Sydney Olympics 2000

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Sydney Olympics 2000
Cathy Freeman lights the flame of hope

Cathy Freeman is an aussie mum, medal winning runner and Australian Aboriginal who was the 'poster girl' in the lead up to the games with her image appearing on bus shelters and TV screens from one side of the continent to the other.

Australia has had prominent aboriginal sports people before - Lionel Rose in boxing and Yvonne Goologong in tennis spring to mind - but the last couple of years has seen reconciliation land rights and the health and welfare of our indigenous populations reach it's highest point in the popular consciousness. So the pressure was on and Cathy displayed a grace and dignity which did us all proud.

In a piece of theatre which surpassed Spielberg's Close Encounters Cathy walked into what appeared to be a rock pool and to our perpexity lowered the torch to the surface of the water. Suddenly she was surrounded by a ring of flame which rose around her - leaving her encased in a fiery-crowned waterfall.

" Powering much of the spectacle was a theme of reconciliation. The selection of Freeman and the inclusion of more than 1,100 Aboriginal performers in the ceremony seemed an effort to heal wounds between white Australians and the country's indigenous population, which had been subjugated for generations following the arrival of the first white settlers--convicts from Britain--in the late 1700s.

The issue of providing restitution to Aborigines and issuing an apology for past mistreatment, which included the removal of thousands of young children from their parents, is one of the most significant and divisive political questions in Australia today. Prime Minister John Howard has steadfastly balked at apologizing, insisting that his government should not have to say it is sorry for mistakes of the past."

From www.washingtonpost.com Saturday, September 16, 2000 and by Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Amy Shipley

Cathy Freeman lights the Flame of Hope

The flame is lit.

Picture from www.olympics.com

The fiery ring then soared aloft to remain suspended in mid-air for the next 17 days.

Picture ©. Ian Waldie - Reuters

Michael Wilbon's column in the Washington Post describes eloquently the political and cultural significance of Cathy Freeman's involvement.

Read on - A winning style

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