These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch before the arrival of his successor Jacques Rogge.

The final medal tally at the 2000 Summer Olympics was led by the United States, followed by Russia and China with host Australia in fourth place overall.

The 2000 Games received universal acclaim, with the organisation, volunteers, sportsmanship, and Australian public being lauded in the international media.

[3] James Mossop of the Electronic Telegraph called the Games "such a success that any city considering bidding for future Olympics must be wondering how it can reach the standards set by Sydney",[4] while Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette suggested that the "IOC should quit while it's ahead.

[6] Sydney 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.

Beijing's loss to Sydney was seen as a "significant blow" to an "urgent political priority" of the Chinese Communist Party leadership having mounted the most intense and expensive candidacy campaign at the date so far (this includes the Summer and Winter Games).

Building sporting venues does not add to the aggregate stock of productive capital in the years following the Games: "Equestrian centers, softball compounds, and man-made rapids are not particularly useful beyond their immediate function.

[17] Proposed metro and light rail links from Olympic Park to Parramatta have been estimated to cost in the same order of magnitude as the public expenditure on the games.

At the cracking of Jefferys' 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.

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.

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.

The only missing IOC member was Afghanistan, who was banned due to the extremist rule of the Taliban's oppression of women and its prohibition of sports.

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 cauldron within a circle of fire.

[26] 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.

[27] The first medals of the Games were awarded in the women's 10 metre air rifle competition, which was won by Nancy Johnson of the United States.

Set in the surroundings of the Sydney Opera House, Brigitte McMahon representing Switzerland swam, cycled and ran to the first gold medal in the sport, beating the favoured home athletes such as Michelie Jones who won silver.

On the cycling track, Robert Bartko beat fellow German Jens Lehmann in the individual pursuit, setting a new Olympic Record.

In the swimming pool, American Tom Dolan beat the world record in the 400-metre medley, successfully defending the title he won in Atlanta four years prior.

It was not until Australian gymnast Allana Slater and her coach, Peggy Liddick, voiced concerns about the equipment that officials discovered the apparatus was five centimetres, or almost two inches, lower than it should have been.

Romanian gymnast Andreea Răducan ultimately took gold while her teammates, Simona Amânar and Maria Olaru took silver and bronze, respectively.

By rowing in the winning coxless four, Steve Redgrave of Great Britain became a member of a select group who had won gold medals at five consecutive Olympics.

Bedford, Megan Quann (Jendrick), Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres became the first women's relay under 4-minutes, swimming 3:58 and setting a world record, claiming the gold medal for the United States.

Rulon Gardner, never an NCAA champion or a world medalist, beat Alexander Karelin of Russia to win gold in the super heavyweight class, Greco-Roman wrestling.

Australian Cathy Freeman won the 400-metre final in front of a jubilant Sydney crowd at the Olympic Stadium, ahead of Lorraine Graham of Jamaica and Katharine Merry of Great Britain.

The Canadian flag was flown at half-mast for the remainder of the Olympics, on orders from both IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy, and as the state funeral did not take place until 3 October, two days after the closing ceremony, so they have enough time to head back to Canada after the Games and attending his funeral.

The closing ceremony commenced with Christine Anu performing her version of the Warumpi Band's song "My Island Home", with several Aboriginal dancers atop the Geodome Stage in the middle of the stadium, around which several hundred umbrella and lamp box kids created an image of Aboriginal Dreamtime.

IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch declared at the Closing Ceremony,[29] "I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever.

The first edition of the Festival of the Dreaming, which was founded by artistic director Rhoda Roberts (who later co-directed segments of the Opening Ceremony), was held in 1997, as the first of four leading up to the Sydney Olympics.

Over the runner's head is a trail of smoke that represents both the arches of the Sydney Opera House and the Olympic torch carrying the flame.

The official mascots chosen for the 2000 Summer Olympics were Syd the platypus, Millie the echidna, and Olly the kookaburra,[43] designed by Matthew Hattan and Jozef Szekeres and named by Philip Sheldon of agency Weekes Morris Osborn in response to the original SOCOG recommendation of Murray, Margery, and Dawn after famous Australian athletes.