The 15th of September this year marks the 10 year anniversary of Sydney 2000 – the Games that Sydney, Australia and Olympic fans around the world remember as the “Best Games Ever”.
The 15th of September this year marks the 10 year anniversary of Sydney 2000 – the Games that Sydney, Australia and Olympic fans around the world remember as the “Best Games Ever”.
One of the highlights for the planned celebrations is the relighting of the Sydney Olympic cauldron by Cathy Freeman. The Overflow at Sydney Olympic Park will also be officially renamed ‘Cathy Freeman Park’ on the day.
Olympians, volunteers and over 1000 school children will participate in activities and presentations during the day with media interest being very high for the occasion.
In the morning, London 2012 Organising Committee Chairman and dual Olympic gold medallist Lord Sebastian Coe will speak at a fundraising breakfast for Australia’s 2012 Olympians and to unveil London’s plaque on Olympic Boulevard. Each Olympics has a plague on the promenade.
Later in the day a plaque honouring Juan Antonio Samaranch will be unveiled. Samaranch led the IOC during the Games and called them the “best Olympic Games ever” at the closing ceremony.
There will be a reunion in the Olympic Stadium with school children involved in a re-enactment of the march past and in the evening there will be a Celebration Dinner in the Millennium Room of the Stadium.
The Australian Olympic Committee is driving the celebrations and are joined on the Organising Committee by representatives from the Australian Paralympic Committee, Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Events NSW, the City of Sydney and NSW Government Premier’s Department.
Celebrations for the week are to begin Sept. 11, with an exhibit of the “largest collection” of Sydney Olympic memorabilia at the Powerhouse Discovery Centre in Sydney.
The exhibit would contain the torch Freeman used to light the cauldron and costumes used by celebrities at the opening and closing ceremony.
The Olympic celebrations are set to conclude Sept. 17 with a discussion of Sydney’s Olympic legacy at the University of Technology, Sydney. Paralympic celebrations are scheduled for Oct. 18, with an invitation-only Paralympian of the Year ceremony.
AOC
