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Telstrastadium (Stadium
Australia) |
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Stadium Australia
Stadium Australia was built as the centre piece for the
2000 Sydney Olympics. So as not to be left out of the Sydney market, the AFL
paid the managers of Stadium Australia $1 million dollars so that the ground
could be configured to AFL size in 2002 and promised four blockbuster games
would be scheduled there for the 2002 season and beyond. This also gave
the stadium the versatility to have cricket, as well as soccer and rugby League
and Union after the Games..
The
opening of the stadium on the 21st
February 1999 was commemorated by release of a pictorial cover. The
First League game
at the Stadium on the 6th March 1999 was commemorated by release of a
pictorial cover. A
Focus on Sydney Cover
on a Great Southern Land Envelope was released on 20th June 2000. This
Sydney 2000 Aerogramme
has an overprint of Stadium Australia. This
Centenary of the Modern Olympics
issue has an cachet of Stadium Australia.
The 2000 Sydney Olympics
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The Sydney Olympic games were held at Stadium
Australia from the 16th September 2000 to 1st October 2000. It was Australia's
second Games after the 1956 Melbourne Games. The Games were a great success,
being described by IOC President, Juan Antonio Samaranch, to be the best games
ever. 10,651 athletes from 199 Countries participated in 300 events to make
Sydney the biggest games ever. Italy won 34 Medals, 13 Gold, 8 Silver and 13
Bronze.
The stamp (Scott
2363) at left was issued
on1st September 2000 by Italy along with a
Maximum Card.
A cover for
Olymphilex
was released by First Class Collectables. |
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| Sao Tome E Principe (St
Thomas and Prince Islands) is an island in the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. It
was previously a Portuguese territory. It did not win any medals. It issued
the 5000d stamp (Scott 1374) shown at right. A 15000d
souvenir sheet (Sc 1376) had an attached
label featuring Stadium Australia. On the 8th
September 2000 the Ivory Coast issued a set of four stamps including the stamp
(Scott 1084) shown below showing a bird flying across Stadium Australia. The
Ivory Coast did not win any medals.
The Stadium was also displayed on a label on a
souvenir sheet from the Serbian
Administration of Bosnia. (Scott122). |
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Yugoslavia itself
issued four stamps with four attached labels. The 30d stamp (Sc 2493) had an
attached label showing
Stadium Australia.
Souvenir sheets showing Stadium Australia were issue as
both perforate and imperforate sheets, by the Indian Ocean Island of
Madagascar, the North African
Country of
Mauritania
and its neighbour
Mali.
North Korea
and the
Solomon Islands
also showed
Stadium Australia on Souvenir Sheets. |
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other Olympic stamps and covers will come to light, or be issued in the future
as have stamps of the MCG, that commemorate 2000 Olympics and display
Stadium Australia including this
cover from Germany.
It bears the meter of the "Internationale Motivgruppen Olympiaden und
Sport" (IMOS) a German Philatelic Organisation dedicated to the Olympics and
Sport. A
cover from Slovakia
included a
Postmark
of Stadium Australia. With the permission of the China Philatelic Bureau and
Australia Post, Australia Post issued 28 Pstamps of the
28 China Gold Medalists. |
The 2000 Paralympic Games
Tony Lockett was used by the
organisers in the Paralympics Torch Relay. This was commemorated by Alpha Covers
with a First Day Cover on the 18th October 2000 of the
Paralympic Stamp Issue
and of the Stadium below. Paralympics Maxicard of
Paralympic Torch Relay Cover
and the
Paralympic Stadium Cover
were also issued. Lobo8 also issued
a
Paralympic Stadium Cover |
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Afl Matches
Following the Olympics the wings
on each end have been removed and the ground is able to reconfigure itself as an
oval.The opening AFL match was played
on the 25th May 2002 and Sydney lost a close game to Essendon by 2 points. Their
next game against Carlton was a win and this led to the last round of the year
for the Kokoda Match
Kokoda Memorial Match
On 31st
August 2002 at Telstra Stadium (Stadium
Australia) the Sydney Swans played Richmond in the
Kokoda Memorial AFL Match.
Australia Post released a special Stamp Sheet for guests at the game
showing Ovuru, a Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel. He is one of the few angels left alive. They
were carriers and stretcher bearers for the Australian troops during the Second
World War battle against the Japanese in Papua and New Guinea. Source: Melbourne
Herald-Sun. This was also the Swan's Courageous Captain,
Paul Kelly's
last game. It was commemorated by Fist Class Collectables with a Cinderella
Cover
2003 Season
Season 2003 saw Sydney play 5 games at Telstra Stadium. They played the
Lions in a preseason game and then started the season proper with an easy win
against Carlton. This was followed in round 11 with an easy win against
Essendon. The round 21 loss to Collingwood by 18 points saw a record crowd
outside of Victoria of 72,393. Sydney's success saw another crowd of 71,019 to
watch the Preliminary Final against the eventual premiers, the Brisbane Lions. |
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2003 Rugby World Cup
Australia hosts the Rugby World Cup and Telstra
Stadium will host the opening ceremony and Final, as well as other pool games.
Australia Post released 3 stamps, the
$1.10 value showed Stadium Australia. The other products can be seen at the
2003 Rugby World Cup
Page
England won the Final 20-17 against host
nation Australia. |
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2004 Athens Olympic Games
On the 25th August 2004 Elite
Sports Properties produced three limited Edition Special Event Sheets. The
surrounds of the sheet,
The Modern Games, showed the Australian
Team walking into Stadium Australia. First Class Collectables
issues covers of
Cathy Freeman,
Michael Johnson
and
Jan Zelezny. |
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