2010 Vancouver Olympic & Paralympic Super-Thread

[SpongeG]

CBC? CTV is Canada's broadcaster for these games

[Yume-sama]

Somehow I saw this video for the first time today, though it is a couple of months old. An awesome advertisement for Samsung

• Video Link

And this one, too!
• Video Link

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

CBC? CTV is Canada's broadcaster for these games

Read the article - Seattlites can only get CBC (not CTV), so they are out of luck for these Games and have to watch time delayed broadcasts on NBC.

*************

Olympic banners are up on Robson St. east of Granville.

Bus shelters have a lot of Go World! VISA advertisements.

[SpongeG]

oh never read the article

can't they just watch NBC? I usually watch NBC

[djh]

Has anybody seen this interactive map of Olympic venues?

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&h...62,-122.958984&spn=1.846372,4.938354&z=8

[Stingray2004]

As we get closer and closer to the big event, Ipsos has just released an opinion poll on perceptions of which team will win the gold medals in the men's/women's hockey tournaments:

More than six-in-ten (62%) British Columbians believe that the men’s team will win gold. British Columbians (63%), along with Ontarians (61%) and Albertans (59%), are also the most confident that the women will win gold.

You can see in the data that excitement is building among people in the home province of British Columbians where they are most solidly behind the national team’s quest for gold.”

http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=4650

I remember all of the negative media stories leading up to Expo '86 and how, on opening day, May 2, 1986, the magic moment for everyone finally set in.

[SpongeG]

global reported flag poles being installed at the village - they look temporary whould add some colour there very soon

[Waders]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Read the article - Seattlites can only get CBC (not CTV), so they are out of luck for these Games and have to watch time delayed broadcasts on NBC.

*************

Olympic banners are up on Robson St. east of Granville.

Bus shelters have a lot of Go World! VISA advertisements.

I thought all events can be viewed live online via the CTV website?

[raggedy13]

I believe you can see the flag poles (minus the flags) in this pic I took a couple nights ago...

[ckkelley]

Do we know if those flagpoles are permanent? That would be cool if the participating countries could be represented for evermore.

[Yume-sama]

They have to be blocking SOMEONES view of the water.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by ckkelley

Do we know if those flagpoles are permanent? That would be cool if the participating countries could be represented for evermore.

they are temporary if you watch the news on global tonight you will see they are basically in the middle of teh walkway that is closed and they are in contraptions that are not permanent bascially think buckets filled with cement not that cheap but something that like idea

[Locked In]

Level being converted to USA headquarters:



(my photo, taken tonight)

[Delirium]

here's some pics of the new snowboard rail at robson square;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwu/sets/72157623165417812/

and the start of GM place getting a makeover;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susangittins/4256617411/sizes/l/

also..

VANCOUVER, Jan. 8 /CNW/ - Port Metro Vancouver will soon welcome cruise ships from Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines to Vancouver as they arrive to provide accommodation for tourists and security forces.

"This is the first time ever that cruise ships have served as accommodation at a Winter Olympics," said John Hansen, President of the North West CruiseShip Association.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2010/08/c7190.html

[Delirium]

DESIGN STUDENTS LIGHT UP VANCOUVER FOR GAMES

by Brian Lin

Any designer will tell you that lighting makes or breaks a space. This February, the UBC Spacemakers will welcome Olympic visitors with Northern Lights, a series of architectural lanterns that will brighten downtown Vancouver.

The three “landform lanterns,” resembling curvy icebergs rising from the ground, are constructed of B.C. wood and recycled PVC, illuminated by LED lights. Ranging from six to 12 metres in length and one to two metres tall, they will greet an estimated 6,000 pedestrians per hour on Granville Street between Dunsmuir and Georgia, a special car-free corridor during the Games.


http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2010/01/07/design-students-light-up-vancouver-for-games/


http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2010/01/07/design-students-light-up-vancouver-for-games/

Del Rosario approached the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, which endorsed the team’s bid to City Hall for a public exhibition that creates visual and spatial interest without obstructing foot traffic to the Canada Line Skytrain station and shops. Special considerations were also paid to choosing materials that are recyclable and reusable.

The designers sourced Barrisol, a water-resistant material made of recycled PVC typically used for interior ceiling finishes, as the “lamp shade” to protect the lighting mechanism. The structures are weighted and secured using sand bags.

article; http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2010/01/07/design-students-light-up-vancouver-for-games/

also, a new piece of artwork is being installed at the entrance to Stanley Park beside Georgia st. it's a giant model plane assembled incorrectly.

To party, add Bell Ice Cube
METRO VANCOUVER
January 08, 2010

Mockup drawings were released yesterday for a giant glass cube that organizers hope will be party central at Robson and Beatty streets during the 2010 Olympics.

The Bell Ice Cube will be a 280-square-metre structure allowing visitors to watch Olympic events live in HD.

“With more than 20 high-definition plasma TVs showing all 10 channels within Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, plus our own dedicated live venue feeds, the Bell Ice Cube is the natural meeting place for people coming into the centre of the city,” said Loring Phinney, a spokesperson for Bell.

During the opening and closing ceremonies and during major sporting events, visitors will be able to watch the magic on a large projection screen.

The venue will be open daily from Feb. 11 to Feb. 28, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and will feature entertainment and chances to meet athletes.


http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/01/07/bell-i...-products-during-the-vancouver-olympics/

[ckkelley]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

they are temporary if you watch the news on global tonight you will see they are basically in the middle of teh walkway that is closed and they are in contraptions that are not permanent bascially think buckets filled with cement not that cheap but something that like idea

Thanks SpongeG. That's disappointing.

I wonder what permanent plaque/marker/monument they have in mind to memorialize the games. And where.

[bils]

I haven't seen too much posted on this piece of art, so here's an article from the Richmond Review. A photo is available on the link below - I didn't know if I could post it here for copyright reasons.

I personally don't have a problem with this sculpture, but I certainly question the decision to place something so controversial so close to an Olympic venue. Certainly it will raise eyebrows, and most will not see the artistry in it.
-----------------
Published: January 08, 2010 12:00 PM
Updated: January 08, 2010 4:34 PM


A provocative sculpture that's become the centre of attention in Richmond has now drawn the interest of vandals.

On Friday morning, Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin's Head was also sporting a crude sign of skull and crossbones and another with the letters "NWO."

Vandals also wrapped the sculpture with red construction tape, covering Lenin's mouth, and the ground was scattered with red carnations.

The letters NWO are known to represent "New World Order," a theory that the powerful elite are conspiring to create a one-world government.

The hulking piece crafted in stainless steel was installed last month at the corner of Elmbridge and Alderbridge ways as part of the Vancouver Biennale public art celebration.

Scores of people have since voiced their opinions in letters to The Richmond Review and on online discussion forums at richmondreview.com.

Miriam Blume of the Vancouver Biennale said she's "pleasantly surprised" by all the attention—not the vandalism—the sculpture is getting.

"We live in a country where, knock on wood, public art can go beyond the pretty. And it's not dictated by our politicians," she said. "A lot of people get that and embrace that. This is what public art is about."

The sculpture's artists, Zhen and Qiang Gao, earlier told the Review that the piece depicts how the Mao attempted to copy the Russian communist revolution sparked by Lenin. The Beijing-based brothers have largely been banned from public exhibitions of their work in China, but continue to push artistic boundaries.

"We just assume that we are free and we should be free. It is our human right to express ourselves as citizens and artists," said Qiang Gao.








Find this article at:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/richmond_southdelta/richmondreview/news/81022082.html

[Spork]

Originally Posted by Delirium

here's some pics of the new snowboard rail at robson square;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwu/sets/72157623165417812/

and the start of GM place getting a makeover;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susangittins/4256617411/sizes/l/

also..

VANCOUVER, Jan. 8 /CNW/ - Port Metro Vancouver will soon welcome cruise ships from Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines to Vancouver as they arrive to provide accommodation for tourists and security forces.

"This is the first time ever that cruise ships have served as accommodation at a Winter Olympics," said John Hansen, President of the North West CruiseShip Association.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2010/08/c7190.html

Does anybody know if the GM place logo will be coming down and some sort of "Canada Hockey Place" logo will be going up?

[GeeCee]

Yes, they will, as corporate sponsorship is not permitted for venues despite the fact that GM is a sponsor.

[g35]

Originally Posted by Delirium

To party, add Bell Ice Cube
METRO VANCOUVER
January 08, 2010

Mockup drawings were released yesterday for a giant glass cube that organizers hope will be party central at Robson and Beatty streets during the 2010 Olympics.

The Bell Ice Cube will be a 280-square-metre structure allowing visitors to watch Olympic events live in HD.

“With more than 20 high-definition plasma TVs showing all 10 channels within Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, plus our own dedicated live venue feeds, the Bell Ice Cube is the natural meeting place for people coming into the centre of the city,” said Loring Phinney, a spokesperson for Bell.

During the opening and closing ceremonies and during major sporting events, visitors will be able to watch the magic on a large projection screen.

The venue will be open daily from Feb. 11 to Feb. 28, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and will feature entertainment and chances to meet athletes.

Sources indicate that to enter the Bell Ice Cube, patrons will have to pay $30 per month for the length of a three year contract. This is cool, though. Kind of like another live site.