Sydney 2000 Olympics: Closing Ceremony (October 1, 2000)

This is our concluding entry in our series looking back at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. We have looked at in this series:

• The bidding process
• Torch Relay
• Opening Ceremony
• Newspaper Front Pages

Today, the focus is on the Closing Ceremony, which was held on October 1, 2000.

Overview of the Closing Ceremony

The Closing Ceremony comprised the following:

• Formalities - 
• Christine Anu performed My Island Home
• Flags were carried into the stadium, carried by one athlete representing the nation. Ian Thorpe carried the flag for Australia. 
• Entrance of the athletes. 
• National anthems of Greece and Australia
• Closing addresses
• Introducing Athens as the host city of the 2004 Olympic Games and the return of the games to its historic home (Greece). It was themed as Welcome Home
• Lowering of the Olympic Flag
• Extinguishing the Olympic Flame - Nikki Webster performed We'll be One before the flame was "captured" by an F-111 Jet from the Royal Australian Air Force

• Let's Party - Australian Rock Songs was performed involving the following artists
• Vanessa Amorosi
• John Paul Young
• Phil & Tommy Emmanuel
• INXS (featuring Jon Stevens)
• Jimmy Barnes
• Midnight Oil
• Yothu Yindi
• Kylie Minogue - She was the adult version of the "hero girl" from the Opening Ceremony, which featured Nikki Webster. She was brought into the stadium on a giant thong, accompanied by surf lifesavers 
• Parade of Icons - They were presented as floats showcasing Australian cultural icons, including:
• Greg Norman
• Bananas in Pyjamas
• Elle Macpherson 
• Paul Hogan as Crocodile Dundee
• Drag Queens and the bus from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert 
• Bye from Oz, see ya in Athens (Final segment from Stadium Australia)
• The cast, led by Men at Work, performed "Down Under."
• Slim Dusty performed an acoustic version of Waltzing Matilda to close off the ceremony at the stadium

Below are scans from a liftout that appeared in The Daily Telegraph (October 2, 2000) with photographs from the Closing Ceremony

Closing Night Harbour Spectacular 

At the end of the Closing Ceremony at the Stadium, one of the largest firework shows held at that time to date globally commenced at Sydney Olympic Park before following its way downstream along the Parramatta River. The F-111 jet that "extinguished" the Olympic Flame returns to "dump" the flame on the Sydney Harbour Bridge to ignite the 25-minute show. Five Pyrotechnics companies under the direction of Foti International were involved in the production. At the end of the show, the lit Olympic Rings were switched off.

It was a truly Sydney way to finish off the Closing Ceremony and the 2000 Olympic Games.

"The best Olympic Games ever"

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Juan Antonio Samaranch declared that the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games were "the best Olympic Games ever" given the success of the Olympic Games but also the organisation and management. This followed past convention where the remark "best games ever" would be delivered by the IOC President (except for Atlanta in 1996, where "Well done Atlanta" was given to avoid scrutiny over the delivery of those Olympics), but for Samaranch, he felt that Sydney exceeded what even excellent host cities had done in past years.

Future entries on Sydney 2000?

Given the amount of material, there is scope to post more entries on the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. While preparing these entries, ideas for future entries began to emerge, such as focusing on a specific venue, event, newspaper features, advertisements, commentary, and so on. It can encompass the Olympic Bid or preparations in the lead up to 2000. There may be additional series or individual entries that encompass this topic. 

Entries in this series

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games: Sydney wins the Games (1993)

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games: The Torch Relay

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games: Opening Ceremony (September 15, 2000)

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games: Newspaper Front Pages (2000)