Olympic quick facts

• The Olympics began in Greece about 3,500 years ago.
• 393AD: The Games were discontinued.
• 1887: Baron Pierre de Coubertin came up with the idea of reviving the Olympics.
• 1894: The International Olympic Committee was founded.
• 1896: The first Olympics of the modern era was held in Athens.
• 1956: Australia held its first Olympics in Melbourne.
• 1993: Sydney, Australia was awarded the right to host the 2000 Olympic Games.

Olympic symbols

• Olympic rings
  Each ring symbolises a part of the world: Oceania, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.
• Three Sydney Olympics' mascots:
  Olly the kookaburra, Syd the platypus, Millie the echidna.
• Lighting of the Olympic torch
  The lighting of the Olympic torch took place at noon, 12 May, 2000 at Olympia, the site of the Ancient Olympic Games of Greece.

Important dates

• Opening ceremony: 7.00pm, Friday 15 September, 2000.
• Closing ceremony: 8.00pm, Sunday 1 October, 2000.
• Harbour of Life Arts festival: August - October, 2000.
• Paralympic Games : 18 - 29 October, 2000.

Olympic Games' sites: past, present, future

• 2012 London Olympic Games
• 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
• 2004 Athens Olympic Games
• 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games
• 2000 Sydney Olympic website (now archived) The Official site of the Games of the XXVII Olympiad
• 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games
• 1956 Melbourne Olympics
• 1956 Melbourne Olympics, 1956 - National Archives of Australia
• Paralympic Games
• Olympic Studies, University of Technology Sydney

Olympic- and sports-related sites

• Australian Paralympic Committee Website
• Australian Athletes Profiled
• Australian Institute of Sport
• Australian Olympic Committee
• Australian Sports Commission
• Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Project
• Centre for Olympic and Sports Studies, Barcelona, Spain
• Federation of Gay Games
• International Centre for Olympic Studies
• International Olympic Committee
• Olympic Museum

Sydney, New South Wales, home of the 2000 Olympic Games

• Markets, fairs and special events in Sydney
• Sydney Opera House
• Sydney's weather today (updates daily)
• Sydney CitySearch
• Sydney City Council Visitors' Guide
• Tourism New South Wales

Australia: culture, heritage, history

• Archives of Australia Network
• Collections Australia Network
• Stories of the Dreaming / Indigenous Australia
• The Space

Last updated: 7 December 2010