Winter Olympics – Want Some Ice with that Hunk?
The Vancouver Winter Olympics opened on 12 February at the British Columbia Place Stadium.
The stadium which received more than US$150m in renovations, joins eleven other venues playing host to this year’s event. Vancouver won the bidding process to host the Olympics in July 2003, at the 115th session of the International Olympics Committee in Prague. Vancouver faced PyeongChang, South Korea, and Salzburg, Austria in the bid.
As part of preparations for the hosting of the premier event, the British Columbia government paid $600 million for the upgrade of the Sea-to-Sky Highway to accommodate increased traffic between Vancouver and Whistler. The Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) also spent $16.6 million for the upgrade of facilities at Cypress Mountain, which hosts the freestyle and snowboarding events. Other venues include the $40-million Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre at Hillcrest Park which was completed in February 2009 – a full year ahead of schedule, the Richmond Olympic Oval, Pacific Coliseum, the UBC Winter Sports Centre, the Richmond Olympic Oval, Cypress Mountain, GM Place, the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort, the Whistler Olympic Park and the Whistler Sliding Centre.
The 2010 Games is the first Olympic games to have an indoor Opening Ceremony at the BC Place Stadium. The closing ceremony Is slated for the same venue. Vancouver is the most populous city ever to hold the Winter
Games. Through the month of February, Vancouver is expected to maintain an average temperature of 4.8 °C (40.6 °F).
82 countries are competing for 86 medals in 15 events. Cross-Country Skiing and Speed Skating each offer 12 medals for the taking. View the medals tables and follow the games @
http://www.vancouver2010.com. For a roll call of blacks who have participated in what used to be called the ‘White Olympics’.
