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Curtain rises on Sydney

The Opera House, top and center is among Sydney's signature sites, and Double Bay, below, is one of Sydney Harbor's many scenic attractions

Australia's showcase city opens its arms to visitors of the world

September 3, 2000
Web posted at: 8:43 PM EDT (0043 GMT)

In this story: Good times guaranteed Best view in town RELATED SITES

By Shanon Cook
Special to CNN.com

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- A little more than 200 years ago, a hulking, leaking boat, laden with hundreds of criminals weary from months at sea, sailed into a harbor on Australia's southeastern coast.

It was their new home, and an uninviting one at that. A dumping ground for undesirables from Britain's overcrowded jails, Sydney Harbor in 1788 offered a rugged welcome to those first European settlers from so far away.

Now, the harbor, one of the showpieces of a city preparing to host the 2000 Olympic Games, turns a different face to the world.

Friends on yachts greet their weekend with glasses of champagne. Suit-clad commuters step on ferries that carry them away from the cluster of skyscrapers that make up a bustling city center. The one-time penal colony has become a temporary party central for the world.

Starting September 15, with spring beginning to warm Australia, an estimated 8 million people are expected to visit central Sydney for three weeks while nations send their best to compete in the Olympic Games.

Painted, pretty and poised, Sydney is ready to party.

Sydney guide Top 10 picks Landmarks City guide Entertainment Savage Garden Kylie Minogue Food Cookbook review Australian vineyards Eating Australian Nature Marine reserve Weevils help save Jurassic plant Maps Australia Sydney Torch route

Visitors won't need a ticket to the sporting events to have a good time, said Sydney Lord Mayor Frank Sartor. The city will offer free entertainment from September 15 until October 1, he said.

"Indeed, we are organizing 18 days and nights of continuous entertainment which the world won't forget," he said.

The Domain, in Sydney's city center, will be turned into an Olympic live site with a giant screen to broadcast sporting events

The festivities will revolve around six sites scattered throughout the city. Screens that measure 30 square meters (36 square yards) will broadcast live Olympics coverage throughout the day. At night, the sites will host parties of varying themes.

For example, a dance club will operate into the early hours at the live site at Martin Place. At the Domain, a medley of jazz, symphony and country music will feature performances by national artists such as Savage Garden and Yothy Yindi, an indigenous band. Circular Quay, on the harbor, will offer a circus theme.

The entertainment at the sites is set to kick off when the Olympic Torch arrives in the city center September 14, a day before the official Opening Ceremony. The torch's final leg will be broadcast on site screens around the city.

The Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival also promises a range of cultural and entertainment events before and during the Games. The six-week festival, which began August 18, offers dance, music and visual arts exhibitions from 4,000 international and Australian artists.

A circus will be in town, too. Acrobatic stunts and spinning balls of fire will form part of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus -- the "Fruities," as the act is popularly known. A group of young performers, the circus started more than 20 years ago as a school holiday workshop for kids in rural Australia, and it has grown into a popular act that tours the globe.

The Fruit Fly Circus, or the "Fruities," are expected to perform as part of the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival

Another highlight promises to be the Bangarra Dance Theatre, an Australian ensemble performing at the Sydney Opera House Theatre. Bangarra combines the cultural traditions of Aboriginal people and islanders with contemporary dance moves. In "Skin," for example, Bangarra explores the lives of Aboriginal desert women and the challenges faced by Aboriginal men living in contemporary urban society.

The Bangarra Dance Theater combines cultural traditions of Aboriginals and islanders with contemporary dance moves

Olympics festivities aside, Sydney offers visitors all sorts of wonders and attractions. Bondi, Manly and Bronte beaches should satisfy even the most demanding sun seekers. A harbor cruise or sailing expedition is always a great way to see the city's many bays and inlets.

Those wanting to sample Sydney as a local should order fish and chips and perhaps wash that meal down with a beer at a harborside pub at Watson's Bay.

Or the adventurous wanting to get a real look at the city might want to ascend to the arches of the Sydney Harbor Bridge -- all 1,439 steps of it.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge may offer the best views of the city's prized waters

Spanning 1,149 meters (3,770 feet) and towering over Sydney's sparkling harbor, the bridge (nicknamed "the coat hanger") has been open to climbers for two years through a group called Bridgeclimb. The climb, which does not require Olympic-caliber fitness, takes three hours to complete.

The view is "fantastic," said Sally Stoyles, a climb leader. "It's got to be the best view of Sydney. On most days you can see the Blue Mountains to the west and out to the Pacific Ocean to the east."

The Harbor Bridge, along with the Opera House, is expected to come into focus for the grand finale for the Games. After the Closing Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium, the harbor foreshore will stage a giant fireworks display.

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
Australia Tourism Net
Australia: U.S. consular information
CDC Travelers Health: Australia and the South Pacific

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