2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver and Whistler

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics logo was unveiled on
April 23, 2005 and is named Ilaanaq the Inunnguaq.
Ilaanaq is the Inuktitut word for friend
Host city Vancouver, BC, Canada
Nations participating (Unknown)
Athletes participating (Unknown)
Events 86 in 7 sports
Opening ceremony February 12
Closing ceremony February 28
Officially opened by (Unknown)
Stadium BC Place Stadium
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Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games, are the next winter Olympics and will take place in 2010 in 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver and Whistler, Canada. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are being organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC).

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia. Previously, Canada was home to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The villages of Whistler and Garibaldi bid for the games in 1976 but failed to win.

Following Olympic tradition, current Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, which was also attended by Governor General Michaëlle Jean and Premier of British Columbia, Gordon Campbell. The flag was raised on February 28, 2006, in a special flag raising ceremony, and will be on display at Vancouver's city hall until the Olympic opening ceremony. At the same time, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement that the Olympic flame had begun its journey to Vancouver.[1]

Bidding

The Canadian Olympic Association chose Vancouver as the Canadian candidate city over Calgary, which sought to re-host the games and Quebec City, which had lost the 2002 Olympic bid in 1995. On the first round of voting on November 21, 1998, Vancouver-Whistler had 26 votes, Quebec City with 25 and Calgary 21. On December 3, 1998,[citation needed] the second and final round of voting occurred between the two leading contenders, which saw Vancouver win with 40 votes compared to Quebec City's 32. The win allowed Vancouver to prepare its bid and begin lobbying efforts internationally.

After the bid bribe scandal that took place with Salt Lake City 2002 games (which saw Quebec City asking for compensation (CDN$8 million) for their failed 2002 bid[2]), 1999 saw many of the rules around the bidding process change. The IOC created the Evaluation Commission which was appointed on October 24, 2002. Prior to the bidding for the 2008 games, often host cities would fly members of the IOC to their city where they toured the city and were provided with gifts from the city. The lack of oversight and transparency often led to allegations of money for votes. Afterward, changes brought forth by the IOC bidding rules were tightened, and more focused on technical aspects of candidate cities. The team analysed the candidate city features and provided its input back to the IOC. The bid books from the three candidate cities were submitted in January 2003 and inspections occurred before May 2003, when the final report was submitted.

Vancouver's residents were asked in a referendum whether they accepted the responsibilities of the host city should it win its bid. Sixty-four percent of residents accepted the idea. It was the first time such a referendum was successful. In neighbouring Washington state to the south, both the state legislature and Governor Gary Locke passed a resolution in support of Vancouver's bid, and sent it to the IOC.[3]

Vancouver won the bidding process to host the Olympics by a vote of the International Olympic Committee on July 2, 2003 at the 115th IOC Session held in Prague, Czech Republic. The result was announced by IOC President Jacques Rogge.

Vancouver faced two other finalists shortlisted that same February: PyeongChang, South Korea and Salzburg, Austria. Pyeongchang had the most votes of the three cities in the first round of voting, in which Salzburg was eliminated. In the run-off, all but two of the members who had voted for Salzburg voted for Vancouver.

Two years earlier, Canada had put in a bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Toronto, but lost out to Beijing.
2010 Winter Olympics bidding results
City NOC Name Round 1 Round 2
2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver and Whistler Flag of Canada Canada 40 56
PyeongChang Flag of South Korea South Korea 51 53
Salzburg Flag of Austria Austria 16 -

Construction

The initial problem Vancouver faced in winning the bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics was fundraising for construction of venues. The Bid Committee, and subsequently VANOC, arranged for commitments of investment on a 50/50 basis by the federal and provincial governments, primarily for amounts to cover venue construction costs. It later began to achieve sponsorships and donations from private corporations and institutions. Such commitments were made enthusiastically as a chance to build on the world prestige Vancouver already gained as host of the 1986 World's Fair and to improve on the technological advances made during that event, like the expansion of the SkyTrain transit system.

The expansion was a pledge of the BC government, and not the responsibility of VANOC. Construction of the rapid transit link between Richmond, the adjacent international airport and downtown Vancouver is now underway and is expected to be completed by late 2009. The BC government also indicated it would pay for a C$600 million upgrade of the Sea-to-Sky Highway to accommodate increased traffic between Vancouver and Whistler, although this highway upgrade has been over due for more than a decade and will still not meet the basic needs of the corridor.[citation needed]

As of 2004, the operational cost of the 2010 Winter Olympics is estimated to be in the range of C$1.4 billion. In 2006, VANOC CEO John Furlong estimated it would be about C$1.7 billion, all raised from non-government sources, primarily through sponsorships and the auction of national broadcasting rights. C$580 million is the taxpayer-supported budget to construct or renovate venues throughout Vancouver and Whistler, C$200 million is expected to be spent for security, of which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is the lead agency.

Sports

Fifteen winter sports events have been announced as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The eight events categorized as ice sports are: bobsled, luge, skeleton, ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating, and curling. The three sports categorized as alpine, skiing and snowboarding events are: alpine, freestyle and snowboarding. The four sports categorized as Nordic events are: biathlon, cross country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined.

* Alpine skiing (10)
* Biathlon (10)
* Bobsleigh (3)
* Cross-country skiing (12)

* Curling (2)
* Figure skating (4)
* Freestyle skiing (6)
* Ice hockey (2)

* Luge (3)
* Nordic combined (3)
* Short track speed skating (8)
* Skeleton (2)

* Ski jumping (3)
* Snowboarding (6)
* Speed skating (12)

The opening and closing ceremonies and the events categorized as ice sports (excluding bobsleigh, luge and skeleton) will be held in Vancouver and Richmond. The sports categorized as "Nordic events" will be held in the Callaghan Valley located just to the west of Whistler. All alpine skiing events will be held on Whistler Mountain (creekside) and sliding events (bobsleigh, luge and skeleton) will be held on Blackcomb Mountain. Cypress Mountain (located in Cypress Provincial Park in West Vancouver) will host the 2010 freestyle skiing (aerials, moguls, and ski cross), and all 2010 snowboard events (half-pipe, parallel giant slalom, snowboard cross).

Vancouver 2010 will also be unique in the fact that both men's and women's hockey will be played on a narrower, NHL-sized ice rink, measuring 200 ft × 85 ft (61 m × 26 m), instead of the international size of 200 ft × 98.5 ft (61 m × 30 m). The games will be played at General Motors Place, home of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. This change is expected to save $10 million (CAD) in construction costs and allow more than 35,000 more spectators to attend Olympic hockey games.[4][5]

Additional events

There were a number of events proposed to be included in the 2010 Winter Olympics games.[6] On November 28, 2006, the IOC Executive Board at their meeting in Kuwait voted to include skicross in the official program.[7][8] The Vancouver Olympic Committee subsequently approved the sport to be officially part of the Games program.[9]

Events up for inclusion but were ultimately rejected included:[10]

* Biathlon mixed relay
* Mixed doubles curling
* Team alpine skiing
* Team bobsled and skeleton
* Team luge
* Women's ski jumping

Venues

For the first time Winter Olympic Games will be held by the sea and some venues, such as the Richmond Olympic Oval, are at sea level. Also, for the first time ever the Opening Ceremonies for a Winter Olympics will be held indoors.

Vancouver is also the warmest city ever to host a Winter Olympics.[11] In February, when the Games will be held, Vancouver has an average temperature of 4.8 degrees Celsius (40.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Greater Vancouver

Vancouver

* BC Place Stadium - Opening and Closing Ceremonies, nightly medal presentations
* Vancouver Olympic Village
* Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre - Media centre
* GM Place - Ice hockey (primary venue)
* Pacific Coliseum - Figure skating, short track
* Hillcrest Park - Curling

University of British Columbia

* UBC Winter Sports Centre Ice hockey (secondary venue)

Richmond

* Richmond Olympic Oval - Speed Skating

West Vancouver

* Cypress Mountain Resort - Freestyle skiing, snowboard, ski cross

Whistler

* Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village
* Whistler Creekside - Alpine skiing
* Callaghan Valley - Biathlon, cross country skiing, ski jumping
* Whistler Sliding Centre - bobsleigh, luge, skeleton

Broadcasting

Vancouver 2010 will be broadcast worldwide by a number of television broadcasters. As rights for the 2010 games have been packaged with those for the 2012 Summer Olympics, broadcasters will be largely identical for both events. Confirmed broadcasters include:

* In Canada, a consortium of CTVglobemedia and Rogers Media properties. Specific outlets tentatively include CTV, TQS, TSN, RDS, RIS, Rogers Sportsnet, OMNI Television, OLN, CTV Newsnet, Rogers radio stations, as well as third-party broadcasters APTN and ATN, with ancillary coverage (i.e. no events footage) on Discovery Channel, BNN, and The Biography Channel.
o With the recent takeover of most CHUM Limited assets by CTV, and the acquisition of Citytv by Rogers, more outlets may be included as well, making likely the largest grouping of TV channels from one country to air Olympic-related live footage. Citytv, A-Channel and CHUM's radio stations are the only such outlets able to air sports, although channels such as MuchMusic could carry ancillary coverage.
o As TQS is only available in Quebec, eastern Ontario, and parts of the Maritimes, content is being offered free of charge to Radio-Canada stations outside Quebec. Radio-Canada has so far declined, saying it must have assurances that this would not disrupt its own programming for viewers outside Quebec, among other conditions.[12][13][14]
o The CTV network alone is promising 22 hours a day in coverage during the games. CTV's studios in downtown Vancouver are likely to be the broadcast headquarters for the coverage.

* In Europe (excluding RAI in Italy), members of the European Broadcasting Union.[15]

* In Brazil, TV Record had been awarded the broadcasting rights.[16]

* In the United States, NBC Universal, including NBC and various cable properties. Some online webcasts may also be available. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, it is likely that some events will be scheduled so that they air in timeslots favorable to NBC, which pays the highest TV rights fee of any broadcaster in the world. However, unlike Beijing, Vancouver is in the same timezone as the United States' west coast which would make it easier for NBC to show live events.

* In Hong Kong, Cable TV announces through IOC that they have the broadcast rights across all media platforms for the Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012 in Hong Kong.[1] This is the first time in history that the two free-to-air channels (TVB and ATV) didn't get the broadcast rights. The free-to-air channels and critics have expressed concerns that the Olympic games should be provided to as many audiences as possible. However, Cable TV only has pay TV channels and satellite TV channels currently.

Torch Relay

The Olympic Torch Relay is the transfer of the Olympic flame from Ancient Olympia, Greece - where the first Olympic Games were held thousands of years ago - to the stadium of the city hosting the current Olympic Games. The flame arrives just in time for the Opening Ceremony.

For the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the flame will first be lit in Olympia in late 2009. It will then travel from Greece, over the North Pole to Canada's high Arctic and on to the West Coast and Vancouver. The Torch will be carried by thousands of Canadians of all ages and cultural backgrounds: on foot, dog sled, snowmobile, horse, plane and virtually every means of transport known to the people of Canada.[17]

Opposition

Opposition to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver exists,[18] which has been expressed by hundreds of activists and politicians, including Lower Mainland Mayors Derek Corrigan and Richard Walton. Many of the public Olympic events held to date in Vancouver have been attended by protesters, and the attendance of protesters outnumbered supporters at the Flag Lighting Ceremony.[19] Non-violent environmental protests at Eagleridge Bluffs in West Vancouver have resulted in arrests of two local women, Betty Krawczyk and Harriet Nahanee.[20]

There are several reasons for the opposition, which are reflected in the documentary film Five Ring Circus, (which screened in Vancouver, but is still in progress). These issues include:

* Large expense to taxpayers (estimated at $1.63 billion[21])
* Destruction of the natural environment (such as Eagleridge Bluffs[22])
* Loss of affordable housing for low income tenants,[23] and large increase of homelessness in the Lower Mainland[24]

There have been instances recently where protesters circled the building where VANOC members were having a meeting. The Anti-Poverty Committee has promised that they would target VANOC officials in their homes and businesses,[25] and on 22 May 2007, "evicted" the British Columbia Cabinet and VANOC officials by trashing their offices in downtown Vancouver.[26]

On another front, local First Nations people as well as Canadian Inuit expressed annoyance concerning the choice of an inukshuk as the symbol of the Games, with some Inuit leaders such as Nunavut Commissioner Peter Irniq complaining that the inukshuk is a culturally important symbol to them. "Inuit never build inuksuit with head, legs and arms," he says. "I have seen inuksuit build more recently, 100 years maybe by non-Inuit in Nunavut, with head, legs and arms. These are not called inuksuit. These are called inunguat, imitation of man," he said. Local First Peoples also expressed annoyance that the design did not reflect West Coast native culture such as that of the Squamish or Haida, but rather that of the Inuit, who are indigenous to the Arctic far from Vancouver. One chief also said that the design lacked dignity, comparing it to Pac-Man. However, other First Nations and Inuit leaders praised the design. (CBC) The First Nations governments of the Squamish, Musqueam, Lil'wat and Tsleil-Waututh (the "Four Host Nations"), on whose traditional territory the games will be held, signed a protocol in 2004 [2] in support of the games. [3]

Footnotes and references

1. ^ The Prime Minister congratulates our athletes and coaches on their performance in Turin (February 26, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
2. ^ http://www.canoe.ca/SlamOlympicScandalArchive/mar23_ioc.html IOC rejects Quebec City request
3. ^ http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/governorlocke/press/press-view.asp?pressRelease=1390&newsType=1 Gov. Locke Congratulates Vancouver, B.C., on Winning Bid for 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Highlights Economic Benefits to Washington State
4. ^ http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Olympics/2010Vancouver/2006/06/08/1620669-sun.html VANOC shrinks Olympic ice
5. ^ http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=8bbd29a3-1b09-411f-8efc-21c1ca6ca823&k=72793 VANOC saves $10 million by having Olympic hockey tourney played on NHL ice
6. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/winter_sports/5071892.stm Ski-cross aims for Vancouver 2010
7. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/winter_sports/6192816.stm Ski-cross gets approved for 2010
8. ^ http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/olympic_news/full_story_uk.asp?id=1982
9. ^ http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/olympic_news/full_story_uk.asp?id=2099#
10. ^ http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/olympic_news/full_story_uk.asp?id=1972 Olympic programme updates
11. ^ "Winter Olympics all wet?: Vancouver has the mildest climate of any Winter Games host city", Vancouver Sun, July 9, 2003.
12. ^ http://www.channelcanada.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=764&thold=0&mode=0&order=0 CTV & Rogers to broadcast 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games in Canada
13. ^ http://www.friends.ca/News/Friends_News/archives/articles02100506.asp Broadcasters plan blanket coverage of 2010, 2012 Games by William Houston
14. ^ Evidence of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, December 4, 2006
15. ^ http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/commissions/tv_and_internet/full_story_uk.asp?id=917
16. ^ IOC signs 2010 - 2012 TV rights deal for Brazil, IOC press release, March 16, 2007
17. ^ Vancouver 2010 - Torch Relays. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
18. ^ Watch-dog websites:
* 2010 Olympic Games Watch. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
* Vancouver 2010 Insider. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
* Anti-Poverty Committee.
19. ^
* Lee, Jeff. "Protesters arrested at Olympic flag illumination", The Vancouver Sun, March 13, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
* 3 Ps of 2010: politicians, police and protesters at YouTube
20. ^ Mickleburgh, R.. "B.C. woman sent to jail over protest", Globe and Mail, 2007-03-06. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
21. ^ CTV.ca News Staff. "Vancouver 2010 Olympics to cost $1.6 billion", CTV Television Network, May 8, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
22. ^ The Coalition to Save Eagleridge Bluffs at Horseshoe Bay. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
23. ^ "Protesters disrupt Vancouver Olympics celebration", CBC Sports, 2007-02-12. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
24. ^ "Vancouver homeless population may triple by 2010", CTV.ca. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
25. ^ "Protesters threaten Olympic officials", CTV.ca. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
26. ^ "B.C. cabinet office trashed in Olympic protest", CBC. Retrieved on 2007-05-23.