Sydney breaks Games record

The Sydney Olympics broke a string of records, from ticket sales to countries watching the Games on television, organisers said on Sunday. "The Australian people have embraced the Games. There is analmost magical feel in Sydney right now," said Australia’s Olympic MinisterMichael Knight. Knight said Australia hoped to receive a major boost intourism with numbers of visitors set to top five million this year.

"We hope to build upon the event as Barcelona did so successfully in 1992,"Knight told reporters. Tickets sales are a perfect barometer of how a hostcity embraces the Olympics – and Sydney topped the all-time list with 90 percent of tickets sold. "What made these Games special was the spirit ofAustralians," Knight said. "They deserve a gold medal."

Gross revenue from ticket sales has topped A$780 million with an additionalA$420 million coming from retail sales of Olympic memorabilia. But 5,000unsold tickets were given away at the last moment to Olympic volunteers toensure there were no embarrassing blank spaces in the stands for Sundaynight’s closing ceremony. Broadcasters boasted that just about everyone onthe planet with a television would watch the sporting extravaganza andorganisers said on Sunday.