respective Olympics held in the same cities did not want to commit to two events of the same size held in a short span of time under their custody. Even though Australia and the United States had tradition in the event, there was little recognition of it, though the resilience of the leaders of civil movements guaranteed the realization of the Paralympic Games in their respective cities. History of the Paralympic Movement in Australia Despite having a historical tradition in the Paralympics and having participated (and won gold medals) in the previous eight summer editions, Australia had traditionally looked down on Paralympic sport, to the point that during the candidacy process for the 2000 Summer Games, and despite being chosen as the Australian bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney had showed little or no interest in hosting the Paralympics and had not submitted any proposal about hosting the event. This was one of the consequences of the tumultuous process surrounding the organization of the 1996 Summer Paralympics and the fact that Paralympic sport did not have a great penetration in the local media and society. Not even expressive results, such as fifth place in the medal table at the 1992 Summer Paralympics held in Barcelona, drew attention in the same way that Paralympic sport was treated in other countries: some sectors of society treated the Paralympics as an event of "second class". Even with the approximation of the IOC made in the second half of the 1980s by Juan Antonio Samaranch, they remained cold and cordial; however, the International Olympic Committee helped to reform the IPC with an administrative structure mirroring the one that was used by the IOC. The process to host the Paralympic Games But this help did not change the way in which the host cities of the Paralympic Games and their events were chosen at that time. For the 1960 and 1964 Games, Rome and Tokyo had accepted the direct invitation made by the International Stoke Mandeville Games Committee and hosted the Paralympics some weeks after the Olympic Games, but in different conditions. Despite having given initial guarantees in 1964, in 1966, alleging increased costs and lack of infrastructure, Mexico City withdrew from host the 1968 Summer Paralympics and in 1967,as part of Israel's celebrations for their 20th anniversary of independence,t he Israeli government made a bid to host the Games in 1967. The 1972