On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Sydney 2000 Olympics Games, Michael is joined by Michael Knight AO, the former Minister for Olympics & Chair of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG), to reminisce about some of the event’s iconic moments.

Sydney narrowly 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.

Despite a few mishaps, the preparations and the Games themselves went smoothly with the opening ceremony paying tribute to the Australian pastoral heritage of the Australian stockmen and the importance of the stock horse in Australia's heritage, and contributions of the Aboriginal peoples of the continent.

Nearly 11,000 athletes representing 199 IOC member countries (including 3 athletes from the United Nations dependency of East Timor) participated in the Games with several events being contested at the games for the first time in 2000, including men’s and women’s tae kwon do, trampoline, triathlon, and synchronized diving.

 

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