| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 05/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 4 |
| Copyright: Other |
Sydney pubs to help ease bed crisis during Olympics
SYDNEY’S public houses will provide more than 4,000 rooms for visitors to the 2000 Olympics, to be held in the city in September.Tourism New South Wales and the Australian Hotels Association have been inspecting hostelries to make sure they meet strict standards to allow them to be included in the Pubstay Australian Hospitality programme.
Universities and colleges will also open up their residential dormitories for visitors to provide much-needed bed space during the event, which is expected to attract 250,000 spectators.
In addition, 10 cruise ships will be berthed in Sydney Harbour for the duration, providing extra accommodation for several thousand more visitors to the country.
In addition, city residents are being encouraged to let out their properties, or rentout a room, during the Olympics.
A huge building programme is currently being undertaken in the city to ensure that the number of hotel rooms, which is currently 40,000, will increase by 10% in time for the games in September.
Meanwhile, initial ticket sales show that athletics is the Olympic event most people want to see, followed by swimming and football.
The Sydney Olympic opening ceremony came fourth in the list.
Tickets for the games cost up to £553.