As the countdown begins to Tokyo 2020, Trip Tap Go would like to take you on a tour of Sydney Olympic Park – the centrepiece of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Located in Western Sydney, Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb in its own right, built specifically for the hosting of the 2000 Olympics. Sydney Olympic Park featured nine of the venues that were used during the Olympics, hosting twenty-one of the sports that were contested, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. All the venues were successfully repurposed and are still being used to this day, ensuring the legacy of Sydney 2000 lives on.

Stadium Australia (ANZ Stadium) is the centrepiece of Sydney Olympic Park. The original purpose of Stadium Australia was to host the opening and closing and ceremonies, athletics and the football finals. Since the Olympics the stadium has been heavily reconfigured, with its capacity reduced from 115,000 to 83,500. The stadium is Australia’s second largest and now serves as a multi-purpose venue, hosting association football, Australian rules football, cricket , rugby league, rugby union as well as hosting major musical and cultural events.

Sydney Super Dome (Qudos Bank Arena) was another major venue used during the 2000 Olympics, hosting gymnastics and the basketball finals. In the years since the Olympics, the arena has become one of Australia’s and the world’s top indoor arenas. With a capacity of 18,200, the arena is now predominately used to host concerts and basketball.

Sydney Olympic Park Aquatics Centre was the main venue for aquatic-based sports during the 2000 Olympics, hosting swimming, synchronised swimming, the water polo medal matches and the swimming component of the modern pentathlon. The Sydney Olympic Park Aquatics Centre currently features a capacity of 10,000 and is still used for major swimming events as well as serving as a public pool and fitness centre.

State Sports Centre: Originally hosted table tennis and taekwondo, the centre is now used for a variety of different entertainment, corporate, community and leisure activities.

NSW Tennis Centre: Originally hosted tennis, the centre now hosts the annual pre-Australian Open Sydney tennis tournament.

State Hockey Centre: Originally hosted field hockey, the centre continues to host a number of different field hockey events.

The Dome and Exhibition Centre: Originally hosted badminton, basketball, gymnastics, handball, modern pentathlon and volleyball, the complex is currently one of Sydney’s top exhibition and event spaces.

Sydney Baseball Stadium: Originally hosted baseball and modern pentathlon, the stadium is now a multi-purpose venue hosting association football, Australian rules football, cricket and major music events.

Sydney International Archery Park: Originally hosted archery, the park is now accessible to visitors of all skill levels.

Olympic Cauldron: The cauldron that was lit during the 2000 Olympics was repurposed into a water feature and is currently located right outside Stadium Australia. Below the fountain, plaques commemorate the names of all gold, silver and bronze medalists from both the Olympics and Paralympics.

Olympic Logo Statue: Originally located outside the Sydney Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour, the Olympic logo statue is now located outside Stadium Australia. The statue features the primary logo of Sydney 2000 that was featured on all branding during the games.

Games Memories: A ‘forest’ of 480 poles located outside Stadium Australia that honours the 74,000 volunteers who participated during the 2000 Olympics and Paralympics. Intertwined between each pole are special poles that feature a variety of different pieces of memorabilia from Sydney 2000.

Discobolus: A large disc shaped sculpture intended to link Sydney Olympic Park with ancient Greece. The idea behind Discobolus is that the disc was supposed to have been thrown by a discus thrower in Greece, landing in Sydney Olympic Park as a CD-ROM, a popular media format in the year 2000.

Olympic Light Towers: A series of 19 solar-powered light towers located along Olympic Boulevard. Each tower bears the name of a previous edition of the Olympic Games from Athens in 1896 to Atlanta in 1996.

Since 2000, Sydney Olympic Park has been redeveloped into a mixed-use precinct providing space for commercial, retail and residential developments. The area continues to host a number of major sporting, musical and cultural events. Sydney Olympic Park is constantly evolving with a number of new developments currently underway and numerous more being planned for the future, including major renovations to some of the area’s main sporting venues.

Sydney Olympic Park is easily accessible via the Sydney Trains rail network (Olympic Park station). Head over to Sydney Train’s official website for timetables, route maps and other useful information. Head over to Sydney Olympic Park’s official website for more details on the home of Sydney 2000. If you’re considering heading to Tokyo 2020, the official website is the best place for all the important details on next year’s Olympic Games.