2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and commonly known as Sydney 2000 or the Millennium Olympic Games/Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event which was held 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 Australia, and also the Southern Hemisphere, the first being in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1956.
Manchester bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics
Juan Antonio Samaranch, the President of the IOC had described Manchester's chances of hosting the Olympics as "very, very high" while speaking at Manchester Town Hall. A video presentation used by the bid team which included shots of the Pennines (a mountain range across Northern England) and of London, including Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London, which was described by British journalists as "bewildering" as it didn't concentrate on the host city. The IOC had published a report on 12 July 1993 regarding the technical aspects of the various bids for the 2000 Games; while Sydney was described as the favourite and Manchester too was praised, Beijing's application concerned the reviewers. Reporters considered that the Olympics would be hosted either by Sydney or Manchester, although felt that Beijing may have a chance as IOC members would be tempted by the chance to have an Olympics hosted in China.