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Olympic opener dazzles the world

The Olympic flag is raised at the opening ceremony in Sydney yesterday. PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

Australia pulled out all the stops yesterday in its opening ceremony for the Sydney 2000 Games using a dazzling display of dance, song, and celebration of the Olympic spirit to try to rekindle the spirit of the Games.

"The Games belong to the athletes, this night belongs to the athletes, this is your time enjoy it, said Michael Knight, president of the Sydney Organization Committee of the Olympic Games.

From its beginning, where 120 riders dressed as stockmen trotted into the stadium on horses, to the lighting of the ceremonial Olympic flame by Australian Aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman, the ceremony was full of surprises.

After the horses weaved in between one another to form the Olympic symbol of five rings, spectators were given a diverse visual performance which traced Australia's history.

The story began when the stadium was turned into a fish bowl.

A young girl -- the main character of the entire performance -- and others were hoisted high up on cables, giving spectators the impression that they were swimming through the air.

In addition to the schools of fish on the ground and in the air, a lone worm dangled lazily in the air on a larger than life fish-hook.

Aboriginal dances followed and then characters standing on stilts gracefully walked around the track field cutting through billows of smoke as if they were flying.

After the dances came fire, symbolic of the fire Aborigines in Australia used to control the growth of bush.

Next was a colorful dance of the fauna and flora of Australia -- an element of this country that originally attracted settlers to come here.

The visual display of flowers was followed by a "Tin Symphony" which focussed on the industrial revolution from the arrival of Europeans in Australia and in which the visual dance and display included gymnasts swinging and rolling in tin pipe sections, or jumping in the air with hundreds of tap dancers on tin sheeting.

The main performance was followed by a 2,000 member marching band which was proceeded by the beginning of the athletes march onto the field.

Some 200 countries took part in the march and based on their supporters in the crowd cries would rise and fall in succession.

Many of the athletes, in addition to filming themselves being filmed and watched by the world, rushed towards the crowds, or threw candy to cheering fans.

The Croatian team started a trend that others followed, throwing their hats into the crowd.

The Korean team marched in hand-in-hand to a wave of emotion from the crowd.

When Taiwan's team walked into the stadium they were greeted with warm applause. Team members carried kites and were dressed in white track suits.

Chiang Peng-lung (蔣澎龍), a 24-year-old member of Taiwan's table tennis team, waved the flag ecstatically from side to side as he marched in front of the team.

While all of the athletes were cheerful and a small group in one corner of the stadium waved a large Taiwan flag in support, some athletes like Lin Yi-chun (林怡君), a 19-year-old double trap shooter, wished the team could have dressed up for the occasion.

"I had even gone out and had my dress suit tailored so it would fit me properly, " Lin told the Taipei Times before the ceremony.

For reasons yet unknown Taiwan's team was unable to purchase shoes to match their suits for the Olympics so in the end they wore track suits so that all of the athletes would be dressed alike.

As athletes stood in the center of the field and blue lights sparkled in the stadium stands, the Olympic flag was raised.

During the athletes' oath this year there was an additional explicit pledge to not use drugs.

But the surprise of the evening was the carrying of the torch by 400m runner Cathy Freeman, an Aborigine.

Standing in the middle of a pool of water, Freeman lit the Olympic torch, which then raised above her looking much like a flying saucer with a hole in its center.

After she stepped out from under the flaming torch and stepped to the side the flame climbed to the top of the edge of the stadium while a waterfall cascading down below it.

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