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Focus on Vancouver 2010
The Beijing Summer Olympics are well and truly over. The corks have been popped, the streamers strewn and while China tidies up after its successful summer party, the worlds eye switches to the next stage in the Olympic story. The venue in question is Vancouver in the far West Canadian province of British Columbia.
The Winter
equivalent is a little like the Summer Olympics' less successful younger
brother but the organisers, VANOC and its associates, are optimistic
that their 2010 campaign will not disappoint. Within its construction
budget and with most sites complete the positive mood of CEO of the
Vancouver Olympic Committee, John Furlong, is infectious. "We have very
hard work ahead of us. But I think we are setting ourselves up for
success."
Tickets
for both the Winter Olympics and the Paralympics went on sale on October
3rd 2008. Dave Cobb, Head of Marketing for Vanoc, is confident that all
venues will be full with the success of Beijing causing a positive
effect on interest. Organisers have promised that at least 70% of
tickets will go on sale to the public with the remainder being set aside
for the `Olympic family`. That equates to around 1.6 million tickets up
for grabs for the Olympics and 250,000 tickets for the Paralympics
ranging in price from as low as $25 to $1,100 for a top seat at the
opening ceremony.
The XXI Winter
Olympics in Vancouver opens its doors to the world on the 12th of
February 2010 with an unprecedented indoor opening ceremony in the BC
Place Stadium. Defending this decision John Furlong made reference to
the predictability of the weather. There will be 17 days of games with a
programme of sports shared among
Vancouver,
Richmond,
West Vancouver
and
Whistler. The
Paralympics will run for 11 days beginning on 12th March 2010.
In 17 days of Olympics and 11 days of Paralympics the world will witness
the very best elite sportsmen and women in their chosen disciplines. A
record breaking 86 Winter Olympic events will take place and capture the
hearts and imaginations of the viewing nation. From the artistry and
beauty of figure skating to the...well, brutality of ice hockey. The
skilful brave and foolhardy ski jump events to the accuracy, stamina
sapping and once necessary (to survive) discipline of the biathlon and
cross country skiing. The more modern events yet again have a centre
stage - freestyle skiing and the ultra popular snowboarding along with
the historical and bizarre sport of curling - and let's not forget the
breathtaking death defying speeds of the downhill skiing events, sled
events and speed skating
events.
There is a
veritable pizza-topping feast of events to enjoy with something for
everyone and though it may not be as successful as its Summer compatriot
in terms of popularity and profitability, Vanoc are aiming to ensure
Vancouver 2010 lives up to the true spirit of any Olympic campaign;
Sportsmanship, fairness, global unity, ecstasy and elation, competition,
all delivered on a platter with a touch of local spice from the host
nation.
No Olympic campaign is complete without the
official logo and mascots.
For Vancouver 2010 we have the `ilanaaq,` a multi-coloured symbol in the
style of a traditional inuit inukshuk stone sculpture. The word Ilanaaq,
pronounced ih-lah-nawk, means `friend` in the inuit language and is
surely befitting any International campaign which aims to bring Nations
together in a spirit of peace and solidarity. This is what any Olympic
Games strives to achieve. The mascots are Miga, Quatchi and Sumi
which like the ilanaaq have faced some resistance among the local
people. Like anything new it takes time to get used to but I suspect the
children of the community and the world will have the final say on the
acceptability of these 3 animated cartoon characters in particular.
Canada Tourist and Travel information:
Toronto city info - Things to see and do/tourist attractions in Toronto:
Quick links: Canada’s walk of fame, Casa Loma, Chinatown, CN Tower, Toronto Eaton Centre, Exhibition Place, Fort York, The Harbourfront Centre, The Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto Islands, Kensington Market, Old City Hall, Ontario Place, The Ontario Science Centre, PATH, Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), St. James’ Cathedral, The art gallery of Ontario (AGO), Toronto Waterfront Trail, Toronto Zoo
Canada's capital city Ottawa - Links to attractions and tourist info:
Quick links: 24 Sussex Drive, Canada Agricultural Museum, The Ottawa Bluesfest, Byward Market, The Canada Aviation Museum, Canadian Museum of Civilization, The Canadian Museum of Nature, The Canadian Tulip festival, The National Arts Centre, The National Gallery of Canada, Parliament Hill, Rideau Canal and Skateway, Winterlude festival
Montreal city info - Tourist information and places of interest:
Quick links: Montreal Biodome, Montreal Biosphere, The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Montreal Casino, St. Joseph’s Oratory, McCord Museum, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal Olympic Stadium, Place des Arts, Pointe-à-Callière Museum, Redpath Natural History Museum
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