Australia hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney to great international acclaim . The Opening Ceremony featured a host of iconic Australian imagery and history and the flame ceremony honoured women athletes , including swimmer Dawn Fraser , with Aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman lit the Olympic flame . At the Closing Ceremony , President of the International Olympic Committee , Juan Antonio Samaranch , declared : Few international tourists came to Melbourne in 1956 for the Olympics that year , but Sydney gained global attention for a well-attended , efficiently organized world-class event . Prince Philip , representing Queen Elizabeth II opened the 1956 games but neither was invited in 2000 , as the spirit of republicanism was too strong . In the long run , as Toohey ( 2008 ) reports , many of the hoped-for benefits failed to materialize . Nationwide levels of participation in physical activity and sport did not rise , although passive spectatorship ( such as TV watching ) did increase . Many of the costly facilities built for the games remained underutilized in their wake
Opening Ceremony
2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
History of Australia since 1945