2010 Olympics

For weeks, widespread speculation has surrounded the announcement of who would be
named to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Ceremonies Team. While this week’s announcement was met with excitement and enthusiasm, the speculation did not stop. Guesswork quickly turned to what the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will look like and who will be performing.

David Atkins, the newly appointed Executive Producer for Vancouver 2010’s Olympic Ceremonies Team isn’t giving anything away. “No hints, it’s too early in the process.” What viewers can be sure of, though, is that it will be exciting. “There’s no shortage of talent in Canada,” said Atkins. “In fact, there’s an embarrassment of riches when it comes to Canada’s resource of performers, artists and cultural practitioners. The ceremonies will profile and represent the best of these.”

Creating a Ceremonies addiction

The Olympic and Paralympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies strive to capture the spirit and unique personality of the host city, province and country, while providing inspiring Olympic and Paralympic messages and entertaining billions world wide.

Atkins, who was the Executive Producer and Artistic Director of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Summer Games ceremonies as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 15 th Asian Games in Doha in 2006, admits that working on the Olympic Games becomes a bit addictive. “The pressure is quite extraordinary on every member of the team. These are once-only events. It’s a highly-charged experience with years of work coming down to one night, one time, and one place.”

It’s not surprising, then, that the majority of the Ceremonies Team has worked on past Games Ceremonies, including Calgary 1988,  Sydney 2000 and Torino 2006. Marti Kulich, VANOC’s Program Director, Ceremonies and Production Services, noted that it is not

2010 Winter Olympics

just a group of individuals but truly a team that will produce the 2010 Olympic Ceremonies. And what a team.

Ceremonies Creative Team members include Jacques Lemay, Ian Pool, and Catherine Ugwu, all of whom have previously worked on Olympic, Commonwealth and other international Games. Prominent Canadian music scene legends, Bruce Allen, Sam Feldman and Dan Fraser, are also on board. Ignatius Jones, Artistic Director of the 15th Asian Games Ceremonies, as well as Érick Villeneuve, acclaimed Director and Special Visual Effects Designer round out the 10-member team along with Atkins and Kulich.

Three ceremonies, one ven

The 55,000-seat BC Place Stadium will be the site for the Opening, Closing and Victory Ceremonies for the Olympic Games as well as the Opening Ceremony for the Paralympic Games.

The stadium, located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, will host an Olympic Ceremony every night from February 12 to 28 as well as the Paralympic Opening on March 12. Given the multitude of Ceremonies, one of the challenges the Team faces is quick turnover at the stadium venue. “It definitely makes it more exciting,” notes Atkins. “The combining of all three Olympic Ceremonies [Opening, Closing and Victory Ceremonies] in the one venue provides another opportunity for Vancouver 2010 to distinguish itself from all other [Games] Ceremonies. There are challenges and opportunities and they’ll need to be managed effectively, but the advantages provided by this decision far outweigh any difficulties that may arise.”

A unique feature of BC Place Stadium is that it’s an indoor venue with the largest air-supported stadium roof in North America. The indoor aspect eliminates weather concerns, while opening up further surfaces for the projection, lighting and special effects planned for the Ceremonies.

With years of preparation involved in staging the Ceremonies, the weather is, in Atkins’ opinion, the “single greatest risk to the delivery of a Ceremony.” Taking weather out of the equation will “free up the team to explore new ideas and push new boundaries.”

Victory, celebration and medal presentations

Even without having to worry about what Mother Nature has in store, the Olympic Ceremonies Team will still be very busy. Nightly medal presentations will be followed by large arena-style concerts, featuring some of Canada’s top performers. Still Atkins and the team aren’t worried. He believes that adding the extra excitement of live musical performances “will provide the Victory Ceremonies with a level of theatre and celebration not replicated by previous Games”.

Medals won on the lower mainland will be awarded during the Victory Ceremony at BC Place Stadium. Medals won in Whistler will be awarded at  the 8,000-capacity Celebration Site temporarily located in Whistler Village. For the first time in Games history, both venues will be linked live via video.

With the Ceremonies Team underway and the venue set, speculation has begun again. Who will be the performers? How will they light the torch? What will the Ceremonies look like? Whatever the questions, one thing is certain; the Olympic Ceremonies will capture the spirit and personality of Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada.

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