(Photograph By: John Mahoney / Canwest News Service)
The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver are officially open!
In front of 60,000 fans at BC Place, athletes from around the world would unite in the spirit of the Olympic Games. While excitement was in the air, fans and athletes alike were also remembering the life of 21-year old Nodar Kumaritashvili. The luge athlete from Georgia was tragically killed during a training run on Friday morning. In honour of Kumaritashvili, there were two moments of silence and many countries came out with black armbands.
As for the Opening Ceremony, it certainly was an elaborate presentation that took well over three hours.
– It started with a bang with breath taking scenery from the mountains and a lone snowboarder riding down as an announcer rattled off the host cities of previous Winter Olympics. When they got to 2010 – he burst through the screen, slid down a makeshift ramp and through the Olympic Rings. A great way to start the ceremony.
– Now was it just me or did Prime Minister Stephen Harper get snubbed? They introduced the Governor General Michaëlle Jean followed by the President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge. Shouldn't they have introduced the Prime Minister as well?
– 16-year old Nikki Yanofsky has an amazing voice and there's no doubt she's going to have an unbelievable musical career. But was it necessary to sing the Canadian National Anthem the way she did? It seemed too over the top – so unnatural… maybe it's just me?
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– I loved how they decided to incorporate all of Canada into the Opening Ceremony. From those in the North, to the aboriginals, those in the Maritimes, the Francophones, the Prairies and the Mountains – every part of Canada both geographically and personally, was represented during that ceremony.
– I loved the Celtic portion of the program. I thought it really captured the meaning of being from the maritimes – even though I've never been there (I hope to change that one day). It was exciting and full of energy. On the flip side, there was the prairie portion. They talked about the never ending sense of infinity of the Prairies – yet all that came across was boredom. It was slow and really brought down the energy of the event – especially considering it's already a three hour ceremony.
– Another strong moment was the beauty of the mountains and how they showed clips of great Canadian moments at the Olympics. A great way to sum up our country and athletic achievements.
– I loved the "I AM CANADIAN" like rant. It definitely reminded me of the old Molson Canadian commercials and like those commercials, it was a huge success. Everything that guy said was true – Please and Thank-You do define us. It is ZED not ZEE. And we are the True North, Strong and Free.
– Again, having the moment of silence for Nodar Kumaritashvili was classy and I thought it was wonderful to see them lower the Canadian and Olympic flags to half mast.
– I was surprised by the decision to have K.D. Lang sing "Hallelujah". I understand that it's because she's a famous Canadian singer, she represents the prairies, and she represents the gay and lesbian portion of society. Again – all part of VANOC's way of including every Canadian and for that, I applaud them. With that said, I wasn't a big fan. I would have preferred the Canadian Tenors but that's just me. For the record, her singing was great and it was a great performance but I think the Canadian Tenors would have done an even greater job.
– The lighting of the Olympic Cauldron was quite the sight. For those of you who missed it… Rick Hansen wheeled into the stadum where he passed off the torch to the pride and joy of Saskatoon – Catriona LeMay Doan, who passed it off to Steve Nash, who passed it off to Nancy Green, who passed it off to Wayne Gretzky. Doan, Nash, Green and Gretzky all gathered near the centre of the floor – where a cauldron was supposed to rise up from the ground.
Cue a hydraulic problem.
After a long delay – the cauldron rose – three of the four "arms" came up and Nash, Green and Gretzky were able to light the cauldron. Catriona LeMay Doan stood there holding her torch high, a great job at thinking on the spot!
Gretzky then received a police escort as he rode on the back of a truck through the streets of Vancouver where he would light the outdoor cauldron.
There was a lot of discussion over who should light it and I honestly think VANOC got it right. These four elite athletes are tremendous ambassadors for sport, a major part of our athletic history and having them all work together is just a very Canadian thing to do.
The sentimental favorite was Betty Fox – the mother of Terry Fox – but VANOC made sure to involve her as well. Betty Fox, Bobby Orr, Donald Sutherland, Anne Murray, Jacques Villeneuve, Barbara Ann Scott-King, Julie Payette and Senator Romeo Dallaire all came out to help carry the Olympic Flag into BC Place. All great choices – especially Roméo Dallaire. After everything he did to help try and stop the genocide in Rwanda, he's not only an inspiration to so many but a true Canadian hero.
All in all, in light of the tragic start to the Winter Games, the Opening Ceremony was a success. It captured the meaning of Canada and showed the world how open and accepting we are to everyone regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation and background.
Canada should be proud and there's no doubt we'll continue to show how proud we are as our athletes begin to win some medals.
For more information on Vancouver 2010, you can visit our 2010 Olympic Games website
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