This is a collection of unused tickets remaining from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games: two tickets to the opening ceremony, two tickets to the closing ceremony, and thirty-four tickets to sporting events. In 1999, Sydney company, ing Marketing and Advertising, designed six distinct types of tickets for the Games: Opening ceremony tickets, Closing Ceremony tickets, Common Domain tickets, Daily Events tickets, Day tickets and over-sized Souvenir tickets. Weldon, Williams and Lick of Fort Smith Arkansas, USA, was responsible for the printing, having also printed tickets for the 1996 Atlanta Games. The tickets were distributed to the general public through outlets, ticketing booths, the Telegraph newspaper, a call centre, web site and a mail order system.

Opening and closing ceremony tickets were the most elaborate and symbolic in design, featuring black and white photographs that represented Australian children as future Olympians. Common Domain tickets were distributed free of charge through the Telegraph, and featured a new design on each day of the Games. They provided access to the Botanical Gardens and the Common Domain where long-distance events, like the triathlon and marathon, could be seen. Daily Events tickets were purchased through mail order or at ticketing outlets, and provided access to general sporting events. Day tickets, which were purchased at booths around Olympic Park, permitted access to the day's events. In contrast, Souvenir tickets were simply mementos for patrons who had pre-ordered tickets in 1999.

The visual theme for the Sydney 2000 games expressed energy, youth and optimism for the future, and influenced most aspects of Games operations. Olympic tickets, which passed through the hands of millions of spectators, were some of the most prolific mediums for conveying this theme. They combined bold colours from the Sydney 2000 colour palette, a hologram that signified authenticity, and the Fluid Energy graphic that celebrated the waters of Sydney Harbour and denoted the Sydney 2000 Games.

ing Marketing and Advertising, designed the tickets in 1999 as part of a SOCOG competition. Their submission included two designs - one for the opening and closing ceremonies, and the other for general Olympic events. Together, these tickets fulfilled the design requirements that called for "something distinctively Australian, reflecting the city's open air and energetic lifestyle".

The tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies featured symbolic designs that blended the Fluid Energy graphic with photographs of children at the beach, involved in athletic games. Silhouettes of Olympic athletes appeared behind the photographs to symbolise the children of 2000 as future Olympians. In contrast, the tickets to general events included gold fringes that contained event and pricing information. Their blue and green centres depicted the Fluid Energy graphic, and the multicoloured logo for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Creative director at ing, David Terrazas, recognised the dual importance of the tickets, which would serve for posterity and. At the ticket launch, on 16 July 2000, Terrazas commented: "we are proud to have designed tickets which we hope will be destined for scrap books, to be kept as souvenirs and family keepsakes for years to come". ing also designed the graphics for the 1987 roadshow, 'Olympic Journey'; tickets for the Olympics Arts Festival from 18 August to 30 September 1999; and the eight official sports posters for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

The Sydney 2000 ticketing program was marred by controversy, with claims that popular tickets were reserved at premium prices for wealthy patrons, and that the postal ordering system disadvantaged applicants living in regional and remote areas, and favoured those living near ticketing distribution centres in Sydney. The ensuing 'Ticketing Debacle' was subject of an independent review of the Legislative Council, and the system was restructured in 1999. As a result, the sale of additional tickets was postponed until May 2000.

The tickets were designed by ing Marketing and Advertising, Sydney, 1999. This company also designed tickets to the Olympic Arts Programs.

The tickets were made by Weldon, Williams and Lick, Fort Smith Arkansas, USA, 1999. This company also printed the tickets for the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Unused

Made for and owned by the Olympic Coordination Authority/Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, and donated to the Powerhouse Museum after use in the Games.

Tickets, opening ceremony, closing ceremony, daily events, Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, paper, designed by ing Marketing and Advertising, Sydney, 1999, made by Weldon, Williams and Lick, Fort Smith Arkansas, USA, 1999

Collection of 42 Olympic and Paralympic tickets - 33 Olympic event tickets, 5 Paralympic event tickets, 2 Olympic Opening Ceremony and 2 Olympic Closing Ceremony tickets.

Made: 1999

2001/84/575

1999