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.

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.

British Olympic Official Visits

The British minister responsible for the 2012 Summer Olympic games in London, Tess Jowell, will be visiting Vancouver next week to get a first-hand look.

She will have meetings with several officials including those from local and provincial government and VANOC.

She will also participate in a round table discussion on opportunities for Canadian businesses for the London 2012 games.