Thousands welcome Nicole home

Thousands of cheering fans lined a Sydney street to greet Nicole Kidman at the Australian premiere of her latest movie, Cold Mountain, which could land her another Oscar.

“I am relieved, relieved to have made it,” Kidman said of her first visit to Australia since January.

Event organisers traded the traditional red carpet for a white version at the ornate State Theatre in Sydney for the screening of the American civil war epic.

Wearing an olive green Lagerfeld dress and gold stilettos, Kidman broke with tradition, pushing aside barricades to sign autographs and shake hands with excited fans.

Kidman stars in the Anthony Minghella-directed movie alongside Jude Law and Renee Zellweger, and is widely tipped for an Oscar nomination for her role.

“I don’t buy into any of that until it happens,” the 36-year-old said when asked how she felt about being tipped for an Academy Award.

Kidman last year took the Best Actress Oscar for The Hours. If crowned again, she will become the first since Katharine Hepburn in 1967-1968 to win consecutive best actress Academy Awards.