Talking about Australia, the first post of Blogo shows the 2000 Sydney Olympics logo, created by FutureBrand. The emblem represents the figure of an athlete (a.k.a. the Millenium Athlete), using typically Australian shapes and colours. The boomerangs and suggestions of sun and rocks, together with the colours of the harbour, beaches and red interior invoke the unique Australian landscape and its original inhabitants. The flash which transforms the silhouette of Sydney Opera House into a trail of smoke from an Olympic torch recalls the emblem of Sydney’s Olympic candidature.

     The Sydney 2000 Games were the largest yet, with 10,651 athletes competing in 300 events. Despite their size, they were well organised, renewing faith in the Olympic Movement. Birgit Fischer earned two gold medals in Kayak to become the first woman in any sport to win medals 20 years apart. Judoka Ryoko Tamura lost in the final in both Barcelona and Atlanta, but came back to win the gold medal in Sydney. Steven Redgrave became the first rower to win gold medals at five consecutive Olympics. The US softball team won in stirring fashion, losing three games in a row and then coming back to defeat each of the teams they had lost to. Participation: 199 NOCs (Nations) and 4 individual athletes (IOA) 10,651 athletes (4,069 women, 6,582 men) 300 events 46,967 volunteers 16,033 media (5,298 written press, 10,735 broadcasters.

The customary symbols, including the Victory Goddess holding a winner's crown, are engraved on the obverse face. The Sydney Opera House, the Olympic torch and the Olympic rings are represented on the reverse. The designers are Australian: Woljciech Pietranik and Brian Thompson.

"Olly", a kookaburra, "Syd", a platypus; and "Millie", an echidna, are three native animals chosen as mascots for the Sydney 2000 Games. These Australian animals represent the earth, air and water.

"Olly": epitomises the Olympic spirit of generosity and universal generosity (from Olympic).
"Syd": represents the environment and captures the vigour and energy of Australia and its people (from Sydney).
"Millie": is a techno-whiz and information guru, with all the facts and figures at her fingertips (from Millennium).

To reflect a diversity of styles and techniques, the Organizing Committee asked several poster designers from a wide range of different creative and cultural backgrounds to create posters. In total, 50 posters were published. The official poster was selected from creations presented in the following four categories: “Schoolchildren’s work”, “Sydney 2000 emblems”, “Mascots” and “Posters”.

The architecture of the Sydney Opera House, the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and the subtle curve of the boomerang inspired the design of the torch. The torch includes three layers which are representative of earth, fire and water.

Credit: IOC / Olympic Museum Collections

High-resolution logo: link 

"The ever-existing challenge for each Olympics is not only to re-emphasize the original ideals, but also to be part of a process of moving them into the future."  - Wolff Olins Brand Consultancy