The Opening Ceremony of 2000 Olympic Games takes place

The 2000 Summer Olympic Games or Millennium Games, hosted by Australia, were officially opened in the capital Sydney. Australia won the right to host the games in 1993 when it was selected over Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul and Manchester. The opening ceremony began with a tribute to the heritage of the Australian Stock Horse. The ceremony was attended by 199 nations, including South Africa, with the exception of only one member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Afghanistan, which was suspended due to the Taliban regime's prohibition against practicing of any kind of sports. The highlight of the opening ceremony was the entrance of North and South Korea, coming as one team and using a specially designed unification flag, but competing separately. The ceremony was concluded with the lighting of the Olympic Flame.