One million cheer the Olympic torch into Sydney

Sydney: Olympic fever hit Sydney on Thursday, the eve of the millennium Games, when up to one million people took to the streets of the picturesque harbour city for the Olympic torch relay.

A star-studded cast of Australian celebrities from pop star Olivia Newton-John to tennis champion Pat Rafter took their turn with the torch to the delight of wildly cheering crowds.

The Opera House and the giant span of the Sydney Harbour Bridge acted as the perfect sunset backdrop to the torch's triumphal procession through the city.

Beneath the soaring skyscrapers of the city district, they packed the streets 20 deep, chanting "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi."

A choir serenaded crowds from the balcony of Town Hall where Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh won a rousing ovation for his "15 minutes of flame".

Grinning broadly and waving to the massed throngs, Waugh looked amazed by the sheer volume of people who had turned out for the torch relay.

Waugh, met on the Town Hall steps by Olympic supremo Juan Antonio Samaranch, said after his run, "I was very nervous as it was such a huge crowd."

"This really was great to see. I might even take my torch with me in my cricket bag when I go on tour next time."

It was the city's biggest party since the riotous night seven years ago when Sydney heard that it had beaten Beijing and won the right to stage the first Olympic Games of the 21st century.

The torch was on the 99th and penultimate day of its trek across the vast land of Australia after what has been billed as the longest torch relay in the history of the modern Olympics.

It criss-crossed the Pacific from the Solomon Islands to Tonga, from Vanuatu to New Zealand. In an historic first, the torch even went underwater with a diver on the Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's greatest natural wonders.

One elderly runner died of a heart attack while three attempts were made to hijack the torch.

But the biggest, rowdiest reception was saved up for last as boisterous Sydneysiders packed the sidewalks to give the torch a wild welcome. Police outriders and officers on horseback had to open out a path down the streets for the relay to pass.

Fireworks exploded at either end of the Harbour Bridge and the giant Olympic rings adorning its arches were switched on for the first time.

Sydney was ready to party.

Reuters

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