Professor Ken Hawkins, based at CQU Melbourne, is a co-contributor to a new research paper evaluating the Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Olympics - in particular the opening ceremonies.

Professor Hawkins also helped carry out participant observations for the Sydney leg of the research.

Some elements of the reports were particularly detailed - to the extent that we now know that the Irish, Canadians and Greeks got a bigger Sydney crowd welcome (in decibels) that the British.

The report compared aspects of the three Games, including ticketing and attendances, scalping, transport, disabled access, surveillance and security, access and egress and first aid stations.

The paper was delivered in Athens recently by John Cheffers, Professor Emeritus of Boston University and of the International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP).