ABSTRACT
It is always difficult to gauge the impacts of the Olympic Games, but Sydney was generally lauded as being something of a success story, at least in terms of the event itself. Indeed, the Olympic President Juan Antonio Samaranch declared that it had been the ‘best ever Games’. Sydney spent A$3.3 billion on the Games, the supporting infrastructure and facilities. Around 700,000 visitors were expected during the Olympic period with an estimated 111,000 of those coming from overseas. The long-term external image boost was seen as being significant. Bob Carr, the New South Wales Premier, stated that it would give the city ‘a great leap in tourism and convention tourism’. Indeed, for some time Australia became the number one destination for American tourists.
