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| Part of2000 Summer Olympics | |
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| Date | 1 October 2000 (2000-10-01) |
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| Time | 19:00 to 22:01AEDT (UTC+11) |
| Venue | Stadium Australia |
| Location | Sydney,New South Wales,Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°50′50″S151°03′48″E / 33.84722°S 151.06333°E /-33.84722; 151.06333 |
| Filmed by | Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation |
| Participants | 114,714 in attendance |
| Footage | Sydney 2000 Closing Ceremony - Full Length onYouTube |
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| Part of a series on |
| 2000 Summer Olympics |
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The2000 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony was held on 1 October 2000 inStadium Australia. As with the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony was directed byRic Birch as Director of Ceremonies whileDavid Atkins was the Artistic Director and Producer. The Closing Ceremony was attended by 114,714 people, until the2024 Summer Olympics opening, this was the largest attendance in modern Olympic Games history. Called "Let's Party", the ceremony celebratedAustraliana; Australian cultural celebrities, icons, media, and music, with floats designed in the style ofReg Mombassa.[1] Around 2.4 billion watched the telecast of the closing ceremony.
ThenIOC PresidentJuan Antonio Samaranch declared in his concluding remarks (and his last remarks at an Olympic Games) that the2000 Olympic games were the "best Summer Olympics ever".[2]
Host nation
Next Host nation
Foreign dignitaries
Compared to the Opening Ceremony, the stadium showed the track and field ground as is. The main stage was called the Geodome Stage and was in the center of the stadium. The Prelude segment was hosted byRoy and HG.[3]
Just before the closing ceremony, theMen's Marathon finished inStadium Australia.[4] Ethiopian runnerGezahegne Abera won the Gold, Kenya'sErick Wainaina took the silver, while Gezahegne's countrymanTesfaye Tola took bronze.[5][6]
Just before the Countdown, a slapstick skit was performed just before the countdown showing what could have gone wrong in the opening ceremony. A groundskeeper loses control of hisbuggy and causes havoc over the stadium and the pomp and ceremony. In one scene, Birch appears on a bike with an inflatable kangaroo that was featured in the handover segment of the1996 closing ceremony.[7] He even runs intothe mascots of the games in the stadium in their only appearance in the ceremony. Finally his vehicle is dismantled in a comedic way.
A recording of the countdown composed byRichard Mills performed bySydney Symphony Orchestra that was played before the beginning of theOpening Ceremony played again for the closing ceremony. The large screens counted down from 60 to 1. Starting at 23, footage from previous games appeared. On 0, footage of fireworks was shown followed by an image of aKen Done drawing with the phrase "Let's Party!"
After a brief fanfare composed byDavid Stanhope,Christine Anu performed withTorres Strait Island dancers her rendition of theWarumpi Band's song "My Island Home" written byNeil Murray. She performed on the Geodome Stage, with severalAboriginal dancers atop the stage, around which several hundred kids holding umbrellas and lampboxes created images ofAboriginal Dreamtime. The song version who was performed was the recently released Earth Beat mix, which is a rerecorded version who had the some parts of the lyrics altered so to evoke that the island sung about is Australia itself.[8][9] Near the end of the song, Anu was hoisted on part of the stage, which was folded into a giant 8-sided octagonal figure called The Geode, which had the globe projected on it. Audience members were encouraged to wave their flashlights.
The flags from all countries entered with their flag bearers before placing their flags on the Geode stage. Then, after the flags all entered, athletes ran in from all entrances onto the field, while the fanfare "Olympic Fireworks" by David Stanhope and orchestral piece "Journey of Angels" byChong Lim played.Savage Garden performed their hit song "Affirmation" on the Geode stage while wearing indigenous flag t-shirts. The Geode stage was projected different words relating to what people might affirm about their beliefs. One of the words included Sydney's famous graffiti,Eternity.[2]
The last time Australia hosted the Olympic Games in1956, a young man from Melbourne,John Ian Wing, suggested that during the closing ceremony, instead of marching as separate teams, behind their national flags, the athletes mingled together as they paraded into and around the arena for a final appearance before the spectators. It was implemented then and has been an Olympic tradition that has been followed ever since.[10]
Children from both the Millennium Choir of theGreek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and Sing 2001 Choir stepped and spread themselves on the Geode stage in white and cream attires. The Millennium Children's Choir performed "Hymn to Liberty",as the National Anthem of Greece, conducted byGeorge Ellis .[11]
Two Greek flags were raised; one as protocol to recognise the birthplace of the Olympic Games, and the other to recogniseAthens as the nexthost city. Afterwards, with the raising of theAustralian flag the Sing 2001 Children's Choir performed "Advance Australia Fair", the national anthem of Australia, conducted by George Torbay.
Hymn to Liberty - Music byNikolaos Mantzaros, Lyrics byDionysios Solomos
TheNational Anthem of Australia – Music & Lyrics byPeter Dodds McCormickPresident of theSydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG),Michael Knight, made a closing address thanking the volunteers, the organising committee and the people of the City of Sydney. He stated:[12]
"All Australians are entitled to feel proud of our athletes, our country and themselves for what our nation has achieved during this period."
As he was introducingJuan Antonio Samaranch, he noted that this would be his last Olympics as President of theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC), and would be a special night for him, although his experience of the games came amid personal tragedy.[2]
Juan Antonio Samaranch gave a speech echoing Knight's thanks to all those who helped organised the games. He then declared:[13][6]
"These are my last Games as President of the International Olympic Committee. They could not have been better. Therefore, I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world, the best Olympic Games ever."
Subsequent Summer Olympics held inAthens,Beijing andLondon have been described by Samaranch's successorJacques Rogge as "unforgettable, dream Games", "truly exceptional" and "happy and glorious games" respectively – the practice of declaring games the "best ever" having been retired after the 2000 Games.
Samaranch then awarded the on behalf of the IOC theGold Olympic Order to both Michael Knight, as an expression of gratitude for a perfect organisation, andJohn Coates, president of theAustralian Olympic Committee for fulfilling the promise of making these games the athletes games. In addition, he also gave on behalf of the IOC, theOlympic Cup to the people of Sydney for their enthusiastic and unpartisan support of athletes from all countries.
Samaranch then announced the newly elected members of theInternational Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission:
This segment was conceptualised, crafted, produced and directed by Greek artistVangelis.[14] Given the importance of returning the Games to their spiritual home, Vangelis decided to include theAntwerp Ceremony (the flag handover ceremony). As a feature during the Antwerp Ceremony,Mayor of AthensDimitris Avramopoulos andGianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki,President of theAthens 2004 Olympic Games Committee entered the main stage. They entered paired with the priestesses ofOlympia, as a sign of protection, as they were responsible for receiving the Olympic flag and taking the Games back to their spiritual home. After the flag was passed to the Greek delegates, they performed a special sending ritual as an Athens cultural presentation.[15] After their performance, theLord Mayor of Sydney,Frank Sartor arrives with the Seoul Olympic flag to begin the ceremony. He hands it to Samaranch, who hands it over to Avramopoulos. After the ceremony, the priestesses look around the flag, took the flag off its pole, threwlaurelolive branches on top and carried the flag out of the stadium to Athens.[2]The New York Times said that this was a moment of contrast between the approach of the two host cities to the Olympic Games.[15]
Samaranch then officially called the games to its close, calling upon the youth of the world in four years to assemble in Athens, Greece - "the birthplace ofOlympism". He ended his last Games as IOC president by saying thank you, and goodbye in the 4 languages he spoke (English, French, Spanish and Catalan).
As the Olympic Flag raised during the Opening ceremonies was lowered, on a separate stage near the flagpole, Australian sopranoYvonne Kenny performed a softer version of theOlympic Hymn in English, composed bySpyridon Samaras with lyrics byKostis Palamas. Given it was sung in Greek in the Opening Ceremony, theSydney Olympics was the first time the hymn was performed in both the IOC's preferred languages.[16]
Chong Lim's "Journey of Angels" was then played. The final flag bearers were 8 young Australian sporting champions:
The Olympic flag was raised again at theupcoming Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City,Utah in theUnited States; theopening ceremony there took place on 8 February 2002.
‘We'll Be One’ was performed byNikki Webster and the Sing 2001 Choir where she performed the song on a high platform underneath theOlympic Cauldron while wearing a white Greek dress. The song is about all of humanity coming together and becoming one. The Olympic Flame was then captured by anF-111 Jet of theRoyal Australian Air Force which flew away from Olympic Park, representing the start of its long journey back to Athens. This effect was created by the aircraft jettisoning fuel from its tanks and igniting it with itsafterburner, a manoeuvre called adump-and-burn.[17]
The Ceremony ended with an hour long party and dance mix, featuring well knownculture of Australia icons.
Vanessa Amorosi arrived to perform a special extended remix of her hitAbsolutely Everybody while dancers performed in sci-fieuropop attire. Then ballroom dancers appears whileLove Is in the Air was performed byJohn Paul Young. This was a reference to theBaz Luhrmann filmStrictly Ballroom. Both performed on the Geode stage.
This medley was a collection of Australian rock songs, performed on two custom stages on the left and right of the stadium, as well as the Geode stage. The stages were designed and influenced by the work ofReg Mombassa, a keyMambo artist.
The Midnight Oil performance ofBeds Are Burning was a second choice for organisers, as the slot was originally meant to be given toThe Seekers to performThe Carnival is Over. However, lead vocalistJudith Durham broke her hip and was unable to perform on the night. The Seekers instead performed the song during the2000 Paralympics closing ceremony a few weeks after, with Durham performing from a wheelchair.[18]
This section of the dance mix began with a callback to the beginning of the opening ceremony, where the hero girl (Nikki Webster) took a day off at the beach. A large number ofSurf Life Savers arrive withKylie Minogue, playing the same character, but as an adult woman on a giantthong (Australian slang for a flip-flop) with a brief appearance of the 1989–2002 stinger forTriple J before singing herIntimate and Live Tour cover of theABBA song "Dancing Queen" on the Geodome stage.
Then, surrounding athletes, the parade of icons began, showing cultural icons that demonstratedAustraliana. Each celebrity arrived on a float which was decorated in character to the icon. The chosen icons wereGreg Norman,Bananas in Pyjamas,Elle Macpherson,Paul Hogan asCrocodile Dundee, and theDrag Queens and the bus fromThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.[2]
The remix track during the parade included samples from:
Minogue then performed along her crew from the Geodome her recently released single "On a Night Like This".
The show ended with the whole cast performing on the Geodome Stage withMen at Work the Australian classic, "Down Under". Finally to end off the 2000 Summer Olympics,Slim Dusty with a guitar in hand performed an acoustic version of "Waltzing Matilda" as asingalong with the cast, athletes, and crowd joining in.[19] The Geode had projected two lines,Bye from Oz, andsee ya in Athens. After the song, the last words spoken at the 2000 Summer Olympics were:
"Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the Closing Ceremony of the Games of the XXVII Olympiad. On behalf of everyone here tonight, we congratulate the athletes. Thank you and goodnight. See you in Athens!"
The "Closing Night Harbour Spectacular" marked the end of the ceremony, with a 25-minute fireworks display starting atHomebush Bay following theParramatta River eastward, before reaching theSydney Harbour Bridge. After the spirit of the flame (a F-111 from earlier with the Olympic flame) flew over the Harbour Bridge, the harbour erupts with fireworks.[17] It was the largest fireworks display staged in the world at that time, and required the work of five different pyrotechnic companies, headed by Foti Pyrotechnics.
Soundtrack:
A major political undertone of the Sydney Olympic ceremonies was ofreconciliation between Australia and the Australian Indigenous peoples.[20] In the years leading up to the Olympics, Indigenous reconciliation was becoming a central social and political issue after the release of theBringing Them Home report. These themes were most evident by having both Torres Strait islander and Indigenous performers for both Anu's performance of "My Island Home" and Yothu Yindi's performance of "Treaty", Savage Garden wearing theAustralian Aboriginal flag on their shirts while they performed, and including Midnight Oil's anthem "Beds Are Burning" while the band members performed with outfits which had the word "Sorry" (something that thethen governmentwould not apologise for).[2][21][22]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(August 2021) |
Host broadcaster: Sydney Olympic Broadcast Organisation, with directorPeter Faiman
Rightsholders:
Australia -Seven Network
United Kingdom -BBC
United States -NBC
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Opening ceremonies |
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