Sydney 2000 winds up in a blaze of glory

The pageant, which was as spectacular as the September 15 opening, concluded with the fabulous fireworks display spanning the length of the Sydney Harbour.

The modern Games started in 1896 and though no one has lived through every one of them it can be said with certainty that Sydney excelled every other venue while unfolding the rapid strides Australia had made in the field of technology.

There was the Geo dome’ which served as a podium in the closing ceremony, assuming different shapes for different sections of the night’s programme and backed by computer technology, adding a stange and exciting dimension to the entire show.

Above all was the carefree, warm and friendly outlook of the Aussies which made an otherwise sober and solemn evening into a gala party celebrating humanity, to quote International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who formally declared the Games closed.

Samaranch, who is to lay down office after a two-decade long reign as the supreme boss of the Olympic movement, said, “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. Thank you, Sydney. Thank you New South Wales. Thank you, Australia. You made it”.

After declaring closed the Games the one-time Spanish diplomat, in accordance to tradition, called upon the youth of the world to assemble, four years from now, in Athens, Greece the birthplace of Olympism to celebrate the Games of the 28th Olympiad.

He then honoured Sydney 2000 President Michael Knight and Australian Olympic Committee Chief John Coates with the Olympic Order in gold as an expression of the IOC’s gratitude for perfect organisation of the 27th edition of the Games.

Samaranch said the Sydney Games also showed that with the support of the United Nations the Olympic Truce could be a reality as demonstrated by the historic joint parade of the two Korean delegations during the Opening ceremony.

After the handing over of the Olympic flag by the Mayor of Sydney Frank Sartor to his Athens counterpart Dimitris L Avramopoulus and Athens Organising Committee’s president, Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, a Head Priestess and 21 other priestesses performed a solemn ritual with olive branches.

Then they took carried the flag away from the podium to signify the return of the Olympics to its birthplace, Greece.

After the ceremonial part, it was one big party ending with the rendition of Waltzing Matilda by Slim Dusty before the fireworks pyrotechnics lit up the sky from the stadium to Sydney Harbour Bridge which climaxed with the five Olympic Rings exploding across the span of the bridge. The success of the G’day games’ helped redeem the tarnished image of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) smarting from the exposure of cronyism and corruption in the bidding for the 2002 salt lake city winter games.

Doping sullied Sydney’s sporting spectacle, with seven athletes testing positive for drugs in competition, but the IOC hailed their exposure as vindication of a new, zero tolerance’ attitude to cheats.