Complex sentence: But the support of its bid was marred when anti-Olympic protesters marched through the city just four days before the final vote in Monaco, which came down to a head-to-head between Sydney and Beijing with Manchester, Berlin & Istanbul ranked outsiders.
Split into simpler sentences: But the support of its bid was marred when anti-Olympic protesters marched through the city just four days before the final vote in Monaco. The impeding announcement of the host city came down to a head-to-head between Sydney and Beijing with Manchester, Berlin & Istanbul ranked outsiders.