Sydney

Sports

The most popular spectator sport in Sydney is one of the four types of rugby: rugby league. Major matches, including the Optus Cup championship games, are held at the Sydney Football Stadium. Also played in Sydney is the unique football game known as Australian ("Aussie") Rules, for which the city fields the Sydney Swans, the only team in New South Wales. Another favorite is the summertime sport of cricket, played at the Sydney Cricket Ground at Moore Park. Other spectator sports include tennis, for which the major tournament is the New South Wales Open, professional golf, horse racing, greyhound racing, and boat races in the harbor.

In 1999, Sydney prepared to host the biggest sporting and cultural event in its history—the XXVII Olympiad. The Olympic Games placed Sydney in the spotlight before some 3.5 billion television viewers worldwide, plus as many as half a million guests from elsewhere in Australia and around the world. The Olympiad was followed on October 18 by the Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities.