I could never have imagined how exhilarating singing in the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games would be.
Group by group, the performers moved from the field into a tunnel leading into the stadium. As I waited in the tunnel for our cue to enter, the nerves began to be replaced with a sense of celebration; the salsa dancers in front of us began to dance and the returning Tin Symphony outback performers infected us with their post-performance high. Then before I knew it we were running.
Back in the athletics centre, the atmosphere was buzzing. We were all so excited by what we had achieved. I bumped into an older girl I knew from my Irish Dancing school, who had been one of the tin roof dancers, and she hugged me like we were the greatest of friends. Dad met me at the end of the ceremony, hours after my normal bedtime, and drove me home. I walked into our living room and my mother and older sisters leaped up to greet me. My family had hosted a party to watch the ceremony on TV and I was the star among the guests at a celebration that went well into the night.
I don’t think there were many Sydneysiders who missed watching the opening ceremony live, but I had a pretty good excuse.As an adult, I have shared this story at parties, during team-building exercises at work and as a conversation filler on awkward first dates. But it is more than an interesting anecdote.
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