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| Games of the XXVII Olympiad | |
| Nations participating | 199 |
| Athletes participating | 10,651 (6,582 men, 4,069 women) |
| Events | 300 in 28 sports |
| Opening ceremonies | September 15, 2000 |
| Closing ceremonies | October 1, 2000 |
| Officially opened by | William Deane |
| Athlete's Oath | Rechelle Hawkes |
| Judge's Oath | Peter Kerr |
| Olympic Torch | Cathy Freeman |
The Games of the XXVII Olympiad were held in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. Sydney was elected in 1993 above Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul and Manchester.
Although the Opening Ceremony was not scheduled until September 15, the football competitions already began on September 13, with the first preliminary matches
In a long opening cermony, Australia presented itself and its celebrities to the world, with about 3,000 million watching the show. They saw a record 199 nations enter the stadium, the only missing IOCAlternative meanings at IOC (disambiguation The International Olympic Committee is an organization created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 to reinstate the Ancient Olympic Games held in Greece, and organize this sports event every four years. The IOC recei member being the suspended AfghanistanAfghanistan ( Dari/ Pashtu: Afgnistn is a country in Central Asia. It is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the easternmost part of the country. It is among the. Most remarkable was the entering of NorthThe Democratic People's Republic of Korea DPRK Korean: Choson Minjujuui Inmin Konghwaguk Hangul: ; Hanja: ), commonly known as North Korea is a country in eastern Asia, covering the northern half of the peninsula of Korea. To the south it borders South Ko and South KoreaThe Republic of Korea (ROK; Korean: Daehan Minguk ( Hangul: ; Hanja: )), commonly known as South Korea is a country in East Asia, covering the southern half of the Korean peninsula. To the north, the Republic of Korea borders North Korea, with which it fo as one team, using a specially designed flag. The two teams would compete separately, however. Four athletes from East TimorThe Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste commonly known as East Timor is an island nation in Southeast Asia, consisting of the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, a political exclave of East Timor also marched in the parade of nations. Although the country-to-be had no National Olympic Committee yet, they were allowed to compete under the Olympic Flag. The Governor-General, Sir William Deane, opened the games.
The ceremonies concluded with the lighting of the Olympic Flame. Former Australian Olympic champions brought the torch through the stadium, handing it over to Cathy Freeman, who lit the flame in the cauldron. A hot favourite for the 400 m title, Freeman is a major role model for Aborigines in Australia.