2010 Paralympic Tickets on Sale May 6, 2009

VANOC has announced when the tickets to the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games will go on sale: May 6, 2009. Mark your calendars.

Sports of the Paralympic Winter Games

Paralympic Ticket Prices

Competition Schedule

No Fun City to Party Central

Vancouver is notoriously known as a no-fun city with countless fun events eventually reaching their demise with the loss of sponsorships, the finding of new politicians, etc. 2010 will see all that go to the wayside and Vancouver & Whistler will see the biggest parties they could ever imagine.

People from all over the world will come to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics and since the city is so relatively small the party will be amplified. Vancouver for example has approx. 2M people whereas Beijing has more than 17M, Whistler has merely 10,000. People will be everywhere; coaches, athletes, spectators, celebrities, and IOC delegates.

Vancouver will go from a typically quiet February to a scene straight out of one of its biggest annual parties, the Celebration of Light, on a nightly basis. T-shirts, painted faces, jolly visitors, and more will be everywhere. Business will likely be at a stand-still during the games. Many schools will not hold classes, instead opting for early spring breaks. Vancouver will be partying.

More from the Vancouver Sun.

Next Olympic Stop... Vancouver 2010

535 days from now the world will be in Vancouver and Whistler and those not here will have their televisions tuned to the city and the biggest sport party the region has ever seen.

Vancouver and VANOC will have their work cut out for them as the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics were truly impressive. Human rights protests and terrorist attacts were not the problem many thought they could be, the air was relatively clear (for China), and athletes broke many Olympic and World Records in their quest for gold.

The Beijing Organizing Committee put on the most impressive Opening and Closing Ceremonies ever witnessed, complete with genuine and simulated fireworks, thousands of performers, and many top celebrities both from China and abroad.

On top of that the London Organizing Committee put on the most impressive "taste of the next games" number I have ever seen. Their performance was very hip, creative, and historical all at once. Performances by Leona Lewis, Jimmy Page, David Beckham and the coolest double-decker bus ever seen put the show over the top.

Hopefully Vancouver 2010 will answer the call and not put something too cliche together for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and Vancouver. Some great Canadian acts should be available including Cirque de Soliel, Bryan Adams, Nelly Furtado and more.

Photos courtesy of London 2012 Blog.

Chilly Reception from IOC re: VANOCs Ticket Sales Ideas

I don't the the IOC is every really seen as the friendliest body and this is not exception as their alottment of tickets, typically around 30% to every event, is being questioned by VANOC. As a result of the empty seat epidemic visible in nearly every Olympic games the Vancouver Organizing Committee has a novel plan to try to cure the problem... give less tickets to the IOC and sell more to the paying public.

Sounds like a good plan, right? "Wrong!" says the IOC. Not surprisingly they're giving this Vancouver attempt a chilly reception as it could be a slippery slope loosening the death grip they currently hold on the organization of everything Olympic.

David Cobb, VANOC executive vp, revealed the unique idea to the Vancouver Sun last week and it had not yet been discussed with the IOC.

Fortunately the disagreement on the forward thinking plan seems to far to only be with the reduction and relocation of media vs. the IOC on the whole. We'll have to monitor where this goes from here as empty seats have made most recent Olympics a failure, at least on some levels.

Listings Begin...

Now that the 2008 Beijing Olympics have completed the world's attention is shifting to Vancouver 2010 which brings us to the need for alternative accommodation. Vancouver will see many more guests than it's hotels can handle.

If you are looking for a place to rent or have a place that you plan to offer up post it in our FREE forums.

New Entry Court at Canada Place

Expo '86 saw a big infrastructure boom for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland including such notable fixtures as Sky Train, the Alex Fraser Bridge, Science World, and Canada Place which houses the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre.

The expanded Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre (VTCC) will house the media for Vancouver 2010 and service countless conventions leading up to the Olymipcs and well after their departure.

To bridge the existing VTCC, Canada Place Corporation will develop a new Entry Court between the two sections. A dramatic face lift will be performed on the current public plaza housing one of Vancouver's least inspiring fountains and will be replaced allowing for a link between the East and West sections of the VTCC.

The Welcome Centre will be a place where staff and displays will provide information about Canada Place, events at the facilities, and Canada.

Pieces of the existing fountain will be re-used in the lobby of the Convention Centre as a nod the Expo '86 legacy.

Beijing 2008 Comes to a Close

16 days of amazing athletic performances have now come to a close in Beijing. As always, the athletic performances were wrapped up with the Closing Ceremonies held once again in the Bird's Nest stadium for some 90,000 spectators.

More than 43 new world records were set during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. 7 by American Michael Phelps who once again dominated the pool. Some other unique occurrences unfolded as well, including the Tae Kwon Do athlete from Cuba who was not impressed with his disqualification after taking more than the allowed for 1-minute and promptly kicked the referee in the head leaving him with a bloodied lip and most certainly a significant headache. The Swedish wrestler also stunned onlookers when he threw an Olympic hissy fit and threw his bronze medal to the ground in protest of the judging.

The Closing Ceremonies were one last opportunity for China to wow the world. Fireworks, upon fireworks, led the way and of course concluded the show. Star performances from Jimmy Page and David Beckham were somehow mixed into the performance. Lip-syncing again reined supreme, although the lip-syncers could have maybe used a bit more practice for this ancient art. Jacques Rogge of course deemed Beijing 2008 "truly exceptional".

All Olympic ceremonies to follow... Vancouver 2010, London 2012, and Sochi 2014 ...truly are now in a tough spot with a very tough act to follow. Hopefully with creativity they can also put on some great shows because the other cities almost surely won't have the funds or manpower that the People's Republic of China was able to throw at the 2008 Olympics.

Photo Credit: Martin Dougiamas.

VANOC Missing Chinese TV Rights Deal

Last year VANOC secured an unprecedented broadcasting rights payments deal with the IOC. The IOC had told VANOC that they would receive approx. $450M US in television rights payments, but Dave Cobb, VP of Marketing, and John Furlong, VANOC's CEO, negotiated that up to a figure reaching almost $600M CDN.

However, a deal between the IOC and China has just been signed for the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Broadcasting Rights reportedly in the three-figure multi-million dollar region. Prior to this China has been broadcasting under an existing licensing arrangement for a reported $18.5M.

This late rights deal may not benefit Vancouver 2010 though, in terms of contribution to the budget in light of the previously negotiated contract with the IOC. The contract could potentially be renegotiated though or at the very least the payment VANOC has to make to the IOC for the rights of nearly $200M could possibly be reduced or the one-time payment from the IOC of $35M to the $100M VANOC Contingency could possibly be increased.

The IOC negotiates rights broadcasting for 2 Olympic sets at a time. The previous set which included the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics has generated approximately $2.6B in revenue. The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and 2012 London Summer Olympics are expected to fetch close to $4B.

More from the Calgary Harald.

Sullivan to Wheel Again

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan first made headlines when receiving the Olympic flag in Turin in 2006 as he wheeled and waved the banner using a specially made mount attached to his motorized wheel chair. The mayor will get a free wheelin' opportunity again next month, this time on the other side of the Pacific.

The mayor, who was injured in a skiing accident at 19 years of age, is one of 10 Canadians that will be a part of a torch relay in China for the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.

The mayor will not be the sitting Vancouver mayor in during the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver & Whistler.

VANOCs Cure for Empty Seats

If you've paid any attention to the current games in Beijing or previous games in Turin, Athens, or Sydney, you've no doubt seen an epidemic of empty seats despite supposed "sell outs".

The problem stems largely from the large number of seats given to the IOC and individual NOCs. The number given to them is typically 30% for every event. But, as IOC members are very important they have better things to do than attend early rounds of competition, especially in some of the less popular events. Despite many empty seats inside the venues, people are still unable to acquire tickets.

VANOC wants to cure this empty seat epidemic and is going to use some novel methods to do so. First and foremost they plan to automatically cancel all tickets given to an individual countries NOC if they are found to have sold their tickets to ticket brokers. This is an often practised underhanded revenue practice that will not be tolerated. Barcode technology will allow VANOC to stem this problem.

Secondly, VANOC is pushing hard to minimize the number of tickets IOC members receive, especially in early round competition and to less popular events.

Third, VANOC will be trying to relocate IOC seats at events to less desirable locations to allow the paying customers to purchase the choice seats.

Fourth, VANOC plans to try to limit Press seats, at least in prime locations, as every press table will take up at least 3 paying seats.

Lastlyl, VANOC will be working towards allowing last minute purchase of un-used seats. Not sure how this will work, but it would be great if they could liquidate empty seats, sort of like Tickets Tonight, to those that want to fill them instead of just leaving have the venues empty like in early round Beijing competition.

The ticket sales process starts October 3, 2008.

Premier Unveils Details of 2010 International Media Centre

The world's media will come to Vancouver in 2010 and just like in Beijing there isn't room for every media person in the Ling Long Pagoda. (Peter Mansbridge, of the CBC, has been reporting in Beijing from an exterior stairwell of the Pagoda.) The Vancouver 2010 Media Centre will be an amazing place, but will not house everyone, thus the Province has added another media venue for more of the non-accredited (by the IOC) international media persons that will be in town at Robson Square.

The 2600 meter state-of-the-art facility is designed to be a one-stop-shop of resources for the world’s media community. The 2010 International Media Centre (IMC) will co-ordinate technology, information, transportation and hospitality, as well as access to officials and athletes for members of the press corps. Additionally, the 2010 IMC will also be a broadcast hub for a number of key domestic and international broadcast organizations.

The Robson Square location will be adjacent to the Commerce Centre and a showcase space in the heart of downtown Vancouver, a central location in between the official Media Centre and BC Place Stadium, GM Place, and the Athletes Village.

Source: Government of British Columbia

Crash at My Place for 2010

With some 300,000 visitors expected for Vancouver 2010 and only 75,000 hotel rooms alternative accommodation is required. This necessity is leading many to consider renting out their own places during the Olympics and planning to get themselves out of town for the month of February 2010.

Because of the situation people will have to look for and offer accommodation on alternative websites like Winter2010Rentals.com where they can find out information on venues, areas they might want to rent in, and of course best practices for both renters and landlords.

To post your FREE rental listing or wanted ad visit Forum.Winter2010Rentals.com.

Prices vary greatly depending on location, features, size, etc.. But many places are priced at approximately $500 per bedroom per night. This price/bedroom ratio goes up for both the smallest and largest of available places.

More from The Globe and Mail.

The Look of 2010

Steve Lange's job is to 'brand' the 2010 Olympics. He's studied Athens & Turin and right now he's doing some hands-on research in Beijing.

He's researching not only how the Beijing Olympic Committee has branded their games but what technology and methodologies their using. He's looking at lighting, building wraps, and more.

In addition to Vancouver's plans for fence wrappings and extensive signage the International Olympic Committee insists that the organizing committee buy out or control the space of billboards along major Olympic routes to limit the amount of "ambush" advertising by competitors of Olympic sponsors.

In Vancouver's case, Vanoc has acquired all of the rights to major sources of outdoor advertising, from billboards to bus shelters throughout the area.


More from the Vancouver Sun.

VANOC Updates Continue Virtually Without Hiccups

Despite having several incredibly ambitious aspects to the VANOC plan for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games the planning, preparations, and construction continue on-pace and largely on budget and without any significant hiccups.

The VANOC plans include several ambitious projects. A nearly $1B improvement of the Sea to Sky highway that travels from Vancouver to Whistler should drastically increase the safety of the route and also decrease the travel time during the games from nearly 2 hours to less than 90 minutes. This will be achieved in part by only allowing 'local' traffic, buses, and emergency personnel on the route.

The Athletes Village in Vancouver is probably the most ambitious constructions projects Vancouver has ever seen. Some 20 buildings are being constructed as a part of the sustainable community striving for LEED Gold or Platinum certification. The Village also has the new Canada Line LRT at it's doorstep allowing easy connections between Downtown Vancouver, Richmond Centre, the Vancouver International Airport and everything in between.

The new Vancouver Convention Centre which will house the International Media during the Olympics is probably the most ambitious single building every constructed in Vancouver. Months were spent pile driving in Burrard Inlet during the creation of the new land that the centre would sit on. The sleek design showcases the stunning views of Coal Harbour, Stanley Park and the North Shore Mountains. This beautiful building also features a green roof.

In addition to these projects there are many other venues being constructed and of course the Canada Line bringing rapid transit from the Airport to Richmond and Vancouver.

In many ways one could say that the progress that VANOC is making is quite boring. In this case, boring is good.

More from The Globe and Mail.

Beijing 2008 Begins

This blog isn't focused on the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games but I do post the odd interesting Beijing-related item. Today, that item is the start of the Games, 08.08.08.

Approximately 91,000 people gathered in the Chinese National Stadium, affectionately known as the Bird's Nest. The Opening Ceremonies of the XXIX Games started with a single drum beat that grew to 2008, filling the stadium and beyond with the classic beats of a past dynasty.

The questions remain regarding Chinese human rights record and whether or not it will have been a positive move granting the People's Republic of China the world's most altruistic sporting competition. But at least for a few moments the decision was positive when Sarah Brightman and Lui Huan took the stage in Beijing.

More details of the astounding Opening Ceremonies and Athletes Procession from Canada.com.

Venue : GM Place to Not Be GM Place

That's a strange title but hopefully you understood it.

John Furlong, the chief 2010 organizer, announced today in Beijing that GM Place will undergo a quick name-change for the 2010 Olympics in light of IOC policy that states that no venue can bare the name of a corporation.

The name to be finalized, may be Canada Hockey Place, as most of the ice hockey games of the Olympics will be held there.

What do you think they should re-name General Motors Place? I guess they could officially re-name it 'The Garage' for the period required.

US Consulate Secures 2010 Office Space

In anticipation of the surging consular needs of the American deligations, spectators, and non-accredited media persons during Vancouver 2010, the US Consulate has secured a lease at 1133 Melville in the Downtown Core, just around the corner from their permanent space on Pender Street West of Thurlow and closeby to the media centre which will be housed in the new Vancouver Convention Centre expansion.

The space is an entire floor, something hard-to-find, when the Vancouver vacancy rate is currently sitting anywhere between 1.7 and 2.06 percent, depending on who's counting. The space is larger than what's required but was apparently secured at a good price.

The lease in question will expire in June 2010, about the time that the building's owner, Amacon, plans to demolish it.

More from the Vancouver Sun.

Torch Relay Update

BEIJING - The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics will not stage an international torch relay to avoid any potential worldwide protests, Vanoc CEO John Furlong said on Wednesday.

"The torch relay will be announced at the end of this year. It will only be in Canada," Furlong said of the 35,000 kilometre domestic relay that will last 106 days.

"We see this as a way for every Canadian to come face to face with the Games," he told an IOC session.

The IOC have decided to review the torch relay after the Beijing 2008 Games international leg turned into a weeks-long demonstration by activists against China's human rights record and its policies in Sudan's Darfur region and Tibet.

Major violent demonstrations marred the London and Paris legs of the relay while protests were also held in several other cities.

Source: Reuters.com