Deane officially opened the 2000 Summer Olympics, giving a brief speech in front of a crowd of 110,000 people at the Sydney Olympic Stadium. Prime Minister John Howard had originally planned to open the games himself, with the agreement of the organising committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). However, in November 1999 he changed his mind and advised the IOC that Deane would be opening the games. Howard said this was due to "a concern that my opening the Olympic Games would become a party political issue [...] I think in the long run it'll be better for the Olympic Games for the Governor-General to open them because we will be removing that one area of political controversy". Members of the opposition Labor Party had advocated that the Queen be asked to perform the honours, arguing that it was hypocritical for Howard to support the retention of the monarchy at the 1999 republic referendum but not call upon the Queen to represent Australia.