Editing 2000 Summer Olympics (section)

====Day 1: 15 September====
=====Cultural display highlights=====
{{See also|2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony}}
[[File:2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony 1.JPEG|thumb|right|The [[2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony]] at [[Stadium Australia]], on 15 September 2000.]]
The opening ceremony began with a tribute to the pastoral heritage of the [[Stockman (Australia)|Australian stockmen]] and the importance of the [[Australian Stock Horse|stock horse]] in Australia's heritage. It was produced and filmed by the Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation and the home nation broadcaster [[Seven Network]].<ref>Commentary on the official DVD of the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics</ref> This was introduced by lone rider [[Steve Jefferys]] and his rearing [[Australian Stock Horse]] ''Ammo''. At the cracking of Jefferys' [[stock whip|stockwhip]], a further 120 riders entered the stadium, their stock horses performing intricate steps, including forming the five [[Olympic Rings]], sounded by a new version of the song that [[Bruce Rowland]] had previously composed for the 1982 film ''[[The Man from Snowy River (1982 film)|The Man from Snowy River]]''.

The [[Advance Australia Fair|Australian National Anthem]] was sung in the first verse by [[Human Nature (band)|Human Nature]] and the second by [[Julie Anthony (singer)|Julie Anthony]].

The cultural segments of the event take place with 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 Australians|Indigenous]] inhabitation 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 [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] women from [[Central Australia]] who danced up "the mighty spirit of god to protect the Games"<ref name="HistoryToday>{{cite news |last1=Bosworth |first1=Richard |title=Rome 1960: Making Sporting History {{!}} History Today |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/rome-1960-making-sporting-history |access-date=20 May 2025 |work=History Today |volume=60 |issue=8 |date=August 2010}}</ref> and the overwhelmingly noisy representation of the [[construction industry]] by hundreds of tap-dancing teenagers.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Because the wife of then-IOC President [[Juan Antonio Samaranch]] was seriously ill and unable to accompany her husband to the Olympics, [[Dawn Fraser]], former Australian Olympic Champion swimmer and member of the [[Parliament of New South Wales]], accompanied Samaranch during the Australian cultural segments, explaining to him some of the cultural references that are unfamiliar for the  people from outside Australia.

=====Formal presentation=====
A record 199 nations entered the stadium, with a record 80 of them winning at least one medal. The only missing [[International Olympic Committee|IOC]] member was [[Afghanistan]], who was banned due to the extremist rule of the [[Taliban]]'s oppression of women and its prohibition of sports.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/context-culture/flash-from-the-past-afghans-shattered-2000-olympic-dreams-amended/ |title=Flash from the Past: Afghans' Shattered 2000 Olympic Dreams |last=Clark |first=Kate |date=27 July 2012 |work=Afghanistan Analysts Network |access-date=19 April 2015 |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128185955/https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/context-culture/flash-from-the-past-afghans-shattered-2000-olympic-dreams-amended/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ceremony featured a unified entrance by the athletes of [[North Korea|North]] and [[South Korea]],{{efn|The national teams of [[North Korea at the 2004 Summer Olympics|North Korea]] and [[South Korea at the 2004 Summer Olympics|South Korea]] competed separately in the Olympic events, even though they marched together as a [[Korea Team|unified Korean team]] in the opening ceremony.}} using a specially designed [[Unification Flag|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 [[individual Olympic athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics|IOA]]. The [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]], [[William Deane|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 (rower)|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''.<ref>[https://entertainment.time.com/2012/07/30/11-olympic-theme-songs-dissected/slide/tina-arena-flame-sydney-2000/ 11 Olympic Theme Songs, Dissected] . ''Time'' (26 July 2012). Retrieved 3 May 2014.</ref>

The opening ceremony concluded with the lighting of the [[Olympic Flame]], which was brought into the stadium by former Australian Olympic champion [[Herb Elliott]]. 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 [[Olympic cauldron|cauldron]] within a circle of fire. The  choice of Freeman, an Aboriginal woman, to light the flame was notable given the [[Racism in Australia#Indigenous Australians|history of human rights abuses against Aboriginal people in Australia]].<ref>{{cite web |first=@Oli |last=Murray |url=https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/cathy-freemans-iconic-olympic-moment-shows-the-racism-indigenous-australians-face/news-story/c1373eca4dc46445c4bb74d2fbe3c785 |title=Cathy Freeman Sydney Olympics: Sad moment behind iconic moment |publisher=News.com.au |date= |access-date=13 February 2022 |archive-date=5 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205140420/https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/cathy-freemans-iconic-olympic-moment-shows-the-racism-indigenous-australians-face/news-story/c1373eca4dc46445c4bb74d2fbe3c785 |url-status=live }}</ref> Following her lighting, Freeman was the subject of racial abuse from some Australians.<ref>Bruce, T., & Wensing, E. (2009). 'She's not one of us': Cathy Freeman and the place of Aboriginal people in Australian national culture. Australian Aboriginal Studies, (2), 90-100.</ref> 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 fireworks display.<ref>Information given by [[Ric Birch]], Director of Ceremonies, during an interview at the end of the official DVD of the 2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony</ref>