Mega-event strategies and their impact on host cities have drawn increasing interest, as organising large-scale urban events has become part of a deliberate urban policy strategy to promote local economic growth and put the host city on the world agenda. Thus far, the research addressing what strategies can be adopted and to what extent the strategies can produce a catalyst effect has been limited. Furthermore, while most mega-event studies have addressed the impact in a specific economic, spatial or environmental perspective, little research has been done on the extent to which mega-event strategies may lead to sustainable development, balancing economic, social and environmental perspectives in the long term. Using Sydney as a case study, this paper examines how the host city of the Summer Olympics in 2000 explored the mega-event strategy concept to create a catalyst for its urban regeneration programme.