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The 2000 Sydney Olympic Games have been dubbed "The Green Games",
and it's not just a gimmick to sell tickets either. Each venue
has unique energy saving devices installed to help make the reliance
on damaging resources less, and to actually put back into the
environment. Take Sydney Olympic Park for instance. Each of the
lights along Olympic Boulevard has a solar panel on top. These
panels harness enough energy to run the lights each night of the
games, so the current electricity grid is not used.
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When you go to Olympic Park, make sure you take a look
at the Brick-Pit. The Brick-Pit was to be demolished and
used for an Olympic venue, until the rare Green and Golden
Tree Frog was discovered living in the Brick-Pit. The brick-pit
was not touched during the construction of the Olympic Park,
and will remain the perfect habitat for the rare frog after
the Olympics. No cars, except for athletes and VIPs transport
will be permitted to enter the Olympic precinct, all travel
to and from events and the park will be via the ample public
transport facilities to and from the precinct.
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The GST will be introduced on July 1, 2000. It is tax on all goods
and services and gives Australia a tax system similar to many
other countries in the world. It is the largest change to the
Australian tax system in over half a century. The current Liberal
Coalition won the last election on the proposal of the GST. It
was passed through parliament, and will be implemented less than
a year after. The GST is a major change to the tax system, and
many believe it could have been implemented a year later when
the intricacies of it could have been fully worked out. Instead,
the government has decided to push ahead the GST changes to take
advantage of the tourists who will be visiting Australia for the
Olympics. This would allow the government to earn tax revenue
from tourists, where previously this was only a profit source
for tourism companies. Revenue from this GST will be directed
to state governments.
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The facilities that have been built at the Olympic site of Homebush
are all high quality structures and they are all close to the
Olympic Village, which is where all the Olympic athletes will
stay. One of the more intriguing aspects of these Olympic games
is the number of brand new venues that are being constructed.
There is no venue that is older than 15 years. Most of the venues
have been constructed for the Olympics but they will also be used
after the Olympics are over. These venues were designed to be
able to be used for after the games; after all there's no point
in building something that can be only used for two weeks! A good
example of such a structure being used after the Olympics for
other sporting things is Stadium Australia, which will be used
for foot ball games, soccer games and other special events. Another
such complex that can be used for many things after the Olympics
is the Sydney Superdome. During the Olympics it will be used for
indoor sporting events such as basketball and then after the Olympics
it will be used for indoor sporting events as well as entertainment
events. Each of the Olympic buildings can be used for after games
events and are all international quality sites.
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"In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take
part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules
that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the
glory of sport and the honor of our teams." - The Olympic Oath
"Citius, altius, fortius" the latin Olympic motto, which translates
to "Swifter Higher Stronger"
The Olympic Games, a place where all nationalities from the four
corners of the world can come together as one and complete for
the glory of being Number One in their chosen event.
The Olympics are a place where all the world's races can come
together without ignorance, fear or hate for each other, and instead
concentrate on doing their best in their field.
28 countries will be attending the games, and for the first time,
athletes from East Timor will not be attending under the flag
of Indonesia, but the international flag. The Olympics symbolise
the coming together of people from around the world, to be friends
for the 2 weeks of competition this year.
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