The 2000 Summer Olympics was an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was the second time the Summer Olympics were held in Australia, and in the Southern Hemisphere, the first being in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1956. The United States topped the medal table, followed by Russia and China.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the male lead, falls on his knife and dies after a failed robbery attempt. It is reprised in the final scene to encourage a graduation class of which Louise is a member. The now invisible Billy, who has been granted the chance to return to Earth for one day in order to redeem himself, watches the ceremony and is able to silently motivate the unhappy Louise to join in the song.
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. Rolling Stone ranked it number 330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at number 146 on the Songs of the Century list in 2001. In 2009, "We Will Rock You" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 to 29 October. In September 1993, Sydney won the rights to host the 2000 Paralympic Games. To secure this right it was expected that the New South Wales Government would underwrite the budget for the games. The Sydney games were the 11th Summer Paralympic Games, where an estimated 3,800 athletes took part in the programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000. It was followed by the 11 days of fierce international competition and was the second largest sporting event ever held in Australia. They were also the first Paralympic Games outside the Northern Hemisphere.
Vanessa Joy Amorosi is an Australian singer-songwriter and recording artist. Her combined album and single sales have reached over two million worldwide. She is known for her wide belting range and her ability to vocally cover various genres of music including pop, rock, blues, jazz and gospel.
Nicole Marie Webster is an Australian singer. She is best known for her starring role in the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics opening ceremony and her hit single "Strawberry Kisses".
"Running Up That Hill" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It was the first single from her 1985 album Hounds of Love, released in the United Kingdom on 5 August 1985. It was her first 12-inch single. It was the most successful of Bush's 1980s releases, entering the UK chart at number 9 and eventually peaking at number 3, her second-highest single peak. The single also had an impact in the United States, providing Bush with her first chart hit there since 1978, where it reached the top 30 and featured prominently in the Dance Charts. Bush also performed the song live for the first time with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd at the Secret Policeman's Third Ball in 1987. The song's title for Hounds of Love and all subsequent releases was "Running Up That Hill ".
The Best of Nikki Webster is the fourth album by Australian singer Nikki Webster released in Australia on 29 November 2004 by Gotham Records. It is a compilation album: CD 1 is a collection of Webster's hits from 2000 to 2004, while the DVD is a collection of her music videos and live performances. It reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 100.
"Strawberry Kisses" is a pop song written by Jeff Franzel, Andy Marvel and Marjorie Maye. It was produced by Chong Lim for Australian teen singer, Nikki Webster, and also appears on her first album, Follow Your Heart. It was released as the album's lead single on 11 June 2001 in Australia as a three-track CD single and 27 May 2002 in the United Kingdom with an additional track. Webster stated the song is "fresh, really bright and chirpy". It debuted at No.2 on the ARIA Singles Chart and appears at No. 21 on the List of Top 25 singles for 2001 in Australia. She also states "After I first heard the demo, I was singing it that night and I just thought that's a fantastic sign of a good song - something people remember".
"Back to Life " is a song by British R&B band Soul II Soul. The song also features the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra. It appears on a secondary version of their debut album Club Classics Vol. One and was released as its second single on 29 May 1989. "Back to Life" is one of two songs on the album featuring British R&B singer Caron Wheeler and gained success in both North America and Europe, topping the charts in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and peaking at number four in the United States.
Nikki Webster is an Australian pop singer. She has released three studio albums, one compilation album and nine singles, in addition to ten music videos on record labels Gotham Records and Piller Records.
"My Island Home" is a pop song written by Neil Murray and originally performed by the Warumpi Band. The song references lead singer's home up at Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. It was recorded in 1986 and released as a single from their second album, Go Bush, in January 1987. "My Island Home" won 'Song of the Year' at the 1995 Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Awards for Anu's reworked version of the song. It was also listed in the APRA Top 30 Australian songs of all time in 2001.
The opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 15 September 2000 in Stadium Australia, Sydney, during which the Games were formally opened by Governor-General Sir William Deane. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history. Veteran ceremonies director Ric Birch was the Director of Ceremonies while David Atkins was the Artistic Director and Producer. Its artistic section highlighted several aspects of Australian culture and history, showing Australia's flora and fauna, technology, multiculturalism, and the hopeful moment of reconciliation towards Aboriginal Australians. The ceremony had a cast of 12,687 performers, seen by a stadium audience of around 110,000.
"The Power of One" is a 2000 song composed by Mervyn Warren and Mark Chait. It was performed by Donna Summer and is the theme song for the movie Pokémon: The Movie 2000.Pokémon: The Movie 2000, subtitled The Power of One, was released in late 1999 and was the second feature-length film based on the Japanese Pokémon video game series. It was also heard in the trailers for all 3 of the Kids WB released films.
"Imagine" is a song by English rock musician John Lennon from his 1971 album of the same name. The best-selling single of his solo career, its lyrics encourage listeners to imagine a world at peace without the barriers of borders or the divisions of religion and nationality and to consider the possibility that the whole of humanity would live unattached to material possessions. Shortly before his death, Lennon said that much of the song's lyrics and content came from his wife, Yoko Ono, and in 2017 she received co-writing credit.
"We Are the World 25 for Haiti" is a charity single recorded by the supergroup Artists for Haiti in 2010. It is a remake of the 1985 hit song "We Are the World", which was written by American musicians Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and was recorded by USA for Africa to benefit famine relief in Africa. Initially, in late 2009, it had been suggested to Richie and Quincy Jones—producer of the original "We Are the World"—that a re-cut version of the song be re-released under the title "Live 25". Following the magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake in Haiti, which devastated the area and killed thousands of people, it was agreed that the song would be re-recorded by new artists, in the hope that it would reach a new generation and help benefit the people of Haiti.
"Survival" is a song by the English rock band Muse. The track is the first single from the band's sixth studio album, The 2nd Law. "Survival" served as the official song for the London 2012 Olympics and was released following its premiere on BBC Radio 1.
The 2000 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony also known as "Let's Party!" was held on 1 October 2000 in Stadium Australia. As with the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony was directed by Ric Birch as Director of Ceremonies while David Atkins was the Artistic Director and Producer. The Closing Ceremony was attended by 114,714 people, the largest attendance in modern Olympic Games history. The ceremony celebrated Australiana; Australian cultural celebrities, icons, media, and music, with floats designed in the style of Reg Mombassa. Around 2.4 billion watched the telecast of the closing ceremony.
The opening ceremony for the 2018 Commonwealth Games took place on the evening of Wednesday 4 April in the Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast. As mandated by the Commonwealth Games Charter, the proceedings of the ceremony combined the formal opening of the sporting event with an artistic performance to showcase the host nation's culture. The 2018 Games were formally opened by Charles, Prince of Wales. Jack Morton Worldwide was given the contract to produce the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The theme of the opening ceremony was Hello Earth and directed by David Zolkwer.
Crush the Losers is the third extended play by Australian rock band Regurgitator. Crush the Losers was released in September 2000, to coincide with the 2000 Summer Olympics, and peaked at number 64 on the ARIA singles chart.
