Bids for the 2000 Summer Olympics

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Bids for the
2000 (2000) Summer Olympics and Paralympics
Overview
Games of the XXVII Olympiad
XI Paralympic Games
Winner: Sydney
Runner-up: Beijing
Shortlist: Berlin · Istanbul · Manchester
Details
CitySydney, New South Wales, Australia
NOCAustralian Olympic Committee (AOC)
Previous Games hosted
None
Decision
Result{{{result}}}
Olympic rings
Part of a series on
2000 Summer Olympics

Five cities made presentations to the IOC Session in Monte Carlo to host the 2000 Summer Olympics. These were awarded to Sydney, Australia, on 23 September 1993. The other cities were Beijing (China), Manchester (Great Britain), Berlin (Germany) and Istanbul (Turkey).

Brasilia, capital of Brazil, and Milan, Italy, withdrew during the bidding process – Milan shortly after submitting its bid book,[1] Brasilia following the visit by the IOC Inspection Group, which stated the city had substandard facilities. Tashkent, Uzbekistan, also put in a bid for the Games, in order to gain some recognition of that country's existence and new independence,[2] but withdrew very early into the race.

Berlin was an early front-runner, hoping to cap the decade of German reconstruction and reunification by hosting the first Games of the new millennium. But the support of its bid was marred when anti-Olympic protesters marched through the city just four days before the final vote in Monaco.[3] Manchester's bid book was considered strong, but with much regeneration in the city needed, and with a promotional video shown to the IOC depicting London landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge, the bid was criticised heavily by the British media sighting that the city's bid was 'suffering from an identity crisis'. The impeding announcement of the host city came down to a head-to-head between Sydney and Beijing with Manchester, Berlin and Istanbul ranked outsiders.

When IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch thanked the five competing cities before announcing the winning bid, many Chinese in Beijing mistook his utterance of the city's name, before any of the others, as an announcement that it had been awarded the Games, and widespread celebrations began. These were cut short just minutes later when images from Sydney came through, illustrating the fact that the Australian city had won.[4]

The International Paralympic Committee then awarded the 2000 Summer Paralympics to Sydney.[5]

Reactions by Beijing

According to The New York Times, university students in Beijing made plans to march on the American embassy in Beijing as news of Beijing's failed bid spread. Police presence was stepped up across Beijing university campuses to prevent this from happening.[4] There were also suggestions by Chinese officials that Beijing would boycott the 1996 Summer Olympics because of the failed bid.[6] The US intelligence community also reported before the vote that should Beijing lose the bid, the Chinese government would resume underground nuclear testing, in violation of a worldwide moratorium on the process.[7] Beijing, however, did no such thing, and in 2001 made a successful bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Final selection

2000 Summer Olympics bidding results
City NOC Name Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4
Sydney  Australia 30 30 37 45
Beijing  China 32 37 40 43
Manchester  Great Britain 11 13 11 —
Berlin  Germany 9 9 — —
Istanbul  Turkey 7 — — —

References

  1. ^ Associated Press (11 March 1993). "Milan Withdraws Olympic Bid". Los Angeles Times.
  2. ^ Associated Press (24 May 1992). "Tashkent's Long-Shot Olympic Bid: Oodles of Hospitality, Few Facilities". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ^ Kinzer, Stephen (19 September 1993). "Peacefully, 10,000 Protest Berlin Olympic Bid". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  4. ^ a b Tyler, Patrick (24 September 1993). "OLYMPICS; There's No Joy in Beijing as Sydney Gets Olympics". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ John Bloomfield (2003). Australia's sporting success: the inside story. UNSW Press. p. 101. ISBN 0-86840-582-5.
  6. ^ Thomas, Robert McG (18 September 1993). "OLYMPICS; Chinese Boycott Threat Is Denied". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  7. ^ Harvey, Randy (20 September 1993). "China's Olympic Bid Is an Explosive Situation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 October 2009.

External links

Candidature files

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