Stadium Australia ( currently also known as ANZ Stadium due to naming rights ) , a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct of the redeveloped Homebush Bay was completed in March 1999 at a cost of A$ 690 million to serve as a venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics . Sydney captured global attention in the Year 2000 by hosting the Summer Olympic Games . The Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympics featured a theatrical rendering of Australian history through dance and a torch lighting by Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman . At the Closing Ceremony , President of the International Olympic Committee , Juan Antonio Samaranch , declared : The Olympic mayor , Frank Sartor , was the Lord Mayor of Sydney , serving from 1991 to 2003 and his successor , Lucy Turnbull , became the first woman to hold that office in 2003 . She was in turn succeeded by independent Clover Moore , Sydney 's longest-serving mayor from 2004 – present . From 1991 – 2007 , Sydneysiders governed as Prime Minister of Australia – first Paul Keating ( 1991 – 1996 ) and later John Howard ( 1996 – 2007 ) , Tony Abbott ( 2013 – 2015 ) , Malcolm Turnbull ( 2015 – 2018 ) and Scott Morrison ( 2018 – present ) . Sydney has maintained extensive political , economic and cultural influence over Australia as well as international renown in recent decades . Following the Olympics , the city hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup , the APEC Leaders conference of 2007 and Catholic World Youth Day 2008 , led by Pope Benedict XVI
Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
History of Sydney