An Iconic Start To The Decade: Y2K's Sydney Olympic Games

News Section Editor Beth Nicholls takes us back in time to 24 years ago, where Sydney welcomed Y2K with the iconic Summer Olympics

Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. It marked the turn of a decade, the turn of a century and the turn of a millennial. The year itself was one to remember, and so were the Summer Olympic Games. And almost a quarter of a century later, they are still an important sporting event in Australia’s history. 

Sydney was officially awarded the 2000 Olympics on 23 September 1993, and were staged by the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG), which was an agency set by the NSW Government. 

SOCOG’s mission for the Sydney 2000 Olympics was to: “deliver to the athletes of the world and to the Olympic Movement, on behalf of all Australians, the most harmonious, athlete oriented, technically excellent and culturally enhancing Olympic Games of the modern era.” [1]

The 2000 Olympics saw over ten thousand athletes travel to Australia to compete in 28 sports, two of which were contested for the first time: Triathlon and Taekwondo. [1] 

Sydney 2000 saw an opportunity for the Australian Indigenous culture to be shown to the world, where SOCOG established a National Indigenous Advisory Committee to “provide guidance and ensure that the authenticity of cultural content, themes, influence, materials and protocol across events from the Olympic Arts Festivals to the many Olympics ceremonies, the Volunteers program, the Olympic Youth Camp and traditional welcoming ceremonies.” [1] 

Four precincts around Sydney were used for the Games: Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush, Darling Harbour, Sydney East and Sydney West. Some venues and areas were developed or upgraded specifically for the Olympics. 

The Athens Olympic Village used during Greece's 2004 Summer Games, pictured on July 31, 2014.

Across the world, most Olympic venues that were once glistening and full of life become ghost towns, abandoned and no longer used. With most recently, many of the Athens (2004) and Rio De Janeiro (2016) venues being left to die and rot. 

Fortunately, this was not the case for Sydney, with most if not all of the venues standing the test of time, and still being used for various sporting and entertainment purposes. 

Sydney Olympic Stadium during an Athletics Event at the 2000 Olympics.

The suburb, now known as Sydney Olympic Park, was originally a part of Lidcombe, and was known as Homebush Bay for a period between 1989 and 2009. [2] The land was originally developed for the Sydney Olympics, and has undergone many redevelopments and updates since then, with the area also including many commercial buildings and residential apartments. 

First known as the Sydney Olympic Stadium, and now known as Accor Stadium for commercial purposes, the stadium was purposely built for the Olympics with a cost of $690 million, and was opened in 1999, hosting various sporting matches prior to the Olympics. [4] Sydney 2000 saw the stadium used for athletics events, along with both the opening and closing ceremonies. Despite over twenty years passing since it was first opened, the stadium continues to hold some of Australia’s largest events, including Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in early 2024, which saw over 320 thousand people flock through the gates across four sold out nights [4], along with the NRL and NRLW Premiership Grand Final, which saw a total of 81,947 people attend in 2023 [5]. 

Accor Stadium is one of the many thriving venues in Sydney Olympic Park, with other well-used venues being Qudos Bank Arena (non-commercially known as the Sydney Superdome), Sydney Showground, Quaycentre, and Aquatic Centre. 

Although the year 2000 is becoming a distant memory, the legacy of the Sydney Summer Olympics continues to live on. 

PS: The author was not alive for the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics and vicariously lives through content found online and in print </3. 

ENDNOTES

[1] “A Look Back at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.” Museums of History NSW, Museums of History NSW, https://mhnsw.au/stories/general/a-look-back-at-the-sydney-2000-olympics/. Accessed 4 Sep. 2024. 

[2] "Homebush Bay." Dictionary of Sydney, Dictionary of Sydney, 2024, https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/homebush_bay. Accessed 4 Sep. 2024. 

[3] “ANZ Stadium Fast Facts.” ANZ Stadium, ANZ Stadium, archived from the original on 30 Nov. 2020, https://web.archive.org/web/20201130205234/https://www.anzstadium.com.au/footer/about-us/our-design/anz-stadium-fast-facts/. Accessed 4 Sep. 2024.

[4] Cole, Nathan. "Taylor Swift Eras Tour Sydney Live Updates: US Pop Star Set to Continue Australian Tour at Accor Stadium." The Age, 22 Feb. 2024, https://www.theage.com.au/culture/music/taylor-swift-eras-tour-sydney-live-updates-us-pop-star-set-to-continue-australian-tour-at-accor-stadium-20240222-p5f73w.html?post=p55oih. Accessed 4 Sept. 2024. 

[5] “NRL: GF - Panthers d Broncos.” Austadiums, Austadiums, https://www.austadiums.com/sport/event/27912. Accessed 4 Sep. 2024. 

IMAGES 

“Abandoned Olympic Venues: Sites.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/abandoned-olympic-venues-sites/2/. Accessed 4 Sep. 2024.