Vancouver - "By Sea, Land and Air We Prosper."

Metropolitan, cosmopolitan, multi-cultural, Populous yet unspoilt, wet and warm, mountains and sea, rugged yet beautiful, busy and charming, traditional but ever-changing. It's possible to go on and on with adjectives and nouns and antitheses to describe Vancouver. Surrounded by mountainous region on one side and overlooking the eternal ice blue of the Pacific on the other, Vancouver is undoubtedly British Columbia's favourite son. It is home to 2 million people and in a recent survey was considered the most liveable place in the world with Melbourne and Vienna a foot or two lower down on the same podium. In 2007 it was ranked as the 10th cleanest city in the world.
 
Most liveable, top 10 for cleanliness and if there was a beauty contest for cities Vancouver would be up there at the top end. The mountainous regions to the north of North Vancouver is picture postcard beauty as a backdrop to the sophisticated high rise architecture of a buzzing Downtown.

Covering the north western tip of the downtown peninsular is Stanley Park, a 1000 acre haven from the hustle and bustle of a thriving metropolis. At the northernmost tip of Stanley Park the Lions Gate Bridge cuts across the Burrard Inlet that separates Downtown from the Districts of West and North Vancouver.

To the South of Downtown the Burrard Street Bridge and Cambie Street Bridge near BC Place Stadium crosses over False Creek to the main Vancouver District. Granville Street Bridge crosses over Granville Island; not an island technically but named as such and also a major tourist destination.

To the west of downtown and on the northern end of Vancouver the sandy beaches are stroked by the gentle lapping of English Bay - another major attraction and host to numerous cultural events. The main Vancouver district is a vast sprawl of residential area and recreational facilities that meld together and all along its southern end runs the Fraser River which separates it from Richmond and the island home of Vancouver International Airport.
 
By sea, land and air in 2010 the world will arrive on Vancouver's doorstep for a feast of Winter Olympic Games. But it seems the world had decided not to wait that long to jump on the bandwagon. Vancouver is so ethnically diverse that there are at least 70 different languages spoken in the city with a third of the population being of Asian descent. In fact, Vancouver boasts the second largest Chinatown in the Western Hemisphere with the third largest population. The handover from British sovereignty of Hong Kong to China in 1997 saw an influx of Hong Kongians and bore the city the nickname `Hongcouver.` There is also a Punjabi Market, Little Italy, Greektown and Japantown in various areas of the city, each adding their distinct flavour to Vancouver as a whole.
 
Vancouver was first settled in 1860 as a result of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. A fitting parallel that 150 years later peoples from all over the world flock here for their own nugget of gold. For some, a hunk of silver will suffice...or bronze. Many of these first gold hunters didn't stay, but following the gold rushes a small lumber town was born and, with the arrival of the Trans-Continental Railway in 1887, it continued to flourish and grow.

The completion of the Panama Canal nearly a hundred years ago has made Vancouver the busiest sea port in Canada and exports more cargo than any other port in North America. Ironic that Vancouver owes some part of its success to transport systems when it is the transport system in today`s Vancouver that causes the most headaches. There are plans in response to the congestion issues of the Olympic Games to spend $1-2 billion dollars on infrastructure and improvements in transportation which, like the first railway, will leave its own legacy for further domestic growth and advancement.
 
Economically Vancouver has had to rely on its primary roots; traditional industry such as fishing, agriculture, forestry and mining. But the area is beginning to carve its way in other sectors too. Vancouver's vibrant service industry is indicative of the wanton demand of an intelligent child wanting more and more. It has a burgeoning film production industry. In 2002 75% of all Canadian foreign production was in British Columbia and Ontario. Today Vancouver is North America's third largest film production centre earning it the titles 'Hollywood North' and 'Brollywood'. The latter is an allusion to the 170 days of rain visited upon the city each year, yet despite this the tourist industry is booming. With the picturesque mountain peaks of the north overlooking it like a proud father and its rivers, bays and beaches cradling it on all sides warmly like a protective mother it`s hardly surprising this industry has taken off as it has. As John Furlong, CEO of Vanoc, insists: "We have our own magic." And he's not wrong!