Monday, March 1, 2010

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games: By the numbers

Vancouver, BC ― After 17 days of thrilling athletic competitions, amazing displays of sportsmanship and magical moments when lifelong dreams were finally realized on the podium, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will draw to their official close tonight.

In looking back and celebrating the impact of Canada’s Games and the future of the Olympic Winter Games, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) would like to share some of the initial statistics available.

By the numbers: The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

February 12 to 28, 2010

  • 17 days of thrilling competition and athletic accomplishments
  • 15 sport disciplines
  • 9 competition venues
  • 3 Olympic training facilities
  • 86 medal competitions
  • 86 Victory Ceremonies (16 in-venue medal presentations, 25 at BC Place and 45 at Whistler Medals Plaza)
  • 615 medals awarded
  • 1,055 athlete bouquets presented
  • 82 participating National Olympic Committees (NOCs)
  • 6,500 athletes and team officials in total
  • 2,632 registered athletes
  • 50,000 workforce members for the Games, including paid, contractor and volunteers
  • Of that total, 18,500 were volunteers; 6,500 volunteers will also work during the Paralympic Winter Games
  • 25,000 workforce uniforms distributed
  • 96,409 people accredited for the Games
  • 10,800 media representatives: 7,000 rights holding broadcasters, 2,800 press reporters and photographers and non-rights holding broadcasters, as well as 1,000 host Olympic Broadcast Service (OBSV) personnel
  • 3.5 billion worldwide television viewers are estimated to have tuned into the Games
  • Olympic rights holding broadcasters have offered Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games coverage on more than 300 TV stations and on more than 100 websites worldwide
  • 47 per cent more global television coverage of the Games than for the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games
  • This represents approximately 24,000 hours of coverage
  • 50,000 hours of total broadcast hours of the Games across all media platforms around the world
  • 6,000 hours of coverage worldwide on mobile platforms
  • As of Day 15, 33.1 million Canadians (99 per cent) have watched coverage
  • 27.7 million cumulative audience or CUME (meaning 82.7 per cent of Canadians) experienced the Games on February 27 through the platforms of Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium.
  • 1,500 appearances by the Vancouver 2010 mascots: Quatchi, Miga and Sumi by the end of the Games
  • 20,567 deliveries made to Olympic venues
  • 1.6 million tickets available for the 2010 Winter Games
  • More than 3.3 million pairs of Vancouver 2010 Red Mittens sold
  • $500-million target for gross retail sales of Vancouver 2010 branded merchandise met by end of Games
  • 2.2 million people engaged to date by the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Oympiad, which will continue for three more weeks
  • More than 4,000 artists at 600 events, over 60 days in 60 venues are taking part in the Cultural Olympiad
  • More than 12,500 volunteer hours clocked for Olympic Closing Ceremony. The thousands of volunteer performers range in age from 10 to 68
  • More than 450 racks of costumes, 3,600 metres of elastic, 4,100 pairs of shoes, 18 kilograms of glitter, 10,000 green sequins, 200 giant spheres and balloons, as well as 20 zygote balls were used in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies
  • 275 million visitors in total to www.vancouver2010.com, shattering the previous record of 105 million set during the Beijing 2008 Games
  • 78 million total unique visitors to the site
  • A record of 9,185,306 unique visits in a single day ― set on February 24. The previous record set during the 2008 Summer Games was 8,797,614 on August 11, 2008
  • Vancouver2010.com was visited 85 million times this month from within Canada and reached more than 70 per cent of Canadians with Internet access and over 50 per cent of the total Canadian population
  • 19.1 per cent of North Americans with Internet access visited the website this month
  • 4.6 per cent of people worldwide with Internet access visited the site this month
  • 14,000 followers on Twitter.com/2010Tweets
  • More than 1.25 million downloads recorded for the official mobile spectator guide, which for 10 days of the Games was the No. 1 free app in Canada
  • 1.1 million Facebook fans, nearly four times the total amount for Beijing at the conclusion of the 2008 Games

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Want to See an Event in Person? No tickets?!

It's not too late!

You have several options... first - beg your friend that spent many hours on at least one of the three previous ticket occasions attempting to secure their Olympic memories if you can join them! Two - check out a non-official ticket selling venue such as eBay or Craigslist.

Three - visit Vancouver2010.com and look at the following three options; Fan-to-Fan Marketplace, yes they're above face value, but they're genuine and guaranteed; Official Auctions, if you do the math the tickets are normally priced similar or even at cheaper prices than the Fan-to-Fan Marketplace prices; Day Of Ticket Releases, if there's time these will be online... but your better bet may be to show up early at the venue and keep your fingers crossed!

Hope you enjoy 2010!

Friday, February 12, 2010

It's come down to this... 0 days!

[sap]
Nearly seven years of preparation, countless hours of planning, hundreds of helicopter loads of snow and tonight the world gathers together to celebrate sport at the highest level.

Some 97 countries will be participating in the 21st Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver & Whistler. Some delegations will be no greater than a single athlete and flag bearer, some groups will have hundreds of competitors! But they will all strive to do their best and to make us proud.

Now is the time to join in the celebration of sport, to put our differences behind us, and to enjoy the an example of shining moments for the people of this place we call earth.

[/end sap]

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Create your own Vectorial!

What's a Vectorial?! It's those crazy lights over the head of False Creek from the Downtown side on the Kits side that light up the night sky!


photo by Susan Gittins on flickr.com

Check it out and you can even create your own light show for all of Vancouver to see!

iPhone Apps for Vancouver 2010

It seems nowadays everyone has an iPhone app and that there truly is "an app for that!" The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games are no exception to that rule.

Vancouver 2010 :: This free app is the official Vancouver 2010 application put out by VANOC and is a location-aware schedule detailing more than 2,000 sport and cultural events taking place over the Olympic Games in Vancouver.
This FREE app is a location-aware schedule detailing more than 2,000 sport and cultural events taking place over 17 days between February 12 and 28, 2010.
Updated throughout the Games, the schedule adjusts to your time zone and works even without a data connection. Plan your Olympic experience by creating a personalized itinerary using Favourites. The app also includes real-time results for every sport as well as headlines, photos and twitter streams.

CTV Olympics :: The free app from the official Canadian broadcaster of the Olympic Winter Games is jam-packed with all sorts of useful features. Articles, athlete bios, photos, scheduling, blogging, and more. All features may not be available to those outside of Canada.
We cover up-to-the-minute headlines and news on every sport at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Stunning photo galleries with hundreds of spectacular photos, in-depth Canadian and International athlete profiles, venue information and the upcoming event schedule for the Games.

NBC Olympics :: The free app from the official US broadcaster of the Olympic Winter Games is stuffed with all sorts of useful features. Video, Articles, athlete bios, photos, scheduling, social media tie-ins, push notifications and more. All features may not be available to those outside of the United States. This app also requires the latest iPhone OS.
Experience the best of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games with the NBC Olympics app. Follow all the action with live real-time updates on every event from Vancouver. Check out NBC Olympics video clips and highlights, news stories for every sport, results & schedules, and updated medal counts. Plus, you can follow your favorite nations, sports and athletes on Facebook and Twitter -- all from your phone.
SportLogik :: Don't know the rules of all those winter Olympic games?! This app will tell you all the rules and regulations so you're in the know!
If you plan on watching the Winter Olympics and are not sure of the difference between Luge and Skeleton and maybe Curling is a total mystery, or you are having a friendly disagreement about the year the US Olympic Hockey team won the Olympic gold medal, we have the answers. For those more foreign sports, such as Australian Rules Football that you want to talk to your Aussie mates about, or its Cricket you want to talk over with all your Cricket following friends, we can help with these foreign relations problems as well.


Bonus :: Lonely Planet Guide to Vancouver :: This app, which would normally cost up to $15.99 to purchase, is free in honour of Vancouver 2010. It gives you a location-aware rundown of sights to see in Vancouver... when you're not cheering on your country
Get a bird’s eye view of ‘Vansterdam’ with Vancouver Travel Guide: The Sights. As this spectacular city gears up for the games there’s no better time to have all of its sights at your fingertips. From UBC Thunderbird Arena and the Pacific Coliseum, to the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Capilano Salmon Hatchery, we’ve listed over 70 things-to-see and where to see them. Zoom in on our location-aware maps to discover exactly where your next ‘must see spot’ is. Also included are our ‘landscape low-downs’ on just what makes this famously cool city, so hot right now.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Google Streetview on Whistler Mountains

The crazy video from the Google team shows you a whole new "street" view...


Here's one example of the Dave Murray Downhill, home of the 2010 Downhill Alpine events. More specific links on the Google Blog.

BBC Winter Olympics Ad