the sydney 2000 olympic and paralympic games - Australian Sports ...

INTRODUCTION
The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games held from Friday, September 15 until Sunday, October 1, 2000, placed
the world spotlight on Sydney and its preparations for the Games.
At the closing ceremony for the Games, International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio
Samaranch echoed the sentiments of many by saying, “They could not have been better. I am happy and
proud to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever! Thank
you Australia!”
Four weeks later, the President of the International Paralympic Committee, Dr Robert Steadward, also
pronounced the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games an outstanding success.
Sixteen days of outstanding Olympic competition, backed by state of the art venues, impressive
co-ordination and the biggest public transport mobilisation ever undertaken in Australia helped to present
an important snapshot in time. Behind that snapshot lay seven years of planning, co-ordination
and dedication.
The outstanding successes of the Sydney Olympics, and the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, are
attributable to many factors.
One of the principal factors was the recognition of the impacts that an Olympic Games … the biggest
peacetime event in the world … can have on a city. The heart of the Sydney 2000 approach was the
contribution by NSW Government and acceptance of the fact that a successful Games requires enormous
amounts of co-ordination of services, resources, infrastructure and communications.
The Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games required the active support and involvement of local,
state and national Government, together with significant contributions from industry, sporting bodies,
corporate agencies and the Olympic movement, the general community and the spectators who came to
the events.
This Report sets out the contributions made by the New South Wales Government to both the Olympic and
Paralympic Games, and sets out the costs incurred by the Government and its agencies in supporting and
delivering the Games.
The emphasis of this report is upon the financial impacts of the NSW Government’s support for the
Games. It also assesses the levels of co-ordination, which were initiated and led by the Government and
details the outcomes and outputs achieved. While the Olympic venues and Sydney Olympic Park are
rightly regarded as important Olympic legacies, this Report also provides an assessment of the other
legacy benefits, which remain with the State long after the Games have been finalised.
Although the focus of this report is upon the activities undertaken on behalf of the NSW Government, it
does not in any way diminish the active support which the Games received from Federal and
Local Government, and the involvement of other State Governments in relation to activities such as the
football events.
The success of the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games relied heavily upon NSW Government
owned and operated infrastructure, particularly in the areas of transport and roads, security, waterways
management, waste services, health and environment as well as venue planning, construction, fitout
and management.
The NSW Government established a number of dedicated agencies and sub-agencies to deliver these
services. Central to this activity was the Olympic Co-ordination Authority, the entity established to
undertake necessary development works and to co-ordinate, oversee and integrate the Government’s
overall response to the Games. Other agencies integral to the process were the Sydney Organising