The City of Sydney
You may associate Australia with kangaroos
and digeredoos.
But the people of cosmopolitan Sydney, population nearly four million,
want you to know that's not the complete picture.
Not even a representative one. Olympic Specialist Bruce Lindsay reports.
With the Olympic games,
Sydney is trying to claim its place among the great cities of the world.
Few places enjoy a more spectacular setting than this, on an expansive harbour.
Sydney has been preparing for seven years for its chance to host the world. During that time, the city has undergone many changes. People have experienced inconveniences, much as we're going through now in Salt Lake.
Sydney resident Jayson Wyatt says, "Half the roads are closed to get to and from work. We've got to live with it."
Salt Lake, can you relate to that?
For a modern city of its size, Sydney has very few freeways.
But it now has one leading to the Olympic Park, finished just months ago.
Sydney also has a new rail line, built in preparation for the games, although commuters in Sydney have long depended on trains.
Our two cities have been down many of the same roads.
There was widespread joy when Sydney won its Olympic bid seven years ago.
But the approval of Sydneysiders has ebbed and flowed as they've endured a frenzy of construction.
Sydney resident Marcus Catt explains, "A bit of a waste of money, if you ask me. But it's something to do, you know."
Sydney's venues have been built as part of a two billion dollar Olympic development program, funded by tax revenues of the state of New South Wales.
Two days out from the opening of the games, even skeptics are being caught up in the excitement that's sweeping this city.
Mel Meli, also of Sydney, says, "Very enthusiastic about them, actually." "Why?" "Oh, it's just a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'm going to quite a few events. It should be really, really good."
Anne Weale adds, "My husband went to the '56 olympics when he was a young child, and he's taking our young fellow so he can experience it as well."
As tens of thousands descend on this city each day, Sydneysiders are coming to terms with the possibilities.
Gail Treuer says, "I hope that people from overseas will see what a fantastic country we've got. And that they'll come back and spend more of their dollars in our city."
Four billion people will be watching Sydney in the next two weeks. That fact alone will bring many more changes to this Olympic city.
We can learn a lot from Sydney's experience.
And that's what we'll be trying to help you do here this month, because our turn is just 18 months away.
