The '2010
Winter Olympics', officially known as the 'XXI Olympic Winter Games,' are the next Winter Olympics and will be celebrated in
Vancouver,
British Columbia,
Canada in 2010. 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 the
premier of British Columbia,
Gordon Campbell, and
Governor General Michaëlle Jean. The flag was raised on Tuesday
February 28,
2006 in a Special Flag Raising Ceremony. It will be on display at Vancouver's City Hall until the Opening Ceremony. At the same time, in Ottawa,
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement that the
Olympic flame had begun its journey to Vancouver.
[1]
Canada will hope to win its first gold medal on its home soil, as at both the
1976 Summer Olympics in
Montreal and the
1988 Winter Olympics in
Calgary, the Canadian teams managed to not win one gold medal.
Bidding
Main articles: 2010 Winter Olympics bids
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, 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.
Construction
The Olympic Flag outside the
Vancouver City Hall. This particular flag was replaced with a replica after it was stolen.
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.
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 - ef u
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.
★
★ 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.
★
★ 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]
★
★ 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]
See also
★
2010 Winter Paralympics
★
Winter Olympics
★
Olympic Games
★
Royal Canadian Mint Olympic Coins
Footnotes and references
1. The Prime Minister congratulates our athletes and coaches on their performance in Turin
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 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
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
18. 'Watch-dog websites:'
★ 2010 Olympic Games Watch
★ Vancouver 2010 Insider
★ Anti-Poverty Committee
19.
★ Protesters arrested at Olympic flag illumination Jeff Lee
★
20. B.C. woman sent to jail over protest
21. Vancouver 2010 Olympics to cost .6 billion
22. The Coalition to Save Eagleridge Bluffs at Horseshoe Bay
23. Protesters disrupt Vancouver Olympics celebration
24. Vancouver homeless population may triple by 2010
25. Protesters threaten Olympic officials
26. B.C. cabinet office trashed in Olympic protest
External links
★
Official Website of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
★
Official Website of the Government of Canada - 2010 Federal Secretariat
★
Official Website of the Province of British Columbia - BC Games Secretariat
★
Official Website of the City of Vancouver - Games Site
★
Official Website of the Resort Municipality of Whistler - Games Site
★
Official Website of Tourism Vancouver
★
Official Website of Tourism Whistler
Official Venue Links
★
Official Website of Cypress Mountain, West Vancouver - Venue for 2010 Snowboard / Freestyle skiing events
★
City of Richmond: Olympic Skating Oval - venue for speed-skating events
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