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Thursday, September 14
Chelsea Clinton among Sydney revelers
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- At the opera house, they packed the
water's edge and cheered. They watched from buildings, from a
docked ocean liner, even from atop the steel skeleton of the fabled
Harbor Bridge. They oohed and ahhed as the Olympic flame went by.
|  | | A fireworks display lights up the Sydney skyline Thursday. |
Ready to greet the world, Sydneysiders paused at the edge of the
Olympics on Thursday night to see their downtown awash in
fireworks, an Olympic-rings light show and even a big round moon,
delivered against a cloudless sky. The collective exhortation: Let
the games begin.
A million people turned central Sydney into a giant street party to celebrate the arrival of the flame that heralds the opening of the biggest Olympic Games in history.
"This shows people what we're about -- whatever that may be,"
said a smiling Gloria Garton, pressed up against a barricade with
her husband Thursday night to see blind Italian opera singer Andrea
Bocelli pass the Olympic torch to Australian pop star Olivia
Newton-John.
Australian sprinter Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, women's captain of
her nation's Olympic team, brought the torch into the Sydney Opera
House grounds at dusk, passing it to Bocelli.
He held it aloft before thousands of cheering people crowded
into Bennelong Point, then handed it to a grinning Newton-John. She
carried it off into the night on the last leg of its journey toward
Olympic Park and Friday's opening ceremony. Then Bocelli sang
Verdi's "Di quella pira."
With the crowd roaring, the Olympic rings that hang from the
landmark bridge illuminated as the last sunlight faded, and
fireworks shot from the bridge's anchorage. Five helicopters and
the Goodyear Blimp -- rechristened the "G'Day Blimp" for the games
-- hovered overhead.
"It's all happening," enthused Lawrence Nethery of Sydney.
"The rings look fantastic, but the moon looks even better. One of
the best things I've ever been to."
"A lovely day on the harbor," said spectator Lorraine Askew.
Half of the seats outside the opera house went to the general
public; the other half went to those attending the Thursday opera
program. It created an odd juxtaposition: On one side, rowdy youths
held Australian flags aloft and chanted "Aussie! Aussie!" while
opera-goers in formal garb applauded sedately on the other.
In the crowd on the quay, chants and shouts erupted after a
clarinet player in the crowd performed a slow, haunting rendition
of "Waltzing Matilda," the unofficial national anthem.
Afterward, downtown erupted into an exuberant festival of happy
anticipation. Exuberant fans popped champagne, guzzled beer and
sipped wine in the streets in a manner both jubilant and -- as
befits the Aussie attitude, it seems -- mellow.
Friday's arrival ratcheted the excitement level up several
notches.
Thousands of early risers thronged the Harbor Bridge, many
chanting golfer Greg Norman's name as he carried the torch across.
Norman said he was overwhelmed by the crowd's size and fervor.
By 3 p.m., four hours before the opening ceremony, Olympic Park
was jammed with spectators streaming in from downtown. The sunny
skies of recent days had been replaced by thick clouds, though
there was no sign of rain.
Organizers kept a tight lid on the opening ceremony's details,
as has become customary. But artistic director David Atkins said it
would be appropriate to both Australia and the world.
"What we've tried to do is reflect our culture," Atkins said.
"It will be a great showcase ... a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to show the world about Australia," said Michael
Knight, Australia's Olympics minister.
Bocelli was a surprise guest in the torch ceremony Thursday
night. The tenor was driven in a golf cart to the podium, where
Gainsford-Taylor, who will be competing in the Sydney Games,
brought him the torch. Newton-John, known best in America for her
role in "Grease" and her hit song "Physical," then ran in. The
three stood triumphantly, with the torch blazing.
The Olympic torch has been making its way across the world's
only island continent since June, carried by a variety of
Australians from Aborigines to athletes to a 109-year-old man.
Along the way, it has survived a theft attempt and a teen-ager's
novel if ill-conceived attempt to douse it with a fire
extinguisher.
Australians who turned out to see the harbor spectacle Thursday
night said such events can bring people together and help present
their country's best face to the world.
"Anything important always happens right here at the opera
house," Garton said. "Nighttime, it's like fairyland down here."
Added her husband, Allan: "It helps people to forget all the
world's troubles."
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