In Sydney in 2000, September 15 - October 1, the XXVII Summer Olympic Games were held. Australia competed with Great Britain, Germany, Turkey and China for the right to host the games.
The opening ceremony at Australia Stadium on 15 September 2000 took place in front of 110,000 spectators. The stages of Australian history were chosen as the main motives for the colorful performance. The traditional parade of nations of 198 delegations took place, South and North Korea marched under the same flag.
Platypus Sid, Kookaburra Ollie and Echidna Milli became the official mascots of the games. These animals live only in Australia. As conceived, they symbolize Olympic friendship, as well as the three elements - water, earth and sky.
199 countries sent their delegations to participate in the Olympics. For the first time in history, the Olympic program included trampoline jumping, taekwondo and triathlon.
Most medals, in descending order, were won by the United States, Russia, China, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Cuba and the United Kingdom. In total, 300 sets of medals were played in 28 sports.
Russian gymnast Alexei Nemov won two gold, one silver and three bronze medals and became the most titled Russian athlete at these games. In total, Russian athletes took 32 gold medals, 28 silver and 29 bronze medals away from Sydney.
Not without scandals. During the doping test, some athletes were disqualified and not allowed to compete. Also, in February 2010, the International Gymnastics Federation held a trial and canceled the results of the performance of the Chinese gymnast Dong Fangxiao, since it turned out that she was not eligible to participate because of her age. The medal she received in the team competition in artistic gymnastics was selected and awarded to the US team.
The closing ceremony was no less bright than the opening ceremony. At the end, the athletes marched together in the parade, embodying Olympic unity. A grandiose fireworks display ended the event.
