He offered $35,000 in funding to two African delegates to 'persuade' them to vote for Sydney. The incident is brushed off lightly: "I don't know what people expect! That you send out a brochure of how pretty Sydney is...and think that's gonna win you the Olympic Games, you've gotta be kidding!" The incident is a taster of the seedier shenanigans at the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. SOCOG was supposed to be a publicly accountable committee. But, via an astonishing boardroom coup, Coates got himself a personal veto over the staff and budget. This authority has led to his cronies securing lucrative deals while his opponents resigned in disgust. For Coates it's all been a huge success. SOCOG has secured $200m in government funding. But unless the games secure astronomical ticket sales, the government will be massively out of pocket. Or as Coates so candidly puts it. "The taxpayer... has ah, has paid for the privilege of paying for the Olympics."

Produced by ABC Australia