Swap for 2010

Not everyone is excited that the world is coming to Vancouver & Whistler in 2010 for the Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games, but there are of course plenty of options.

You can rent your place out for 2010 and book yourself into a hotel somewhere else... maybe a tropical locale OR you can make it easier and explore the exciting world of house swapping.

There are plenty of people interested in swapping there world-wide homes for yours during 2010. This is a great way to get all the comforts of home in a win/win relationship with another exchanger.

You can post your swap listing in our 100% FREE forums here.

2010 Cultural Olympiad

Tomorrow VANOC is set to announce the full line-up for the 2010 cultural olympiad which will run from February 1 through March 21.

Over those 7 weeks many world-class cultural performances will descend on Vancouver & Whistler in addition to the thousands of world-class athletes.

Previously announced performances include Ronnie Burkett's Billy Twinkle: Requiem for a Golden Boy and Montreal Danse's On the Ice of Labrador Feb. 1-8 and March 3-7 respectively at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.

Read more in our forums where we'll update as news is available.

News Stories & New Listings

There's a lot of 2010 news hitting the wires right now and it's hard to keep track of it all. The Winter2010Rentals is able to put a little more time into finding all of the relevant news stories that you could read and we post them all in our forum.

We also want to let you know that we've had several new listings over the last couple of weeks and more are being added each week. To post your FREE listing or wanted ad visit here.

Vancouver's Turn to Step into the Spotlight

Members of the IOC have just finished up there seventh visit to Vancouver and have confirmed their belief that VANOC is well on there way to hosting a spectacular Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010.

Commenting on the visit, IOC Coordination Commission Chairman René Fasel said, “With the Beijing Games now over, it is Vancouver 2010’s turn to step into the spotlight and I am confident that Vancouver 2010 can also raise the bar for the Olympic Winter Games. Our Canadian friends learned many important lessons during their stay in Beijing as part of the IOC’s Observer’s Programme, and this can be seen in their planning, which is being fine-tuned as VANOC moves into its operational phase.”

More on Vancouver's turn to step into the spotlight can be found here.

Ticket Deadline :: October 29

No need to worry if you're using the official card of the Olympic games, but if you're not planning to pay by VISA then you'll need to have your request along with your cheque or money order post-marked no later than October 29.

Online applications using VISA have until November 7, 2008 to be completed.

Happy Ticketing.

More info on tickets here.

Richmond Oval Officially Opening December 12-13

On December 12th the Richmond Oval will officially be open...

The Richmond Olympic Oval, home of speed skating for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, will officially open on Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13. An innovative and memorable community celebration will mark the opening and will showcase the Oval's unique design and include opportunities for members of the public to skate on the 400-metre track.

Read more here.

VANOC Creates Long-Term Affordable Housing

The Province of British Columbia and the Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympics are partnering together to create 156 long-term affordable housing units.

The plan will see 320 temporary housing units that will be used during the Winter Olympics transformed into 156 permanent affordable housing units in 6 communities across the province: Chetwynd, Chilliwack, Enderby, Saanich, Sechelt and Surrey.

Read more here.

Hospitality Packages Now Available for 2010

VANOC announced yesterday that hospitality packages for the XXI Winter Olympic Games are now available.

The 47 different packages are being offered through the official supplier CoSport, accessible through www.CoSport.com.

Read more here.

Olympic Security Costs will be More Than Double

Estimates for the costs of security for the 2010 Olympic games were originally pegged at a mere $186M. A large sum by any means, but the Public Safety Minister is now claiming that estimate is extremely low and that the real costs will range somewhere North of $400M but less than $1B.

Read more here.

Financial Crisis Continues to Dog Athletes Village

The Global Financial Crisis is still causing a lot of headaches for the developer of the Vancouver Athletes Village and articles continue to pour out about their potential trouble.

At this point most of what we're seeing is largely speculative, but makes sense in the current climate.

We'll continue to follow this and try to post relevant articles here.

30 days left...

It's been nearly a week since you've been able to start working on your application for 2010 tickets and you now have 30 days left to complete your app as of the writing of this post.

Make sure you get the tickets you want and complete your application today.

Don't forget to figure out your accommodation, you can either post a rental offering or place a rental want ad on our FREE forums.

VANOC Expects Sellouts

Despite the current turmoil in the financial markets and world economies teetering on the brink of recession the organizing committee for the the 2010 Vancouver / Whistler Olympic Winter Games is anticipating a complete sellout.

Many tickets will most likely be oversubscribed for which will result in lotteries to fill the applications.

Don't be disappointed, be sure to fill out your request, complete with alternate choices in case your first choice is unavailable.

Read more here.

Vancouver's Olympic Village in Trouble?

Amid the current global financial credit crisis rumours are starting to swirl that the Vancouver Athletes Village being constructed by Millennium Development Corp. on the shores of South East False Creek could be in serious financial trouble.

Fortress Investment Group, a large private-equity establishment out of New York who provided much of the funds has apparently been monitoring the project and their reported cost overruns very closely.

The City of Vancouver also recently held an emergency review of the project since they are apparently on the hook to completely the $1B project should the current financing methods be recalled.

Read more on these major rumours here.

Whistler's Peak 2 Peak Launch December 12

It won't be long now until Whistler launches Peak 2 Peak, a massive gondola travelling from the Peak of Whistler Mountain 2 the Peak of Blackcomb Mountain.

The gondola will have the greatest length of freespan cable in the world! The journey will take nearly 12 minutes to cross the valley nearly 450m below. Take a "peak" at the video below...



Read more about the Peak2Peak Gondola here.

Time to Start Building Your Ticket Request Package

The time has come for you to start building your ticket request package. It's hard to beleive, but it's true.

So unless you're planning to donate $285,000 + GST to VANOC you will need to visit this page to start crafting your personal Olympic Experience Package. Prices range from the low $100 range to well over $1000.

The Games are just around the corner!!! For your accommodation needs check out our FREE forums.

The Vancouver 2010 Club - A Patron's Program

Want to gaurantee that you get some great tickets? Well, you can, if you act fast. To acquire 100 prime tickets, a car and driver, concierge service, and even a spot in the Olympic Torch Relay it'll only cost you $285,000 + GST and up.

This program, much like some offered at other Olympic Games, will bring in VANOC $28.5M.

Read more about this amazing 'club' here.

VANOC Snaps Up Ad Space

You were going to have a hard time missing the fact that the Olympics were going on in Vancouver in 2010 with all the buzz that's expected buy now VANOC has ensured there's no possible way that you could miss it.

Everything from billboards to mall posters to baggage carousels at YVR, to every possible inch of space on TransLink's fleet will carry the corporate 2010 Olympic message.

The achieve all this guaranteed ad space VANOC had to pay full-rate on all of it with adjustment for inflation.

Read more here.

2010 StreetCar Images

At the end of July we first told you about the StreetCar that is planned for Vancouver in time for 2010 in another post.

Today we have pictures of the new StreetCar which can be viewed here.

The cars in question are manufactured by Bombardier though, an official supplier of Vancouver 2010 in charge of designing, engineering, and manufacturing the relay torch.

Also, of note is that the StreetCar trial will be quite short to begin with as the cars will simply be on loan from the Brussels Transportation Company.