White, Leanne (2011) The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games bid: marketing indigenous Australia for the Millennium Games. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 28 (10). pp. 1447-1462. ISSN 0952-3367

Abstract

The almost universal reaction across Australia to the 1993 announcement that Sydney would host the 2000 Olympic Games was one of elation. Since the bid launch in 1990, the city of Sydney and the nation had been urged to ‘Share the Spirit’ and maintain enthusiasm for the possibility of hosting the Millennium Olympics. The bid campaign appeared to be a carefully orchestrated blend of government rhetoric and public relations spin with an emphasis on the important place of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. This article begins by examining events surrounding Sydney's successful bid when in September 1993 it was announced that Sydney had won the right to host the Games of the XXVII Olympiad. The article concludes with assessments made of the games at the Sydney closing ceremony when the city and the organising committee were paid the ultimate compliment when told they had presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever. An examination of how far Australia has progressed in the past 11 years with respect to Indigenous issues is also taken into account.

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