This Time 25 Years Ago…

…we were at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. What an amazing memory to relive, with the anniversary of the Opening Ceremony having just occurred on 15th September 2025.

Left to Right: Olympic Games memorabilia, Cathy Freeman wins Gold, Me in the Olympic Village, At the swimmng

We had been involved in our local swimming club for years, so as keen swimming fans, we desperately wanted to go to Sydney to see the swimming at the Games. Tickets were allocated by ballot, so we had no idea whether we would get any or not. So, somewhat foolishly, we put in for several swimming sessions and a wide variety of other sports.

I can still remember calling up the Olympic Ticket hotline to find out which tickets we had been allocated. We were stunned to find that we were successful in almost all that we had applied for. We had tickets for two swimming sessions, tennis, rowing, baseball, softball, equestrian, and athletics. The first thought was how on earth we were ever going to pay for them all. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime event, so what the heck. We were going to make it work.

We participated in the Homestay program and stayed with a lovely couple in Castle Hill. The organisation of the event was brilliant, with buses readily available close by, and the volunteers were exceptional.

We did not have tickets for the opening ceremony, so we watched that in our little self-contained flat at our accommodation. Then on the 18th September, we attended our first event, the Equestrian. We are not horsey people at all, but we were mesmerised by the beautiful horses and the amazing ability of the riders. The next event was the tennis, followed the next day by the first of our swimming sessions. As we will all remember, the Aussie swimmers did really well at their home Olympics, so it was an exciting session.

But the highlight was sitting high in the stands at the stadium at Homebush on 25th September, to see Cathy Freeman clinch the gold medal in the 400m.

What are your memories of the Sydney 2000 Olympics - The best Olympics ever.