Haven't received my money yet either, neither have any of my colleagues. Vanoc must be sitting on at least several millions in trust, hope they are earning a good rate and it's not just sitting.

You left out this part:

Samaranch had inherited a faltering, nearly broke sports entertainment business when he succeeded Lord Killanin as IOC president in 1980. It had been riven by a series of geopolitically motivated boycotts – first the African nations walking out of Montreal in 1976, then the Western boycott of the Moscow Games of 1980, followed by the Soviet bloc’s refusal to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984, and Cuba’s absence from the Seoul Olympics in 1988 – and crippled by the skyrocketing costs of staging the Games. The 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal were a sinkhole of historic proportions, and the 1976 Winter Games, after first being awarded to Denver, were rejected by the voters in that city, and had to be hastily relocated to a previous host, Innsbruck. If countries became leery of the costs of staging the Games, if the political/propaganda gains were outweighed by the financial risks, the entire enterprise might collapse.

The successful and profitable 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles (despite the boycott) did much to alter the belief that the Games, as constituted, were unsustainable. In fact, under Samaranch, the number of events and the number of participating nations grew dramatically, along with the perceived value of staging the Olympics. By the time of his retirement (he was given the title of “honorary life president” by the IOC), cities were spending millions upon millions of dollars simply to compete for the chance to hold the Games – hence the opportunities for corruption – and television networks and sponsors were lining up for the chance to get a piece of the action.



Commercialism saved the Olympics. Few cities attempted to bid for the Games 30-years ago...for the 1984 Summer Games, there was just one bid city - Los Angeles won by default.

Yep, and for once you can BLAME CANADA for that one :P Well, Montreal, anyways.

http://camerafraud.files.wordpress.c...lamecanada.jpg

shouldn't the world's largest sports competition be to see who is the BEST in the WORLD, rather than who is the BEST in the WORLD WITHOUT MAKING MONEY OFF THEIR REMARKABLE TALENTS? especially considering soviet athletes that were considered amateurs but happened to be well supported by the government. that in itself was a huge scandal.

and i do believe they do extensive testing for performance-enhancing drugs. more now than ever. not sure what you're trying to get at with that.

yes, vast television riches, oh the humanity, everyone in the world can watch the olympics and be brought together over sport, oh the humanity.

sponsorship? most powerful brand on earth? sounds like he was a huge failure.

good try though.

You speak like it's just idealism that top athletes in the World should take a vow of poverty and live off the land! Sheesh. Commie!

:D

I bet whatnext is not being paid anything at all for whatever degree or talents he has, nor would he expect to be ;).

Now, now, let's all be nice to WHATNEXT. He is what he is, as we all are. He can't help it if he's a ..............

Dubai's ruler continues to evaluate bidding for the 2020 Olympics

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 25, 2010 12:09 p.m.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Dubai's ruler says the Arab emirate is still considering a bid to host the Olympics in 2020.

In comments released by the ruler's media office Sunday, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum praised Dubai's sports infrastructure as leaders and executives from the sports industry gathered in the city for an international convention.

...

http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/sp...-2020-olympics

I hadn't realized you lived in a remote area of Canada where all broadcasts of professional sports are blocked. It must be terrible not having the opportunity to see the best in the world compete.

That may be, but it is far from de Coubertin’s vision. As to "celebrating" the competition to be the host city, I'm sure Tokyo is celebrating the $110 million they flushed down the crapper to lose the 2016 games bid. Money well spent!

Anyway, continue enjoying your Olympic afterglow and Samaranch hagiography...you've got a few more months until the scope of the final bill comes in (assuming VANOC can be prodded into releasing it), and buyers' remorse takes hold.

And here I thought we would all be beyond clinging on to the false hope that the 2010 Olympic Winter Games (which have been over for a couple of months now) would be a complete failure.

I mean, it's not like it was the most watched, most successful Winter Games of all time, or anything.

:haha: :rolleyes: You never fail to amuse...

Source: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/local.../13754401.html

This seems to be a positive news but I don't know how much the Winter Games reception by the City influenced those 4 companies to decide setting up headquarters in Vancouver. They may do that even without all the media exposure Vancouver got from the Winter Games.

Relive the Golden Moment one more time: http://www.youtube.com/user/AlyonkaL.../1/rTDhRnPiTWM

I posted this in the business in vancouver thread, but since no one seems to go there I'll post it here too...

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/mark...ent=b282791223

It seems to have been a factor according to the article posted by LeftCoaster:

There was a lot of meetings and gatherings of the higher up types in Vancouver during the Olympics.

They all gathered together in one place with their caviar and champagne, to network and co-mingle, with private concerts by Buble, etc.

It's not surprising that it created a good impression.

DAE to produce Outdoor Opening Ceremony of Shanghai 2010 World Expo
Agencies
Posted: Friday, Apr 30, 2010 at 1559 hrs IST
Updated: Friday, Apr 30, 2010 at 1559 hrs IST



Shanghai: As the countdown to Shanghai 2010 World Expo nears its end, David Atkins Enterprises (DAE) unveils its longstanding involvement as Executive Producer and Artistic Director for the Outdoor Opening Ceremony, taking place Friday, April 30, 2010.

“This is the first time a World Expo is hosting an Opening Ceremony of this scale,” said David Atkins, CEO, DAE. “We are honored to have worked so closely with Chinese cultural authorities to create and produce a ceremony worthy of showcasing China—and the great city of Shanghai—to the world.”

Slated to be the largest outdoor multimedia display, the show will make non-stop use of fireworks, sound and light, and will feature numerous record-breaking firsts such as the biggest LED screen ever made, the largest searchlight installation in the world and the greatest number of pyrotechnics ever fired over water, land, bridges and buildings. The 30-minute Outdoor Ceremony will take place on a 3.4 km stretch of the Huangpu River in central Shanghai.

An estimated global audience of 3 billion watched DAE’s most recent success—the Opening, Closing and Victory Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. As DAE prepares to deliver yet another groundbreaking show, Ignatius Jones, Artistic Director, simply says “We look forward to stunning the world.”

This announcement comes on the heels of DAE’s recent expansion into Asia, Europe and North America. Regional offices in London, Vancouver and Hong Kong join the Sydney office in supporting increased demand for the company’s elite creative services.

DAE created and produced the Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the Doha 2006 Asian Games and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, as well as the Handover Ceremony of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.


http://www.financialexpress.com/news...d-Expo/613496/





I never thought DAE would keep their office in Vancouver after the Olympics....which btw is right smack in the middle of the DTES.

Where is my money? It seems a lot of people are asking the question.

The following article shows up in CTV's website.
Source: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/l...ritishColumbia

I hope Vanoc didn't auction off the computer systems that hold the record by mistake.:haha:

I got my money back in full for my cancelled Womens Ski Cross tickets. Bus tickets too. I made sure my address on the website was current and bingo.

Still waiting for funds that were due in "April".

I just saw Vanoc's explanation on CTV news on TV.
Vanoc's representative explained that due to the popularity of the Fan-to-Fan site, there was a delay to mail out 10,000 cheques. It is expected that by mid. May people should receive the cheque.
Source: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/l...ritishColumbia

What they mean to say is they fired all of their office people on March 1st :P

Ah, that may be true. Even John Furlong has a new job. He is expected to take over leadership of the Own The Podium program around August.
Source: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...430?hub=Canada

O hai Olympic Cauldron. Still fenced off, but like I'm going to let a fence stop me. It should look super when it's done!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3456/...20447738_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/syume/4569582211/

The green glass really blends in with the condos. You think the cauldron went before the UDP :P?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3494/...097ae1f0_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/syume/4569575121/

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/...3ee329dc_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/syume/4570219386/

And am I the only one who didn't realize the cauldron was supposed to look like the top of a maple leaf... like on the flag :P?

BLEW MY MIND.

I thought it looksed like a giant bong...

Well, the way I found this out is that there are new plaques at the Convention Centre naming the plaza, I forget what it's called, but they use the top of the cauldron as a MAPLE LEAF.

All the sudden these light bulbs started going off in my head.

It looks like Supermans Ice Fortress in Smallville :D

Have they renamed & relocated Superman's Fortress of Solitude to Smallville for the TV series? I liked the crystalline design in the arctic barrens.

Is there any point to still having the poll on this forum?

^makes more sense than going out of the way to delete it.

fan to fan cheques have been sent out I received my first one yesterday, should have a couple more coming.

finally got mine. some interesting things of note:

• Cheque Dated May 4
• Check Valid Until September 1
• No Replacement Cheques Available
• Appears to be the correct amount, but without being able to log into your account... how could you know for sure?!

Just a note to mention that the Olympic Village open house is on this weekend:
From: http://vancouver.ca/city-highlights.htm#openhouse

Vancouver Sun story that will likely be updated shortly...
And London unveils its mascots. Hard to say how these stack up to the logo.... It just seems like VANOC cared more about this stuff or something.

http://www.vancouversun.com/3048102.bin?size=620x400

http://www.vancouversun.com/3048100.bin?size=620x400

Source: Vancouver Sun

Oh goodness. I hope London can take it as well as they gave it, as far as unfounded criticism of their Olympics go.

Everything kind of looks like a bad joke, and all of the marketing I've seen so far looks like a complete disaster.

well england did bring us the tellietubbues

Visual vomit...atrociously hideous.


First the Lisa Simpson logo, now it's Kang and Kudos.

http://www2.b3ta.com/host/creative/6...ascotTharg.jpg

Something is clearly wrong with them. First they bring us a "suggestive" logo, and now a team of "One-eyed Monsters".

Like, REALLY London?!

I'm surprised they don't have a friend who is a Venus fly-trap that they happily dance with.

Well, London joins the ranks of Torino, Athens, Nagano, and Atlanta in having hideous mascots.



Torino
http://www.brendanmckillip.com/blog/...mpicMascot.jpg

^ at least they had two eyes and a mouth! these look like aliens (and bad ones at that). i remember seeing something similar during the olympics walking along the seawall near science world.

here are the runway shots. i just noticed the paralympic mascot does have two eyes! see the little one above the large one? LOL
http://www.vancouversun.com/3048097.bin?size=620x400
www.vancouversun.com

http://www.vancouversun.com/3048101.bin?size=620x400
www.vancouversun.com

poor kids don't know what to do or make of them
http://www.vancouversun.com/3048098.bin?size=620x400

Suddently quatchi doesn't look so odd.

^ they don't have cute names either...they're called "Mandeville and Wenlock".

Here is a quote that ensure the London committee is on the pipe: "London 2012 organizers are confident that the choice of mascots will hit the spot".

I agree from a marketing standpoint this is an epic fail. WTF are those things!!

those are such brit names <3 it but they look stupid

lolll....they said the same thing about their logo, which had an animation that would induce seizures to some people.

wtf

:sly:

And I thought Heidi and Howdy were an embarrassment
(Calgary 1988 Winter Games)

http://thisiskat.files.wordpress.com...idy-howdy1.jpg
(from: http://thisiskat.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/o-kaaay/)

And I knew one of the guys who was 'Heidi', but only a few of his best friends still call him that.
Lets just say "Heidi-Ho" took on a new meaning for some of us in on the joke during the 88 Olympics.

Latvian criminals scammed VANOC ticket system for $2-million

A group of Latvian criminals scammed VANOC and ticket sellers on the fan-to-fan Olympics site for close to $2-million at the tail end of the Winter Games, officials say.

The group used fake credit cards to purchase tickets online on the site which VANOC was running with VISA to help facilitate ticket sales, said Renée Smith-Valade, vice-president of communications. The scammers swept in at a very opportune time – when Canadians and international Olympics fans were scrambling to get tickets to the hockey finals and other high profile events. Tickets to ski finals at Cyprus Mountain and speed skating events were also bought and sold.

About 218 people who sold tickets on the site to the scammers will be reimbursed this week, she said. In total, the Olympics committee sent out more than 13,000 cheques to account holders who were legitimately using the website where the bogus transactions took place.

“Our first priority is to make sure customers that posted to the tickets to the site which were then purchased fraudulently were made whole,” she said. “We're now just finishing up and we're still figuring it out with VISA and our insurers and other involved parties to find out how it will ultimately be paid for.”

The fraudulent activity was spotted by staff at Tickets.com, another partner on the site, who raised a red flag to VANOC, which then contacted the Vancouver Police department.

“One to two million dollars is nothing to sneeze at, but when you consider the magnitude of our ticketing program, it was contained very quickly,” she said.

Revenue for the ticketing program was slated at $260-million – a target VANOC readily met.

It's the only case of ticketing fraud VANOC has had to deal with, said Ms. Smith-Valade.

According to the Vancouver Sun, two Latvian nationals with suspected organized crime ties pleaded guilty in a Vancouver court to fraud over $5,000 in connection with the ticket fraud. Charges against a third Latvian national were stayed.

The Vancouver Police Department's Constable Lindsey Houghton told the paper that the Latvians were part of a larger group and used legitimate passports to get into B.C. in February before the Games. The scammers were flying from Victoria to Vancouver regularly pick up their tickets.

Once the scheme was identified, police arrested the suspects on one of their ventures to a VANOC ticket outlet, Constable Houghton said.

The Vancouver Police Department did not return calls to The Globe late Tuesday.

More than 18,000 people used the fan-to-fan website in the three years tickets were sold there, Ms. Smith-Valade said.

....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1573728/

firebomb in Ottawa was related to the Vancouver Olympics...

Anarchy among anarchists after firebomb

OTTAWA - Anarchists who claim they firebombed a Royal Bank in downtown Ottawa are drawing sharp criticism from fellow users of a website on which they posted video of the bombing.

Postings on the ottawa.indymedia.org site's comment page attached to the video call the alleged bombers "domestic terrorists" to straight up "idiots'. Others contain profanity-laced diatribes.

The video was posted at about noon Tuesday and expresses anger toward Royal Bank as a major sponsor of the 2010 Olympics games on what some critics claim is Native land.

"You have crossed the line. The sympathy I or others may have had for the exploitation of B.C. Native land is now greatly diminished," wrote one person. "Setting things on fire, which may have unintentionally led to murder as happened in Athens, is beyond the limits of the acceptable."

Three for four people were seen fleeing in an SUV shortly after the RBC was torched by a firebomb at about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.

A short video shows two men exiting a side door of the branch as a large orange firebomb explodes inside. The video was shot from across the road by a third person.

The fire caused at least $300,000 in damages and shut down the bank for an undetermined time. No one was reported injured but it appeared from the video one of the anarchists barely escaped the flames.

"I can only hope that whoever did this feels the full wrath of the law. I feel no sympathy for RBC, but likewise I will feel no remorse for the f***heads who did this when they are thrown in jail for 5 years," wrote a person with the handle Canadian Socialist.

Another commenter writes that the actions were "more cowardly than suicide bombers in the middle east."

Some commenters, however, defend the actions of the group.

"Burn it down, blow it up, kick it 'til it breaks!!! See you at the G20 comrades, and f**k the system," said Class Warrior.

The group vows to be at the G20 and G8 summits next month in Huntsville, Ont., and Toronto.

"The Native Community does not condone the actions of these people. They may have been trying to prove a point but went about it all the wrong way," said True Warrior.

...

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canad.../14005326.html

"Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville branded 'patronising rubbish'": http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/oth...g-rubbish.html

Stuffy English pomposity rears its head again.

I guess theyre one eyed because of the London Eye.....


boy what a poor joke.