bid to host the games to Sydney in 1993, but was later awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics in July 2001 after Sydney hosted the previous year, and it would eventually be awarded the 2022 Winter Olympics twenty-two years later in 2015. Although it is impossible to know why members of the International Olympic Committee voted for Sydney over Beijing in 1993, it appears that an important role was played by Human Rights Watch's campaign to "stop Beijing" because of China's human rights record. Many in China were angry at what they saw as U.S.-led interference in the vote, and the outcome contributed to rising anti-Western sentiment in China and tensions in Sino-American relations ApplicationHistory of Australian ApplicationFor a long time after the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne there was no official Australian application for the hosting of other Olympic Games. Sydney's plans to submit applications for the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics were stuck in the early stages of planning. In 1980, the National Olympic Committee of Australia selected Melbourne to apply for the 1988 Summer Games, but the application was withdrawn in 1981 due to financial difficulties. This backlash was followed by two fully realized applications, from Brisbane for the 1992 Summer Olympics and Melbourne for the 1996 Summer Olympics , which laid the foundation for Sydney's successful bid for the 2000 Summer Games. Applying Sydney'sIn April 1989, shortly after Melbourne's nomination for 1996, John Coates of the Australian Olympic Committee asked Prime Minister of New South Wales , Nick Greiner , if Sydney's candidacy for the 2000 Olympics would be possible if Melbourne's would fail. Coates suggested that Sydney should improve its sports infrastructure and compete for international sporting events in order to increase the chances of the application. After the failure of Melbourne's application, Brisbane and Sydney sought to host the 2000 Summer Olympics and Melbourne also wanted to make a second attempt. In an internal vote of the National Olympic Committee of Australia in November 1990, it was decided to Sydney as a candidate. Formally, the city government of Sydney and the Government of New South Wales decided on March 1, 1991 for the application. At this time, Beijing and Berlin were already determined as a competitor. Manchester and Istanbul were close to the official application. On 11 March 1991, Sydney, the National Olympic Committee of Australia and the State of New South Wales signed the treaty on Sydney as a candidate city for the hosting of the 2000 Summer Olympics. Sydney's bid to host the Olympics was widely supported in Australia by the population, businesses, associations and ethnic groups such as the Aborigines . The mass media welcomed the application. Other applicantsThe other candidate cities that competed for the 2000 Summer Olympics were Berlin , Beijing , Manchester and Istanbul . In addition to Sydney, Beijing was considered the most promising candidate for the award. The application of Berlin was sought in the course of the turnaround . On January 2, 1990, the mayors of West and East Berlin, Walter Momper and Erhard Krack , proposed a bid by All-Berlin for the 2000 or 2004 Olympic Games. On September 25, 1990, the Berlin Senate and the city council decided to found the Olympia Berlin 2000 GmbH . Governing Mayor Walter Momper and mayor Tino Schwierzina declared that the Berlin Olympics should be "a celebration of peace and overcoming East-West contradictions". In the city there was some violent protests against the Olympics. Arson attacks were carried out on two department stores supporting the application of Berlin. Several times, the personnel policy and the work of the application committee was heavily criticized Choice of the venueThe venue was chosen during the 101st IOC session in Monte Carlo . During this time, the candidate cities, with their delegations and smaller events, campaigned for the votes of the IOC members . On September 23, 1993, the day of the election, each city had the time for a 30-minute presentation. 15 minutes represented the period for inquiries. It was the first choice of a venue where the IOC members were called only the excreted city and not the vote distribution. Only after the election were the results published. After the election, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch congratulated the candidate cities in alphabetical order before announcing that Sydney was the venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics. The contract was signed in a short ceremony.
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CostsThe Oxford Olympics Study 2016 estimates the outturn cost of the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics at USD 5 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 90% in real terms. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, (i) operational costs incurred by the organizing committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e.g., expenditures for technology, transportation, workforce, administration, security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services, and (ii) direct capital costs incurred by the host city and country or private investors to build, e.g., the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games. Indirect capital costs are not included, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or for hotel upgrades or other business investment incurred in preparation for the Games but not directly related to staging the Games. The cost for Sydney 2000 compares with a cost of USD 4.6 billion for Rio 2016, USD 40–44 billion for Beijing 2008 and USD 51 billion for Sochi 2014, the most expensive Olympics in history. Average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is USD 5.2 billion, average cost overrun is 176%. In 2000, the Auditor-General of New South Wales reported that the Sydney Games cost A$6.6 billion, with a net cost to the public between A$1.7 and A$2.4 billion. Many venues were constructed in the Sydney Olympic Park, which failed in the years immediately following the Olympics to meet the expected bookings to meet upkeep expenses. In the years leading up to the games, funds were shifted from education and health programs to cover Olympic expenses. It has been estimated that the economic impact of the 2000 Olympics was that A$2.1 billion has been shaved from public consumption. Economic growth was not stimulated to a net benefit and in the years after 2000, foreign tourism to NSW grew by less than tourism to Australia as a whole. A "multiplier" effect on broader economic development is not realised, as a simple "multiplier" analysis fails to capture is that resources have to be redirected from elsewhere: the building of a stadium is at the expense of other public works such as extensions to hospitals. Building sporting venues does not add to the aggregate stock of productive capital in the years following the Games: "Equestrian centres, softball compounds and man-made rapids are not particularly useful beyond their immediate function." In the years after the games, infrastructure issues have been of growing concern to citizens, especially those in the western suburbs of Sydney. Proposed rail links to Sydney's west have been estimated to cost in the same order of magnitude as the public expenditure on the games. |
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Chronological summary of the 2000 Summer OlympicsPreliminary matches – from 13 SeptemberAlthough the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony was not scheduled until 15 September, the football competitions began with preliminary matches on 13 September. Among the pre-ceremony fixtures, host nation Australia lost 1–0 to Italy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was the main stadium for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Day 1–15 SeptemberCultural display highlightsThe opening ceremony began with a tribute to the Australian pastoral heritage of the Australian stockmen and the importance of the stock horse in Australia's heritage. It was produced and filmed by Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation and the home nation broadcaster, Channel 7. This was introduced by a lone rider, Steve Jefferys, and his rearing Australian Stock Horse Ammo. At the cracking of Jefferys' stockwhip, a further 120 riders entered the Stadium, their stock horses performing intricate steps, including forming the five Olympic Rings, to a special Olympics version of the theme which Bruce Rowland had previously composed for the 1982 film The Man from Snowy River. The Australian National Anthem was sung, the first verse by Human Nature and the second by Julie Anthony. The ceremony continued, showing many aspects of the land and its people:- the affinity of the mainly coastal-dwelling Australians with the sea that surrounds the "Island Continent". The indigenous occupation of the land, the coming of the First Fleet, the continued immigration from many nations and the rural industry on which the economy of the nation was built, including a display representing the harshness of rural life based on the paintings of Sir Sidney Nolan. Two memorable scenes were the representation of the "Heart" of the country by 200 Aboriginal women from Central Australia who danced up "the mighty spirit of God to protect the Games" and the overwhelmingly noisy representation of the construction industry by hundreds of tap-dancing teenagers. Because Bibi Salisachs (the wife of Juan Antonio Samaranch, the IOC President) was seriously ill and not able to accompany her husband to the Olympics, former Australian Olympic Champion swimmer and member of the Parliament of New South Wales, Dawn Fraser, accompanied Samaranch during the Australian cultural display, explaining to him some of the cultural references that are unfamiliar to non-Australians. Formal presentationA record 199 nations entered the stadium, with a record 80 of them winning at least one medal. The only missing IOC member was Afghanistan (banned due to the extremist rule of the Taliban's oppression of women and its prohibition of sports). The ceremony featured a unified entrance by the athletes of North and South Korea,[a] using a specially designed unification flag: a white background flag with a blue map of the Korean Peninsula. Four athletes from East Timor also marched in the parade of nations as Individual Olympic Athletes and marched directly before the Host country. Although the country-to-be had no National Olympic Committee then, they were allowed to compete under the Olympic Flag with country code IOA. The Governor-General, Sir William Deane, opened the games. The Olympic Flag was 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. During the raising of the Olympics Flag, the Olympic Hymn was sung by the Millennium Choir 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 a circle of fire. The planned spectacular climax to the ceremony was delayed by the technical glitch of a computer switch which malfunctioned, causing the sequence to shut down by giving a false reading. This meant that the Olympic flame was suspended in mid-air for about four minutes, rather than immediately rising up a water-covered ramp to the top of the stadium. When the cause of the problem was discovered, the program was overridden and the cauldron continued its course, and the ceremony concluded with a spectacular fireworks display. Day 2–16 SeptemberThe first medals of the Games were awarded in the women's 10 metre air rifle competition, which was won by Nancy Johnson of the United States. The Triathlon made its Olympic debut with the women's race. Set in the surroundings of the Sydney Opera House, Brigitte McMahon representing Switzerland swam, cycled and ran to the first gold medal in the sport, beating the favoured home athletes such as Michelie Jones who won silver. McMahon only passed Jones in sight of the finish line. The first star of the Games was Ian Thorpe. The 17-year-old Australian first set a new world record in the 400 m freestyle final before competing in an exciting 4 × 100 m freestyle final. Swimming the last leg, Thorpe passed the leading Americans and arrived in a new world record time, two tenths of a second ahead of the Americans. In the same event for women, the Americans also broke the world record, finishing ahead of the Netherlands and Sweden. Samaranch had to leave for home, as his wife was severely ill. Upon arrival, his wife had already died. Samaranch returned to Sydney four days later. The Olympic flag was flown at half-staff during the period as a sign of respect to Samaranch's wife. Day 3–17 SeptemberCanadian Simon Whitfield sprinted away in the last 100 metres of the men's triathlon, becoming the inaugural winner in the event. On the cycling track, Robert Bartko beat fellow German Jens Lehmann in the individual pursuit, setting a new Olympic Record. Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel set a world record in the semi-finals the same event for women. In the swimming pool, American Tom Dolan beat the world record in the 400 m medley, successfully defending the title he won in Atlanta four years prior. Dutchwoman Inge de Bruijn also clocked a new world record, beating her own time in the 100 m butterfly final to win by more than a second. Day 4–18 SeptemberThe main event for the Australians on the fourth day of the Games was the 200 m freestyle. Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband had broken the world record in the semi-finals, taking it from the new Australian hero Ian Thorpe, who came close to the world record in his semi-final heat. As the final race finished, Van den Hoogenband's time was exactly the same as in the semi-finals, finishing ahead of Thorpe by half a second. China won the gold medal in the men's team all-around gymnastics competition, after being the runner-up in the previous two Olympics. The other medals were taken by Ukraine and Russia, respectively. Zijlaard-van Moorsel lived up to the expectations set by her world record in cycling in the semis by winning the gold medal. Day 7–21 SeptemberControversy erupted at the Women's Gymnastics All-Around final, when gymnast after gymnast fell on the vault. Some gymnasts were physically injured, and all were shaken, but nothing was done to try to discover the reason most gymnasts were having severe problems. Finally, in the middle of the third round (out of four), it was determined that the vault horse had been set 5 cm too low – enough of a difference to throw off the impeccable timing of many of these world-class athletes. While athletes were allowed to vault again, the remedy did not fully repair injuries and shaken confidence. The medals were eventually all won by Romanian gymnasts, with Andreea Raducan becoming the first athlete from her country to win the title since Nadia Comaneci in 1976. Teammates Simona Amanar and Maria Olaru took silver and bronze, respectively. This result also marked the first sweep of the event since the Soviet Union's in 1960. Day 9–23 SeptemberBy rowing in the winning coxless four, Steve Redgrave of Great Britain became a member of a select group who had won gold medals at five consecutive Olympics. The swimming 4 x 100-metre medley relay of B.J. Bedford, Megan Quann (Jendrick), Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres became the first women's relay under 4-minutes, swimming 3:58 and setting a world record, claiming the gold medal for the United States. Day 10–24 SeptemberRulon Gardner, never a NCAA champion or a world medalist, beat Alexander Karelin of Russia to win gold in the super heavyweight class, Greco-Roman wrestling. Karelin had won gold in Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta. Before this fight he had never lost in international competition, had been unbeaten in all competitions in 13 years, and had not surrendered a point in a decade. Day 11–25 SeptemberAustralian Cathy Freeman won the 400 metre final in front of a jubilant Sydney crowd at the Olympic Stadium, ahead of Lorraine Graham of Jamaica and Katharine Merry of Great Britain. Freeman's win made her the first competitor in Olympic Games history to light the Olympic Flame and then go on to win a Gold Medal. The attendance at the stadium was 112,524 – the largest attendance for any sport in Olympic Games history. In a men's basketball pool match between the USA and France, the USA's Vince Carter made one of the most famous dunks in basketball history. After getting the ball off a steal, the 6'6"/1.98 m Carter drove to the basket, with 7'2"/2.18 m centre Frédéric Weis in his way. Carter jumped, spread his legs in midair, scraped Weis' head on the way up, and dunked. The French media dubbed the feat le dunk de la mort ("the dunk of death"). Day 14–28 SeptemberThe Canadian flag at athletes' village is lowered to half-staff as Canadian athletes pay tribute to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau after hearing of his death in Montreal (Because of the time difference, it was 29 September in Sydney when Trudeau died). The Canadian flag flew at half-staff for the remainder of the Olympics, on orders from both IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy, as the state funeral did not take place until 3 October. Day 16–30 SeptemberCameroon won a historic gold medal over Spain in the Men's Olympic Football Final at the Olympic Stadium. The game went to a penalty shootout, which was won by Cameroon 5–3. Day 17–1 OctoberThe last event of the games was the Men's Marathon, contested on a course that started in North Sydney. The event was won by Ethiopian Genzhnge Abera, with Eric Wananina second and Tesefe Tola, also of Ethiopia third. It was the first time since the 1968 Olympics that an Ethiopian had won the gold medal in this event. The Closing Ceremony commenced with Christine Anu singing her version of the Warumpi Band's song, My Island Home. She performed with several Aboriginal dancers atop the Geodome Stage in the middle of the stadium, around which several hundred umbrella and lampbox kids created an image of Aboriginal dreamtime. The Geodome Stage was used throughout the ceremony, which is a flat stage which is mechanically raised into the shape of a Geode. IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch declared at the Closing Ceremony,
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. The Olympic Hymn was sung by soprano Yvonne Kenny. The ceremony also featured performing artists such as Jimmy Barnes, INXS, Midnight Oil, Kylie Minogue, Slim Dusty, Christine Anu, Nikki Webster, John Paul Young, Men at Work, Melbourne-based singer Vanessa Amorosi, Tommy Emmanuel, and pop duo Savage Garden. The Games were then handed over to their modern birthplace, Athens, which succeeded Sydney as summer Olympic host city. Two Greek flags were raised; one to honour the birthplace of the Olympics, and the other to honour Athens. The ceremony concluded with a huge fireworks display on Sydney Harbour. The fireworks display itself concluded with a very low flyover of Stadium Australia by an RAAF F-111C which performed a dump-and-burn manoeuvre synchronised with the extinction of the Olympic Flame. This created the appearance of the flame being carried away into the sky, flying in a northeasterly direction out across Sydney Harbour and ultimately towards Athens in a symbolic handover. In honour of her gold medal win during the games, Cathy Freeman represented Oceania in carrying the Olympic flag, joining Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Africa), John Glenn (The Americas), Kazuyoshi Funaki (Asia), Lech Wałęsa (Europe), Jean-Michel Cousteau (Environment), Jean-Claude Killy (Sport), and Steven Spielberg (Culture) when it was raised again, at the XIX Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City; the opening ceremony there took place on 8 February 2002. |
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SportsThe 2000 Summer Olympic programme featured 300 events in the following 28 sports:
Although demonstration sports were abolished following the 1992 Summer Olympics the Sydney Olympics featured wheelchair racing as exhibition events on the athletics schedule. Special quarantine conditions were introduced to allow entry of horses into Australia to participate in equestrian events, avoiding the need for such events to take place elsewhere as had happened at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. |
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Calendar
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Medal countThese are the top ten nations that won medals in the 2000 Games.
* Host nation (Australia) |
Participating National Olympic Committees |
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199 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Sydney Games, two more than in the 1996 Summer Olympics. In addition, there were four Timorese Individual Olympic Athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Eritrea, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau made their Olympic debut this year. Afghanistan was the only 1996 participant that did not participate in 2000, having been banned due to the extremist rule of the Taliban's oppression of women and its prohibition of sports. |
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Participating countries | Number of athletes | ||||||||||||||||||
Participating National Olympic Committees | |||||||||||||||||||
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VenuesSydney Olympic Park
Sydney
Outside Sydney
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OrganisationOrganisations responsible for the OlympicsA number of quasi-government bodies were responsible for the construction, organisation and execution of the Sydney Games. These included:
These organisations worked closely together and with other bodies such as:
These bodies are often collectively referred to as the "Olympic Family". Organisation of the ParalympicsOrganisation of the 2000 Summer Paralympics was the responsibility of SPOC the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee. However much of the planning and operation of the Paralympic Games was outsourced to SOCOG such that most operational programmes planned both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Other Olympic eventsOrganisation of the Games included not only the actual sporting events but also the management (and sometimes construction) of the sporting venues and surrounding precincts, the organisation of the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival and Olympic torch relay. The relay began in Greece and travelled to Australia via numerous Oceania island nations. Phases of the Olympic projectThe staging of the Olympics were treated as a project on a vast scale, with the project broken into several broad phases:
SOCOG organisational designThe internal organisation of SOCOG evolved over the phases of the project and changed, sometimes radically, several times. In late 1998 the design was principally functional. The top two tiers below the CEO Sandy Hollway consisted of five groups (managed by Group General Managers and the Deputy CEO) and twenty divisions (managed by divisional General Managers), which in turn were further broken up into programmes and sub-programmes or projects. In 1999 functional areas (FAs) broke up into geographic precinct and venue teams (managed by Precinct Managers and Venue Managers) with functional area staff reporting to both the FA manager and the venue manager. Ie, SOCOG moved to a matrix structure. The Interstate Football division extant in 1998 was the first of these geographically based venue teams. Volunteer programmeThe origins of the volunteer programme for Sydney 2000 dates back to the bid, as early as 1992. On 17 December 1992, a group of Sydney citizens, interested in the prospect of hosting the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, gathered for a meeting at Sports House, at Wentworth Park in Sydney. In the period leading up to 1999, after Sydney had won the bid, the small group of volunteers grew from approximately 42 to around 500. These volunteers became known as Pioneer Volunteers. The Pioneer Volunteer programme was managed internally by SOCOG's Volunteer Services Department in consultation with prominent peak groups like The Centre for Volunteering (Volunteering and TAFE. Some of the Pioneer Volunteers still meet every four months, an unseen legacy of the games which brought together a community spirit not seen before. During the Olympic games tens of thousands of volunteers, the official figure was placed at 46,967, helped everywhere at the Olympic venues and elsewhere in the city. They were honoured with a parade like the athletes had a few days before. |
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MarketingThe official logoThe bid logo, designed by architect and designer Michael Bryce, featured a colourful, stylised image of the Sydney Opera House. The official logo – also referred to as the "Millennium Man" – took the image of the bid logo and combined it with a stylised image of a runner to form a torchbearer in motion; formed by two small yellow boomerangs for arms and a larger red boomerang for legs. The Olympic torch is represented through a blue smoke trail, which draws the iconic peaks of the Sydney Opera House. The design process of the official logo, as well as all other aspects of the Olympic Games' visual design identity, was awarded to Melbourne design studio FHA Image Design. The Sydney Olympics brand identity project officially commenced in 1993. |
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The MascotsThe official mascots chosen for the 2000 Summer Olympics were Syd the platypus, Millie the echidna, and Olly the kookaburra and were designed by Matthew Hattan and Jozef Szekeres and named by Philip Sheldon of agency Weekes Morris Osborn in response to the original SOCOG recommendation of Murray, Margery and Dawn after famous Australian athletes. There was also an unofficial mascot, Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat, which was popularised by comedy team Roy Slaven and HG Nelson on the TV series The Dream with Roy and HG. Roy and HG also frequently disparaged the official mascots on their television program. |
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Olly, Syd and Millie were the official mascots of the 2000 Summer Olympics and Lizzie was the official mascot of the 2000 Summer Paralympics, both held in Sydney, Australia. Olly, Syd and Millie were named by Philip Sheldon from advertising agency DMBB and represented air, soil and water. Olly (from Olympics) the kookaburra represents the Olympic spirit of generosity. Syd (from Sydney) the platypus, represents the environment as well as the activity and energy of Australia and their population. Millie (from Millennium) the echidna, knows everything about technology and numerical data. The mascots were designed by Matthew Hattan and Jozef Szekeres. The mascot for the 2000 Paralympics was Lizzie the Frill-necked Lizard. The frill of the Paralympic mascot was coloured in green and gold and represented the country via the shape. The ochre colour of Lizzie's body aimed to mirror the colour of the land. The frill neck lizard is a native Australian animal which inhabits northern parts of the country. The lizard was chosen because of its will to survive along with its tenacity, it carries the Paralympic message of power and pride to both Australians and international audiences. The strength, determination and attitude of Lizzie symbolise the character traits of all Paralympic Athletes. Lizzie has been given the voice of Olivia Newton-John, a well-known Australian singer, actor and entertainer. Olivia made performances with Lizzie leading up to the Games, spreading the word about excellence within the Paralympic Community. The outstanding visibility and community engagement to Lizzie ultimately led to marketing success, unrivalled by the three olympic mascots. Lizzie captured the imagination of the public, leading to the iconic representation at the Paralympic games. The Australian Paralympic Committees noted the significant branding capitol and realised that this could be leveraged in the future. |
Sponsors of the 2000 Summer Olympics
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Worldwide Olympic Partners | Australia Partners | Supporters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals and bouquetsThe bronze medals for the 2000 Olympics were created from melted down Australian 1 cent and 2 cent coins – which had been removed from circulation from 1992 onward. The bouquets handed to medal recipients incorporated foliage from the Grevillea baileyana, also known as the white oak. Awards and commendationsThe International Olympic Committee awarded Sydney and its inhabitants with the "Pierre de Coubertin Trophy" in recognition of the collaboration and happiness shown by the people of Sydney during the event to all the athletes and visitors around the world. The New South Wales Police Force was granted use of the Olympic Rings in the New South Wales Police Force Olympic Commendation and the New South Wales Police Force Olympic Citation for having staged the "safest" games ever. |
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Broadcast rights
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Doping at the Olympic Games |
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2000 Sydney
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