Born in 1993

If you were born in 1993, Sydney won the right to host the 2000 Olympic Games and the party that erupted in the early hours of September 24th — when Juan Antonio Samaranch announced "the city of Sydney" from Monte Carlo — was one of the most spontaneous and genuine moments of national joy in Australian history. People poured into the streets in their pyjamas in Sydney, and in Melbourne they set off fireworks without planning to, because what else do you do? The seven-year preparation for the best Olympics the world had seen — that was the plan and the promise.

Keating won the "unwinnable" election in March, defeating John Hewson's Fightback! package, and the country settled in for more of his abrasive, visionary style of politics. The economy was recovering — unemployment falling, confidence returning.

Silverchair's "Tomorrow" was still a year away, but the alternative scene was producing remarkable music. The drive to the beach on a summer morning — the windows down on the Commodore, a esky in the boot, the kids' buckets and spades rattling around — was the Australian Saturday. The AFL expanded further.

The summer cricket, the footy season, the Melbourne Cup, the Sydney to Hobart — the rhythms of Australian life carried on, coloured now by Olympic anticipation.