The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games (French: Les Jeux olympiques d'été de 2000) or the Millennium Olympic Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was the second time that the Summer Olympics were held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first one being in Melbourne, Victoria in 1956.
Sydney was selected as the host city for the 2000 games in 1993. Teams from 199 countries participated. The United States won the most medals with 93, while Australia came in 4th with 58. The games cost was estimated to be A$6.6 billion. Many venues were constructed in the Sydney Olympic Park, which failed in the years immediately following the Olympics to meet the expected bookings to meet upkeep expenses.^[2] In the years leading up to the games, funds were shifted from education and health programs to cover Olympic expenses.^[3]
The Games received near-universal acclaim, with the organisation, volunteers, sportsmanship and Australian public being lauded in the international media. Bill Bryson from The Times called the Sydney Games "one of the most successful events on the world stage", saying that they "couldn't be better".^{[citation needed]} James Mossop of the Electronic Telegraph called the Games in an article "such a success that any city considering bidding for future Olympics must be wondering how it can reach the standards set by Sydney",^[4] while Jack Todd in the Montreal Gazette suggested that the "IOC should quit while it's ahead. Admit there can never be a better Olympic Games, and be done with it", as "Sydney was both exceptional and the best".^{[citation needed]} In preparing for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Lord Sebastian Coe declared the Sydney games the "benchmark for the spirit of the Games, unquestionably" and admitting that the London organising committee "attempted in a number of ways to emulate what [the Sydney organising committee] did." ^[5]
These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch. These were also the second Olympic Games to be held in spring. Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Summer_Olympics.