2000 Summer Olympics

The 2000 Summer Olympics or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were the Summer Olympic Games held in 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Bidding process

Sydney won the right to host the games on September 23, 1993 after being selected over Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul and Manchester, by the final vote, in an election in Monte Carlo. At the announcement ceremony Juan Antonio Samaranch infamously pronounced Sydney as "Sy-de-nee".

2000 Summer Olympics bidding results
City	NOC Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
Sydney	Image:Flag of Australia.svg Australia	30	30	37	45
Beijing	Image:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China	32	37	40	43
Manchester	United Kingdom	11	13	11	-
Berlin	Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany	9	9	-	-
Istanbul	Image:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey	7	-	-	-

Preliminary matches- from September 13

Although the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony was not scheduled until September 15, the football competitions began with preliminary matches on September 13. Among the pre-ceremony fixtures, host nation Australia lost 1-0 to Italy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Day 1 - September 15, the Opening Ceremony

Main article: 2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony

Cultural display highlights

The opening ceremony began with a tribute to the Australian pastural heritage of the muster (or "roundup", in which the stockmen gather together the livestock from the vast areas of an Australian outback sheep or cattle station), symbolising the drawing together of people from across the world. 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 the music by Bruce Rowland, based on the theme which he (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 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, Dawn Fraser, accompanied Samaranch during the Australian cultural display, explaining to him some of the more obscure cultural references.

Formal presentation

A record 199 nations entered the stadium, the only missing IOC member being Afghanistan (suspended due to the Taliban regime's prohibition against practicing any kind of sports). Most remarkable was the entering of North and South Korea as one team, using a specially designed unification flag: a white background flag with a blue map of the Korea peninsula; the two teams would compete separately, however. Four athletes from East Timor also marched in the parade of nations. Although the country-to-be had no National Olympic Committee then, they were allowed to compete under the Olympic Flag. 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.

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 champions: 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 which rose over and above the head of the athlete, symbolising the power of the games to unite all people under a common ideal. After a brief moment of hesitation, the flame rose to the peak of the stadium, against the golden background of a spectacular fireworks display.

Some significant participants

The young girl singer, who featured in the early part of the opening ceremony, was Nikki Webster. Other musical performers were Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham (who sang the duet "Dare to Dream" while walking among the athletes), Vanessa Amorosi (who sang "Heroes Live Forever" while a huge cloth was lowered down to cover the athletes - with sporting images and the image of a white dove of peace then being displayed on the cloth) and Tina Arena (who sang "The Flame"). There was also a massed Millennium Marching Band of 2000 musicians - with 1000 Australian musicians, the remaining 1000 musicians being from other countries around the world. (the massed band was so large that six conductors were required for the segment).

The English-language announcer for the Opening Ceremony was Australian actor John Stanton, while the Channel 7 narrator for the Indigenous section of the display was actor Ernie Dingo.

Events

Day 2 - September 16

The 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 iconic Sydney Opera House, Australian-born Brigitte McMahon representing Switzerland swam, cycled and ran to the first gold medal in the sport, beating the favoured home athletes.

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 x 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 - September 17

Canadian Simon Whitfield sprinted away in the last 100 m 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 - September 18

The 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 only 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 9 - September 23

By 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 11 - September 25

Australian 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. Cathy 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.

Day 13 - September 28

The 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 passing in Montreal (Because of the time difference, it was September 29 in Sydney when Trudeau died).

Day 15 - September 30

Cameroon 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.

Day 16 - October 1

IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch declared at the Closing Ceremony,

"I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever."

Yvonne Kenny was the soprano who sang the Olympic Hymn at the Closing Ceremony. The ceremony featured performing artists such as Jimmy Barnes, Midnight Oil, Kylie Minogue, Slim Dusty, Christine Anu, Nikki Webster, John Paul Young, Melbourne-based singer Vanessa Amorosi, Tommy Emmanuel CGP, and pop duo Savage Garden.

The Games were then handed over to the city of their birthplace, Athens, where they would again take place in 2004. The ceremony concluded with a huge fireworks display on Sydney Harbour.

Sports

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

• Wheelchair Racing (Demonstration Event)

Medal count

Main article: 2000 Summer Olympics medal count

These are the top medal-collecting nations for the 2000 Games. (Host country is highlighted)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States	40	24	33	97
2	Image:Flag of Russia (bordered).svg Russia	32	28	28	88
3	Image:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China	28	16	15	59
4	Image:Flag of Australia.svg Australia	16	25	17	58
5	Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany	13	17	26	56
6	France	13	14	11	38
7	Image:Flag of Italy.svg Italy	13	8	13	34
8	Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands	12	9	4	25
9	Image:Flag of Cuba.svg Cuba	11	11	7	29
10	Great Britain	11	10	7	28

Participating nations

199 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Sydney Games, two more than in 1996. In addition, there were four Timorese Individual Olympic Athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Eritrea, Micronesia and Palau made their Olympic debut this year.