Monarchists demanded that the official programme of the Olmypics be pulped because an article in it says that Australia should be a republic. In the piece, expatriate and art critic Robert Hughes berates fellow Australians for rejecting the chance offered in a referendum last year to ditch Britain's Queen Elizabeth as head of state.

Olympic organisers said they had no involvement in its contents beyond checking the accuracy of information directly related to the games. Opinion polls last year suggested that many Australians voted to keep the monarchy by default because the alternative was a president chosen by parliament - many wanted to directly elect a president themselves.