{"id":3820,"date":"2020-09-14T20:00:35","date_gmt":"2020-09-14T18:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idrottsforum.org\/forumbloggen\/?p=3820"},"modified":"2020-09-14T20:00:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T18:00:35","slug":"the-sydney-olympics-how-did-the-best-games-ever-change-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idrottsforum.org\/forumbloggen\/the-sydney-olympics-how-did-the-best-games-ever-change-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sydney Olympics: How did the ’best games ever’ change Australia?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Dave Hunt\/AAP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Tuesday, it will be 20 years since the Olympic opening ceremony in Sydney, kicking off the \u201cbest games ever<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Our newspapers and TV screens are now awash with nostalgia about great sporting moments<\/a> and the spectacle<\/a> and ceremony of the Olympics.<\/p>\n

It was certainly a very big party. But with the hindsight of 20 years, other than creating a lot of classic sporting memories, did the Olympics change us?<\/p>\n

An ambivalent legacy<\/h3>\n

There is considerable ambivalence<\/a> regarding Sydney 2000.\u00a0The economics of mega sports events are notoriously slippery and difficult to work out.<\/p>\n

In 1993, KPMG estimated there would a more than $7 billion benefit to the national economy. But subsequent analyses produced other figures. A 1998 estimate<\/a> by University of Tasmania and NSW Treasury economists suggested there would be only a 0.11% effect on GDP over the 12-year Olympic phase.<\/p>\n

On other measures, the impact is also difficult to see.<\/p>\n

The Olympics did not generate a sustained increase in sport participation<\/a> in Australia. And its legacy as a \u201cGreen Games<\/a>\u201d is debatable.<\/p>\n

The main Olympic site did create usable space and parklands on what was a huge, derelict industrial site in Sydney\u2019s west. The athlete\u2019s village also became a solar-powered suburb<\/a>. But two decades on, Sydney Olympic Park is still searching for a soul<\/a> during the working week.<\/p>\n

A global Australia<\/h3>\n

So, where did Sydney 2000 leave its biggest mark on 21st century Australia?<\/p>\n

Australia had held the Olympics before Sydney, but Melbourne in 1956 was a very different affair. There were fewer than 100,000 television sets<\/a> in the country and no live international satellite transmission.<\/p>\n

Sydney 2000 provided a striking opportunity for Australia to project a global image as a sophisticated, multicultural nation.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n
\"\"
Sydney 2000 put Australian on the world stage.\u00a0Julian Smith\/AAP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although Olympic tourism promotion<\/a> relied heavily on Australia\u2019s natural environment, its strategy made room for showing Australia as a highly urbanised, culturally diverse society.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, Australia avoided the huge reputational hit of getting the games \u201cwrong\u201d. Only four years earlier, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics were widely criticised<\/a> for being poorly organised and over-commercialised. It also had to contend with a domestic terrorist bombing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Sydney games, supported by an army of volunteers<\/a>, generally went off without a hitch and received plenty of plaudits<\/a>. It generated goodwill<\/a> on which the city and country could trade, literally, in ensuing decades.<\/p>\n

Indigenous Australia<\/h3>\n

In the lead up to the games, I was interviewed by a number of foreign journalists doing background stories. One topic dominated all others \u2013 the state of Indigenous relations in Australia.<\/p>\n

Journalists were all too aware Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders had mooted a boycott of the games<\/a>, perhaps supported by some African nations<\/a>, due to Australia\u2019s maltreatment of its Indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n

A considerable effort was made by the Sydney Olympic organising committee to involve First Australians. As a result, one of the most powerful and enduring themes of the games was Indigenous Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It ran through the Cultural Olympiad\u2019s<\/a> Festival of the Dreaming, the Olympic Park\u2019s Aboriginal cultural pavilion<\/a> and the arrival of the Olympic torch at Uluru<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n
\"\"
The Olympic torch arrived at Uluru in June 2000.\u00a0Steve Holland\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The opening ceremony featured multiple Indigenous-themed segments<\/a>, while the closing ceremony showcased Christine Anu\u2019s performance<\/a> of \u201cMy Island Home\u201d. In their performances, Midnight Oil<\/a> and Savage Garden <\/a> also wore \u201cSorry\u201d and Indigenous flag clothing.<\/p>\n

And most memorably, Cathy Freeman<\/a> lit the Olympic cauldron and won the women\u2019s 400 metres, bearing the sky high expectations of the nation as she ran.<\/p>\n

In the era of Black Lives Matter, nobody could claim that Sydney 2000 had a transformative impact on Indigenous peoples\u2019 futures.<\/p>\n

But its legacy – that any representation of Australia must always have a deep, serious Indigenous presence – should not be underestimated.<\/p>\n

Sporting Australia<\/h3>\n

As the largest sporting event ever held in Australia, the Sydney games had a ripple effect<\/a> across the entire sport landscape in the country.<\/p>\n

Its success signalled that Australia was capable of hosting mega sport events with efficiency and flair.<\/p>\n

Sydney 2000 set the standard for several Australia-hosted major sport events to follow \u2014 the 2003 Rugby World Cup, 2006 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2015 AFC Cup<\/a>, 2015 Cricket World Cup and 2020 Women\u2019s T20 Cricket World Cup.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n
\"\"
Australia has gone on to host a swathe of successful international sporting events post 2000.\u00a0David Peled\/AAP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It also gave confidence for the (albeit unsuccessful<\/a>) bid for the 2022 FIFA Men\u2019s World Cup and the successful bid<\/a> for the 2023 FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n

The Olympics paved the way for successive Australian sports diplomacy strategies<\/a>. These include promoting Australia\u2019s expertise in helping other countries host major events, not least their opening and closing ceremonies.<\/p>\n

Importantly, Sydney also provided a very substantial boost to the Paralympic Games<\/a>, a legacy of which the nation can be justly proud.<\/p>\n

Australia was already a renowned sporting nation before Sydney 2000. Afterwards, it could claim to be an influential player<\/a> in global sport.<\/p>\n

The lucky games<\/h2>\n

The Sydney games were fortunate the 9\/11 bombers<\/a> did not make their move in New York precisely one year earlier, which would have meant disruption and possible cancellation.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n
\"\"
The Sydney Games were lucky to have two weeks of good weather. And no catastrophes.\u00a0Dean Lewins\/AAP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unlike the postponed Tokyo 2020<\/a> (and possibly cancelled) Tokyo 2021 Games, Sydney was also lucky not to coincide with a global pandemic.<\/p>\n

Sydney 2000 shows that legacy is, finally, dependent as much on luck as good planning. But those 17 days in September linger as a significant moment in Australia\u2019s sporting and social history, when the country was at the heart of the global village.\"The<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n

Previously published by\u00a0theconversation.com<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Copyright \u00a9 David Rowe 2020<\/strong>
\nEmail:\u00a0d.rowe@westernsydney.edu.au<\/a>
\nTwitter: @rowe_david<\/a>
\nWebsite:\u00a0https:\/\/westernsydney.edu.au\/ics\/people\/researchers\/david_rowe<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

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