Editing 2000 Summer Olympics (section)

=====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.