Sydney has much to offer the Olympic visitor

A ROUGH GUIDE TO SYDNEY

Sydney is feeling a little nervous as the days are counted down to the start of the 2000 Olympic Games.

All the venues have been built, including the 110,000-capacity Olympic stadium, and the athletes' village is ready, but still the mood is anxious.

By staging a successful Games, Sydney hopes to project to the world an image of itself as a modern, efficient, vibrant, sophisticated and culturally diverse city.

But there remain fears that the transport system will be unable to cope with the daily influx of an estimated 400,000 people into a city centre already crowded with about the same number of office workers.

And Sydneysiders are not quite certain how the world will view their city, once it looks beyond the stunning Harbour and beaches.

Australia's biggest city wants everyone to know that the sleepy, colonial, slightly provincial air of the post-war era is a thing of the past.

The prospect of hosting the Games has accelerated the pace of cultural change, says tourism lobbyist Chris Brown. He believes the city will never the same again.

``Sydney has become a more late-night city. And by the time the Games start, we will be much more outward-looking city, too.

"It might well change our culture for ever,'' said Brown, a spokesman for industry lobby group, Tourism Taskforce.

As a reflection of changing tastes, during the past four years, more than 70 new cafe licences have been issued in the central business district alone.

Since 1993, when Sydney was awarded the Games, urban planners have worked on ways to cope with the expected influx of visitors.

A 4,000-seat temporary cafe will be opened in a public square at Circular Quay, the main ferry terminal, situated between the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

Five other ``live spots'' will be opened in the city centre, offering visitors a place to gather and be entertained until late in the day. Giant video screen will show patrons live Olympic action.

Special legislation has been passed to allow drinking in public in certain areas during the Games.

Retail shopping hours have also been extended, enabling shops to open late at night.

Encouraged by a development boom which has added dozens of new high-rise apartment and office blocks over the past decade, the residential population of the central business district has trebled - to 22,000.

No longer does the city centre virtually close down at night and on the weekend, as it did 15 years ago.

Although urban planners had already initiated a policy goal to reverse the flow of people to the suburbs, by creating ``a vibrant city life, 24 hours a day'', the Olympics have provided added impetus.

``The Games have undoubtedly speeded up Sydney's development - what would normally take a generation has been achieved in less that 10 years,'' said Greg Maddock.

As Sydney's senior public servant, Maddock is responsible for the city's biggest public works programme this century, a £200million facelift to show the city in its best possible light during the Games.

Footpaths have been widened, creating more space for seats outside cafes, new bus shelters, newspaper stands, fruit stalls and street security cameras have been installed, and hundreds of new trees planted.

But the explosion in the service sector has created a shortage of trained catering staff.

As a result, the accent in terms of hospitality will often be British - thousands of young backpackers are being drafted in to fill the numerous short-term jobs now available.

``I have never heard so many British accents behind the bar or counter,'' said.

The city's skyline is the most obvious sign of recent change. Over the past decade, 150 building projects have been started.

An additional 2 billion Australian dollars of public money has been invested on transport infrastructure, almost all of it Games related.

Tourists arriving at the airport will be able to catch a new underground link to the city.

About the same amount of money has been spent on improving the road system in the eastern suburbs, cutting the journey time from airport to city by about half.

Kingsford Smith airport has undergone a major expansion to cope with the sudden influx of tourists.

The airport's capacity to handle international flights has been increased by 50 per cent.

The other rail link of particular use for visitors is the new line between the city and Homebush Bay, venue for most Olympic events.

The breakdown of one or more trains on this rail loop is the organisers' biggest nightmare, as it would create massive delays and congestion.

As most of the tourist sites - the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, city zoo, Manly, the Rocks, and the main Olympic venues are close to the Harbour, the ferries offer a useful means of transport.

Sydney likes to think of itself as a city on the move. Local politicians predict the number of visitors will double to five million over the next three years.

By then, the Olympics will be a memory, and the city will be gearing for a new challenge - hosting the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

TOP TEN TOURIST SITES
Opera House
Harbour Bridge
The Harbour
Bondi Beach
The Rocks
Queen Victoria Building
Blue Mountains
Fox Studios
Manly
Chinatown/Darling Harbour

PUBS

There are a few differences in drinking habits, compared to Britain.

For a start, pubs are often referred to as hotels. Very few of them serve pints.

The local measure is a schooner (two-thirds of a pint). A half-pint is called a midi.

Australian hotels are often huge, with several bars, and able to cater for up to one thousand people.

Recommended: The Oaks, Neutral Bay; Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, The Hero of Waterloo, The Orient, all three in The Rocks; Hotel CBD, Bridie O'Reilly's, both in City.

RESTAURANTS

Sydney likes to boast of its culinary sophistication and a unique cuisine which has absorbed the influence of the myriad ethnic groups - principally Greek, Italian and Asian - which have settled in the city during the post-war period.

Eating out is relatively cheap, helped by licensing laws which allow diners to bring their own alcohol to many restaurants.

Recommended: bel mondo, The Rocks; Bennelong, City; Rockpool, The Rocks; Tetsuya's, Rozelle; Jordan's, City; Forty One, City.

Clubs and bars

Sydney's club scene is concentrated in the Kings Cross and Darlinghurst districts of the city.

The city also has a large and visible gay community, which is centred around Oxford Street.

Recommended: Horizons Bar, City; Icebox, Kings Cross; Midnight Shift, Oxford Street; Eden Lounge Bar Niteclub, Darlinghurst; Marble Bar, Hilton Hotel, City; Underground Cafi, Kings Cross; The Basement, City.