The word lit up the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the 2000 millennium celebration was “Eternity.”
The illuminated word paid tribute to Arthur Stace, a Sydney man who wrote “Eternity” in distinctive copperplate script on streets and walls for decades. Stace was illiterate, yet his single-word message became one of Sydney’s best-known pieces of unofficial public art. He began writing it after a religious conversion and continued until his death in 1967.
During the celebrations welcoming the year 2000, an illuminated version of the tag appeared on the Harbour Bridge. The display connected a globally watched millennium event with a specifically Sydney story. The word was also recreated during the artistic program of the 2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony several months later.
A common mix-up is to associate “Eternity” with the bridge’s later New Year's Eve graphics or with the 2000 Olympics alone. The bridge has hosted many designs, including peace symbols, hearts, stars, and light shows. The millennium tribute specifically used Stace’s famous word.
The bridge itself opened in 1932 and is nicknamed “the Coathanger” because of its steel arch.