Vancouver 2010

12.02.2010 - 28.02.2010

VANCOUVER 2010, Canada Dates: 12 to 28 February 2010. Participation: 82 NOCs, 2,566 athletes (1,044 women, 1,522 men), 86 events, 7 sports, 18,500 volunteers, 9,800 media representatives (7,000 broadcasters, 2,800 written press). Olympic oath (athletes): Hayley Wickenheiser, ice hockey. Olympic oath (officials): Michel Verrault, International Skating Union (ISU). Lighting of the Olympic cauldron: Catriona Lemay Doan (due to a technical problem Catriona Lemay Doan, was not able to participate in the lighting during the opening ceremony but that she did so during the closing ceremony), Steve Nash, Nancy Greene Raine and Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey). Wayne Gretzky lit alone the cauldron located outside. Official opening by: Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michäelle Jean, Governor General of Canada. Emblem: Ilanaaq the Inukshuk. Inukshuks were created for centuries by the people of the Canadian north to act as guideposts across the vast terrains of snow and ice. The Inukshuks were rocks that were stacked in such a way as to create human forms. They were of different sizes and each stone in the form was necessary to support the others. Their creators used them in many different ways, such as to indicate directions to shelter, for hunting and to locate fishing areas. The word Ilanaaq is the Inuit word for friend and this represents the friendly spirit and soul of Canada. Mascots: the three Vancouver 2010 mascots are distinct and special, both in terms of their personalities and in their physical appearance. “Quatchi” is a big, gentle and shy sasquatch. “Miga” is a small, mischievous and outgoing “sea bear”. Sumi, an animal guardian spirit, is a natural-born leader with a passion for protecting the environment. All three are mythical creatures inspired by local geography and legend. “Quatchi” and “Miga” will represent the Olympic Games and Sumi will represent the Paralympic Games, but they will all work together as a team. The three mascots are accompanied by “Mukmuk”, a small and friendly Vancouver Island marmot who always supports and cheers loudly for his friends during games and races. Olympic venues: Vancouver (curling, ice hockey, figure skating, short track speed skating, opening and closing ceremonies, medals ceremonies), Richmond (speed skating), Cypress Mountain (snowboard and freestyle skiing). Whistler Olympic Park (biathlon, cross country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping), Whistler Creekside (alpine skiing), The Whistler Sliding Centre (luge, skeleton, bobsleigh) Whistler (medals presentation ceremonies). For the second time, Olympic Winter Games took place in Canada, 22 years after those of Calgary in 1988. Two new events make the Olympic appearance: the ski-cross for men and women. Amongst the 82 NOCs present in Vancouver, six of them competed for the first time: Cayman Islands, Colombia, Ghana, Montenegro Pakistan and Peru. Source : Factsheets, https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Olympic-Games/Factsheets/The-Olympic-Winter-Games.pdf To find out more, you can consult the resources of the Olympic Studies Centre, https://library.olympics.com/default.aspx?_lg=en-GB