Countdown To The Olympics

Vancouver, BC — Residents of seven British Columbia communities received a special preview today of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay convoy and celebrations as the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) put their operational plans to the test in a simulation exercise representing an actual day along the national relay route.

“The training exercise was tremendously valuable for the team and the communities to validate our plans. For the most part, our major planning assumptions were proven correct,” said Jim Richards, program director for the Vancouver 2010 Torch Relays. “We’ll use the next several weeks to incorporate what we learned today, including the need to fine-tune media operations, torchbearer transitions, as well as ensure we have continuous communication with our route communities on any last minute changes. We are very thankful to the communities and media who participated in this event today and the residents for their patience.” 

With a main convoy of vehicles that stretched the distance of a football field, staff, observers and partners rehearsed an actual day from the relay route to refine and ensure the proper coordination of the many staff and vehicles it takes to stage this pan-Canadian celebration. 

Approximately 150 volunteer stand-in torchbearers experienced first-hand what it will feel like for the 12,000 Olympic Torchbearers involved in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola and RBC and supported by the Government of Canada.  

“We’re no longer counting the months until the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay begins, we’re counting the days,” said Richards. “Staging such an engaging and inclusive relay, we can’t do all of our planning in boardrooms or in meetings. An Olympic Torch Relay is a complex project with many moving points that need to work within precision timing. We had to take our plans and test them out on the very streets the Olympic Flame will pass through on its way to light the Olympic Cauldron in Vancouver.” 

Similar to when the relay will visit each of the 1,036 communities across Canada, the host communities and local law enforcement provided rolling road closures to allow the torchbearers and convoy to travel through the community. Residents in Chilliwack and Abbotsford also saw a setup of the celebration stages that will be used at the nearly 200 community celebrations over the course of the 106-day relay. 

Key lessons from the training event included:

Convoy operations

• A vehicle in the core convoy had a dead battery this morning causing a departure delay of 10 minutes. All vehicles will be outfitted with booster cables for relay time.

• Advance vehicles responsible for management of arrivals and departure of the convoy during the day will require double the amount of pylons to help manage this process.

• Unexpected road construction in Chilliwack did not delay the convoy but at relay time the team will double-check with communities to ensure they are aware of the routes and road projects on the relay day.

Torchbearers

• Confirmed our pacing for torchbearers and the convoy was accurate as the team was always within five minutes of projected times.

• Ensure torchbearers are provided with clear direction to understand the exchange with the next torchbearers, as well as torchbearers with special needs.

Media operations

·         Position media zones on the same side at celebration site to ensure unobstructed camera positions for photo opportunities.

·         Clearly identify media relations staff at celebration sites.

Media One Vehicle in core convoy

• Further retrofits to vehicle are required to accommodate additional camera positions.

• Pre-registration of media interested in being on Media One vehicle will be required to ensure smooth transitions between segments. This registration will need to be separate from the torch relay registration that closed mid-summer 2009.

Celebration site

• Adjustments to some set elements will be required. 

The 45,000-kilometre route, which will bring the Olympic Flame within one hour of over 90 per cent of the Canadian population, has now been mapped out metre by metre and each day more torchbearers are receiving official notifications offering them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to carry the Olympic Flame. While communities put the finishing touches on lively and entertaining celebrations that showcase local talent, torch relay staff, including flame attendants and escort runners, continue their rigorous training to prepare physically and mentally for the challenges of a relay through a Canadian winter. 

With less than a month to go before the Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia, Greece in a time honoured and celebrated ceremony, communities are getting ready to welcome the world and showcase their part of Canada through the torch relay which will begin in Victoria, British Columbia on October 30, 2009. 

Planning for the torch relay has been ongoing since 2006, VANOC has been working in close collaboration with relay partners including the provinces, territories, communities, RCMP, and many sponsors and suppliers who have loaned their time, talent and energy to stage the longest domestic torch relay in history.  

Those wanting to follow the Olympic Flame online, see video and video highlights and read daily stories from the road can do so at www.vancouver2010.com/torchrelay.  An enhanced interactive map of the national relay route will be unveiled in mid-October and updated continuously to provide detailed maps of the Olympic Flame’s path through each community in the days before the exciting celebrations take place in every corner of Canada. 

NOTE: Photos taken during the torch relay training event are available to interested media on request. 

About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

Press Contact
If you are a member of the media, please contact mediarelations@vancouver2010.com

For all other inquiries, please contact info@vancouver2010.com

Vancouver 2010

‘Count Me In’, a new weekend of cultural celebrations, launches this weekend in the South West as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

London 2012

IOC

 Learn more about the Olympic Congress

IOC

Tickets on sale now at www.vancouver2010.com/culturalolympiad

Vancouver, BC — The Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, presented by Bell, is adding more international flair to its impressive lineup of music, theatre, visual arts, dance, and digital programming in its largest announcement of 2010 projects to date — more than 70, including hardcore troubadour Steve Earle, an inspiring Ugandan dance troupe and an all-star lineup of emerging Canadian talent brought together by an American music producer, often called the inventor of the modern tribute album, saluting the godfather of grunge: Neil Young.

In addition to the more traditional stage and gallery presentations, Vancouver streets and unexpected nooks (such as a concrete plant) will buzz with a number of groundbreaking interactive public installations, like a thumping party with some of the best DJs in the world spinning electronic music into the early morning hours and a path of LED lights that react to a person’s every move.

The third and final edition of the Cultural Olympiad festivals will start on January 22, 2010 and run throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, concluding on March 21. The extensive program will include more than 600 ticketed and free performances and exhibitions in 60 venues in Metro Vancouver and British Columbia’s Sea to Sky corridor. The shows announced today join the 55 Cultural Olympiad projects previously announced for 2010, including highlights such as The Blue Dragon/Le Dragon Bleu by Robert Lepage, Delusions by Laurie Anderson, Moon Water by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, and Tundra Songs by the Kronos Quartet featuring Tanya Tagaq. Tickets and information are available now at www.vancouver2010.com/culturalolympiad.

“A cultural celebration of this magnitude is the work of an outstanding partnership featuring our presenting sponsor Bell, the federal, provincial and territorial governments and a wide range of national cultural agencies and arts organizations,” said David Guscott, executive vice president of celebrations and partnerships for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). “With their assistance we have assembled an unprecedented program of contemporary Canadian art and artists.”

Burke Taylor, VANOC’s vice president of culture and celebrations, added: “Our vision for Cultural Olympiad 2010 is that it be eclectic, bold and breathtaking. Whether it’s onstage, online, in a gallery, or on the street we want people to have an extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic experience and feel a personal connection to the cultural program of the Games. It’s part of the celebratory atmosphere we’re creating with our many partners to welcome the world.”

The hot new projects include:

Music

If a theme can be applied to this diverse mix of artists, it is collaboration and connection between iconic artists with up-and-coming musicians.On January 23, country and rock musician Steve Earle pays tribute to an equally gifted songwriter in Townes Van Zandt, with Canadian alt-pop crooner Joel Plaskett opening, as he did for Paul McCartney this past summer. In Hal Willner’s Neil Young Project, Willner uses Broken Social Scene, Joan as Policewoman, Ron Sexsmith, and Iron andWine to illuminate the hits and obscurities from Young’s massive catalogue of work.

The music list is rounded out by Juno-nominated breakout Canadian band Stars, known for its atmospheric, literary pop; the Hilario Duran Latin Jazz Band, led by a man who learned his craft at the centre of Cuba’s vibrant Latin jazz scene, performing with saxophonist Jane Bunnett, pianist Phil Dwyer and master percussionist Changuito — all band leaders and international jazz icons in their own right; and the double-bill of K’Naan (a young Somali-Canadian rapper) and Tinariwen (a collective of poet-guitarists that has rocked the south Saharan since the late 1970s).

For something completely different, try Sound Gallery and its unique blend of improvised music and video mixing or Taiwan’s Chai Found Music Workshop and its revival of Chinese chamber music called sizhu.

Performing Arts

Spain’s María Pagés, lauded for her development of modern flamenco, reveals her FlamencoRepublic at the Orpheum, while the Spirit of Uganda, a company of 22 young artists orphaned by AIDS or civil war, brings their uplifting and spirited East African dance and music to Canada for the first time. Go down the rabbit hole in Alice and Other Heroes, where Daniel Janke’s Whitehorse-based ensemble plays a live score for a series of short films, including vignettes from the animated classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

For a taste of something closer to home, the National Arts Centre does the country and its more than 30 million inhabitants proud with Made in Canada, a concert celebrating the rich cultural landscape of the Great White North through music, dance and song.

Visual Arts

Step back in time and view a Vancouver Island Aboriginal family’s history and stories through beautifully painted ceremonial curtains in Backstory: Nuu-chah-nulth Ceremonial Curtains and the Work of Ki-Ke-In, or watch cutting-edge videos and films by some of the world’s best visual artists on a huge screen on the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Robson Street façade during CUE.

For a unique meld of avant-garde music and art with a personal twist supplied by the audience seek out Metcalfe/Lewis: Ikons. In a forest walk like no other, be entranced by the provocative sculptures of Vancouver’s Eric Metcalfe while listening to a composition of acoustic sounds by New York-based trombonist George Lewis. The forest and music respond to the actions of the people around it. Get lost and found again in Tracing Night, Ed Pien’s maze-like installation that turns day into night, using fanciful creatures pulled from Chinese and Inuit mythology to confront uncertainty and fear.

CODE Live

For digital innovation look no further than CODE Live, an 18-day event that is part of CODE, the Cultural Olympiad’s digital edition. It will showcase a diverse range of works fuelled by digital technology and audience interaction. The exhibitions and performances are in venues around Vancouver and most are free.

From around the world, these works draw the audience into the creative experience: a cellphone turns into a musical instrument, enabling the user to create a symphony of sound; a green thumb goes to new levels playing with virtual acoustic plants; paparazzi robots offer up 15 minutes of fame to passersby; a telepresence performance makes it possible to reach out to friends across Canada; and a pathway of reactive LEDs respond as audiences make their way to late night performances featuring DJs and electronic music.

About the Cultural Olympiad
The Cultural Olympiad, presented by Bell, is a series of multidisciplinary festivals and digital programs showcasing the best in Canadian and international arts and popular culture. Launched in 2008, the program culminates in the 60-day Cultural Olympiad 2010 (January 22 to March 21, 2010), which begins before and continues throughout the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. CODE is the Cultural Olympiad’s digital edition, a series of programs developed to creatively engage national and global audiences through the use of digital technology.

Partnerships

Bell
Bell is Canada’s largest communications company, providing consumers and business with solutions to all their communications needs, including Bell Mobility wireless, high-speed Bell Internet, Bell TV direct-to-home satellite television, Bell Home phone local and long distance, and IP-broadband and information and communications technology (ICT) services. Bell is proud to be a Premier National Partner and the exclusive Telecommunications Partner to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). For information on Bell’s products and services, please visit www.bell.ca. For corporate information on BCE, please visit www.bce.ca.

Government
The Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad is grateful for the support of the Government of Canada and the governments of all of Canada’s provinces and territories and their respective cultural agencies: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon. In addition to the Cultural Olympiad’s government and corporate partners, CODE is proudly supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Film Board of Canada. New Media BC and Wavefront Innovation Society are also both active participants in the project. The National Presentation and Touring Program is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Arts Partners in Creative Development

Arts Partners in Creative Development (APCD) is a strategic investment partnership to assist BC arts and cultural organizations create and develop new works or further develop existing works, with the intent of producing, presenting or exhibiting them at the highest standard. Organizations can apply for funding to create, commission and develop original work in the performing, visual, media or literary arts. With an initial investment of .5 million over three years, APCD facilitates the creation and development of new work to showcase both locally and worldwide. APCD funding partners include VANOC, the Province of British Columbia, 2010 Legacies Now, the City of Vancouver, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Vancouver Foundation.

About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

Press Contact
If you are a member of the media, please contact mediarelations@vancouver2010.com

For all other inquiries, please contact info@vancouver2010.com

Vancouver 2010

A British Olympian received a surprise proposal on the Olympic Park as it was opened to the public as part of Open House weekend – London largest architectural showcase event.

London 2012

Vancouver, BC — The board of directors for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) met today in Vancouver to discuss an exceptionally busy fall schedule full of operational activities and major announcements leading up to the opening of the Games, as well as updates on standing agenda items such as ongoing financial management, Games-time planning and the Olympic Torch Relay.

The members of the board, as well as VANOC Chief Executive Officer John Furlong and executives, spoke largely via teleconference today. This change in format may be replicated at the handful of remaining board meetings because it provides more flexibility for the board and management in the final months before the Games.

“The Organizing Committee is now in the midst of an exciting and extraordinarily busy time before the Games begin in just 147 days,” said Rusty Goepel, acting chairman for the meeting. “Huge milestone projects that have been worked on for years are now just days and weeks away and the VANOC board of directors is confident the management team has preparations well in hand to ensure the delivery of great Games in 2010.”

Already, VANOC’s overlay teams have started the complex process of making Games venues ready for the world’s top winter athletes. The work, which involves installing temporary items such as additional seating, lighting, banners, and cables, will continue into 2010.

John Furlong also provided the board with a rundown of major announcements and events the Organizing Committee will make in the next six weeks, which include: the start of the 106-day Olympic Torch Relay; the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Truce program; the international unveiling of the Games’ medals; the second phase of transportation plans; and the largest announcement to date of projects added to the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

“We’ve been running at full steam for the last year but this fall we’ve kicked our activities into an even higher gear as we put the finishing touches on our plans to host the world at Canada’s Games,” said Furlong, who will present Vancouver 2010’s final pre-Games report at the 121st International Olympic Committee Session in Copenhagen, Denmark early next month.

“For our team, the Games really start on October 22 when the Olympic Flame is lit in Greece and begins its journey to Victoria, BC, for the start of the Olympic Torch Relay on October 30. The 105 days after that will no doubt pass in a blur of activity and feelings of pride as we witness the excitement Canadians feel when they see the Olympic Flame in person.”

The board also received the following updates:

• Finance: The Organizing Committee is continuing to proceed with procurement and is in final contractual negotiations for numerous goods and services for accommodation in the Sea to Sky region, snow management and food services. Information will be posted at www.vancouver2010.com once contracts are finalized.

• Venue Construction: The City of Vancouver provided an update to the Finance Committee on the positive progress being made on construction of the Olympic and Paralympic Village Vancouver. Both athlete villages, located in Vancouver and Whistler, are on schedule to be handed over to VANOC this fall. The Trout Lake and Killarney training venues are complete and will open to the public next week.

• Torch Relays: With 42 days left before the Olympic Flame arrives on Canadian soil, the Organizing Committee is locking down final details for the torch relay’s 106-day journey across Canada, including: confirming celebration community plans and torchbearer data. More than 2,000 journalists, photographers and videographers from across Canada and internationally have registered to cover the relay. The Olympic Flame will be officially handed over to VANOC officials on October 29 in Greece before flying to Canada for the start of the relay in Victoria, BC, 24 hours later. Meanwhile, planning for the Paralympic Torch Relay continues; further details on the route will be announced later this fall.

• Cultural Olympiad: On Monday, September 21, VANOC will reveal more than 70 new projects added to Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad’s lineup of music, theatre, visual arts, dance, and digital programming. The announcement is the largest unveiling of 2010 projects to date.

• Olympic Truce: VANOC will announce details shortly on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Truce program, which includes an innovative project to involve Canadians of all ages, especially young people, in promoting peace in everyday life.

• Accommodation: The Homestay Volunteer Program, launched by VANOC in February 2009, has seen excellent results to date. The program will provide more than 650 beds during the Olympic Winter Games from 550 host families. More than 220 beds secured through the program will also house volunteers during the Paralympic Games. Applications will continue to be accepted from additional host families until Games time. Those who apply before September 30 will qualify for event tickets as an added incentive.

• Transportation: The second and final phase of the integrated transportation plan for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games by the Olympic and Paralympic Transportation Team (OPTT) will be released in mid-October.

• Sport: Approximately 28,000 spectators attended the women’s Hockey Canada Cup from August 31 to September 6 at GM Place. The sport event, featuring the top four ranked countries in women’s ice hockey, was the last of 18 sport events in the 2008-2009 season where VANOC conducted operational testing in preparation for the Games. Each event has resulted in key learnings and refinements to VANOC’s plans for the Games and valuable feedback from international sport federations.

The next scheduled VANOC board meeting will be held on November 17, 2009.

VANOC Board of Directors Background
The VANOC board of directors is made up of 20 members nominated by: the Canadian Olympic Committee (seven); the Government of Canada (three); the Province of British Columbia (three); the City of Vancouver (two); the Resort Municipality of Whistler (two); the Canadian Paralympic Committee (one); a joint appointment by the Band Councils of the Lil’wat and Squamish Nations (one); and one member nominated by the other 19 members.

The board is scheduled to meet six times per year, and more often at the call of the chair as required. The meetings are generally held at the VANOC offices in Vancouver, although they are occasionally hosted by our Games partners in other locations. The board’s responsibility is to oversee the conduct of the business of VANOC as it works toward achieving its Mission: to touch the soul of the nation and inspire the world by creating and delivering an extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic experience with lasting legacies.

As part of its commitment to public transparency and accountability, the VANOC board of directors has made today’s agenda, discussion topics and decisions available to the public on www.vancouver2010.com, subject to conditions of confidentiality related to personal information and/or competitively sensitive or privileged information. VANOC is also committed to hosting media briefings following each board meeting with the board chairman, the CEO and other director(s) or members of the VANOC senior management team to elaborate further on matters.

About VANOC

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

Press Contact
If you are a member of the media, please contact mediarelations@vancouver2010.com

For all other inquiries, please contact info@vancouver2010.com

Vancouver 2010

 Learn more about the Olympic Congress

IOC

Vancouver, BC  – The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) is working closely with its partners to provide a reasonable balance of interests at the 2010 Winter Games including freedom of expression in public spaces; the protection of Olympic marks and Games sponsors against commercial infringement and ambush marketing; and venues where athletes can compete at their very best before spectators who can fully enjoy the events.

The following outlines VANOC’s position and intentions on freedom of expression in public areas, commercial rights management and the terms and conditions of attendance at Games venues, which are entirely consistent with international sporting event norms:

I.    Respect for Freedom of Expression in Balance with the Celebration of Sport

• VANOC and its partners respect every citizen’s right to freedom of expression as protected by Canadian law.

• VANOC also recognizes the need to find the balance for all; including respecting and protecting the rights of athletes, spectators and sponsors, as agreed to when Canada won the right to host the 2010 Winter Games.

II.    Outside Ticketed Games Venues

A)   Demonstrations

• For those who wish to use the 2010 Winter Games to draw attention to areas of their interest, our security partners will ensure peaceful, lawful and safe public demonstrations can occur outside of the venues in plain sight of the media and the public.

• Safe assembly areas for this purpose are being proposed by Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit (VISU) and they will be facilitated by the police of jurisdiction outside a ticketed Games venue.

B)    Safe Assembly Areas

• Safe assembly areas are being developed under three guiding principles: safety, proximity and visibility.
• Safe assembly areas for demonstrations are options for demonstrators to ensure they have a safe space reserved for them which is in plain view of the public and the media accessing the venues.  
• Demonstrators are not required to use safe assembly areas, but they will be made available to ensure a clear space is maintained for demonstrations in the busy environment around each venue.

• The location and size of the safe assembly areas will be announced closer to Games time, as planning for the venues continues.

C)      Commercial Activity

• VANOC has an obligation to protect to the Games sponsors and that it is in the public’s best interest to protect the almost billion investment by these sponsors.

• Outside the venues volunteers monitoring commercial activities will only identify commercial infringement and ambush marketing, and due process with the appropriate authorities will be followed on a case by case basis.

III.   Inside Ticketed Games Venues

A)   Athlete Performance and Spirit of Celebration

• The 2010 Winter Games will be a celebration of sport, culture and sustainability; inside the venues this must be the priority above all commercial, political, religious or other statements.
• Athletes and other Games participants have earned the right to focus entirely on the competition at hand.

• The Olympic Charter states that no demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda of any kind is permitted inside any venue for the Olympic or Paralympic Games.  This includes limiting any advertising by our Games sponsors in the field of play. This is to ensure that the Games remain focused on celebrating sport and Olympic values.

B)    Ticket Terms and Conditions

• The Ticket Terms and Conditions for Olympic events are consistent with those that already exist for previous Olympic Games and for other major international sporting celebrations such as World Cups and Commonwealth Games.

• Ticket Bearers agree to the full terms and conditions of their tickets including that admission shall not be used to engage in political, commercial, advertising or other promotional activities.

Further information on:

• Advertising and commercial activities as part of VANOC’s commercial rights management program can be found at http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/about-vanoc/the-vancouver-2010-brand/protecting-the-brand/-/32798/1i3nwix/index.html

• The full terms and conditions accepted by tickets bearers for 2010 Games events can be found at https://images.vancouver2010.com/images/tms/TicketLicenseAgreement.html

• VISU’s organization of safe assembly areas at the 2010 Games can be found at http://v2010isu.com/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=516&languageId=1&contentId=6821#faq-sp-venues

• City of Vancouver temporary bylaws during the 2010 Games can be found at http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/BYLAWS/bylaw1.htm

• The sections in the Olympic Charter that govern the staging of the Olympic Games in the areas outlined above can be found in Rule 51 on page 98 of the Olympic Charter at http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_122.pdf

Press Contact
If you are a member of the media, please contact mediarelations@vancouver2010.com

For all other inquiries, please contact info@vancouver2010.com

Vancouver 2010

Communities, organizers put finishing touches on plans to engage and inspire a nation

Vancouver, BC — Skydivers parachuting in from above, top regional musical performers, giant puppets, a dazzling light show, foot stomping Acadian fiddlin’, towering snow and ice sculptures, a huge tepee, as well as a kazoo band: that is just a sampling of the unique local flavour almost 200 torch relay celebration communities plan on showcasing when they welcome the Olympic Flame and potentially the world to their part of the country.

Communities in all regions are readying themselves to become an “Olympic Town” for the day when the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola and RBC and supported by the Government of Canada, makes its historic 45,000 kilometre journey across Canada from coast to coast to coast starting October 30.

“Our goal with these celebrations has always been to bring the magic and excitement of the Olympic Spirit home to millions of Canadians no matter where they live and truly make these Canada’s Games,” said John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). “Our celebration communities are so excited to welcome the Olympic Flame and they’ve planned some truly memorable and inspirational entertainment for the crowds.”

One of the most anticipated announcements in each community hosting a celebration will be the naming of the community torchbearer. They have been nominated by fellow members of their own city, town or village as the person who best exemplifies their civic pride and the Olympic Spirit.

This torchbearer — whose name will remain a closely guarded secret in some communities until the celebration starts — will have the special task of lighting a cauldron on stage during the festivities. The curved white cauldron, which stands 1.3 metres high, complements the look of the Olympic Torch. Both the cauldron and the torch were designed by Bombardier in collaboration with VANOC.

An 18-metre-by-8.5-metre stage will be assembled for most celebration sites along with information and activity tents featuring athlete meet and greets and fun interactive winter sport demonstrations. Special interactive shows created especially for the torch relay by Coca-Cola, RBC and the Government of Canada will entertain residents as they arrive.

Drummers and acrobats will dazzle the crowd in an intense human percussion performance, compliments of Coca-Cola. Balloons will drop into the crowd during a light show and Coke’s song Open Happiness will play. Using a giant canvas, artist Fritz Branschat will keep the audience guessing in a dramatic explosion of paint and energy, presented by RBC. Upon completion, his painting will be donated to the community as a keepsake.

Moving down streets decorated with Olympic banners and lined by excited residents waving Canadian flags, the torchbearers, accompanied by escort runners and Aboriginal flame attendants, will approach the celebration site. The flame will be passed to the community torchbearer who will light the celebration cauldron in one of the most highly anticipated moments of the day.

The stage show will also feature a unique variety of locally hand-picked musicians, artists and entertainers from the region selected by the community planners, and include remarks from government and community representatives. The Government of Canada has been instrumental in organizing a choir that will also sing a moving choral arrangement for the near 200 community celebrations, composed by well-known Quebec choir master Gregory Charles.

How the journey will begin: from Greece to Canada

The Olympic Flame will be lit by the power of the sun’s rays on October 22 during a time-honoured ceremony almost 10,000 kilometres away in Olympia, site of the first Olympic Games in ancient Greece. Officials will present the flame to VANOC a week later in Athens’ Panathinaiko Stadium after a brief relay through Greece.

Sheltered in a security lantern, similar to a miner’s lantern, the Olympic Flame will embark on a trans-Atlantic flight to Canada on board a Canadian Armed Forces’ aircraft. Less than 24 hours later, it will arrive in Victoria, BC, where it is anticipated thousands will cheer on the starting point of the relay and enjoy the first community celebration.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay will visit more than 1,030 communities from coast to coast to coast across Canada before it finishes its 106-day journey in downtown Vancouver on February 12, 2010 when the Olympic Flame will light the Olympic Cauldron during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in front of a television audience of billions. During the longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history, 12,000 torchbearers will carry the Olympic Flame and at various opportunities will feature nearly 100 alternative transportation modes, including dogsled, Haida canoe, chuckwagon, seaplane, ice resurfacer, and double-decker bus.  

To capture the excitement of the Olympic Flame in each community visited, Canadians are invited to share their photos and short text descriptions with the world by submitting them to Canada CODE at www.vancouver2010.com/code. A selection of the submissions will be displayed on public screens during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Visit www.vancouver2010.com/torchrelay for more information.

Note to Photo Editors: Images are available of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay Community Cauldron and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay Mobile Celebration Stage in the media centre image gallery at www.vancouver2010.com.

About VANOC

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

About Coca-Cola and the Olympic Movement

The Coca-Cola Company has been associated with the Olympic Games since 1928 and is the longest continuous corporate supporter of the Olympic Movement. Through the Olympic Games, Coca-Cola encourages people to create their own path of “positivity” in everyday life by believing that anything is possible. The Company’s sponsorship supports National Olympic Committees in more than 200 countries to help athletes train and compete. The Coca-Cola Company is the exclusive non-alcoholic beverage provider to the Olympic Games through 2020. For more information about Coca-Cola Canada, please visit our website at www.cocacola.ca or our parent company’s website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.

About RBC

As part of our commitment to helping create a better Canada, RBC sponsors amateur sport, from grassroots programs in local communities to national sport associations that support the development of amateur athletes who compete at home and abroad. Canada’s longest-standing supporter of the Canadian Olympic Team since 1947, RBC continues its sponsorship through the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and is proud to bring the Olympic Spirit to communities across Canada as presenting partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. RBC is also a premier sponsor of Hockey Canada, the Canadian Snowboard Team, the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team, Athletics Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee. Visit www.rbc.com/sponsorship.

About the Government of Canada

The Government of Canada is proud to make 2010 a celebration for all Canadians. Through strategic investments in programming and funding, the spirit and excitement will be felt far and wide and leave lasting legacies for future generations. Through the Olympic Torch Relay, the Government of Canada is supporting citizen and community participation, as well as the inclusion of Aboriginal, ethnocultural and official-language communities. For more information on the Government of Canada’s contribution to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, visit www.Canada2010.gc.ca.

Press Contact
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