Vancouver

Today, in Vancouver, shortly after noon, the Olympic countdown clock was revealed to the public in an event attended by supporters and surrounded by the chaos of protesters chanting and protesting the coming of the Olympics.

Here's VANOC official Press Release regarding today’s presentation:

“What’s six metres high, three metres wide, weighs 1,170 kilograms and is wrapped in a 15 metre by 12 metre gift box from Omega on the Vancouver Art Gallery’s northwest corner in downtown Vancouver? It’s the new Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock, presented by Omega, Official Timekeeper. Preparations are underway to unveil it to the citizens of Vancouver, rain or shine, in a fast-paced noon hour celebration on Monday, February 12 – the three-year anniversary to the start of the 2010 Winter Games.”

Vancouver BC Place Stadium dome un-flated {Note: Cross posted at GetElastic, Urban Vancouver and Ephemeral Feasthouse}

Note: Photo updated with correct date, apologies for any confusion.

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Vancouver’s noble and venerable stadium BC Place - which opened in 1983 as one of the first self-supporting domes in the world - is the latest casualty of the wildest winter weather ever around here.

In my scans for photos tagged with both 'vancouver' and 'olympics' on Flickr (the script I whipped up to give me RSS of that seems to be getting more and better results than a tag search), I found Andrew's photo you see to your right which has someone spray-painting "2010 RIOT" in public places. A quick search for '2010 riot' found another photo, this time with a nametag with the phrase.

Canada's Governor General Michaëlle Jean (a Haitian refuge who immigrated to Quebec as a child) and Mayor Sam Sullivan (suddenly, the world's second most famous quadrapelegic) were on hand with a phalanx of officers of everykind to reveal the 1952 Oslo Winter Olympic flag.

Every day during March, the 30 Days of Sustainability website will be posting a question of the day. Today's question is about the 2010 games -

How can Vancouver use the 2010 games as an opportunity to advance ourselves as a leader in sustainability?

Please click on the link above to go the site and add your comments. The more the merrier... short or long.

Vancouver needs to be talking about this topic! We have an opportunity to be a world leader in sustainability, and the Olympics are a powerful opportunity for us to model this to the world. Let's not miss it.

Thanks! 

Vancouver Web Talent to Wow International Audiences in Torino

New Media BC announced that there will be a BC led new media symposium in Torino, Italy, during next week's Winter Olympics.

The event, billed as "Olympics and Web 2.0", and slated for February 17th, will showcase a pioneering cluster of British Columbia companies leading a shift towards Web 2.0 - what is being called the evolution of the Internet.

Vancouver-based Web 2.0 companies, Bryght and Raincity Studios, will lead sessions examining the emergence of citizen journalism and its anticipated impact on Olympic coverage and how podcasting is bringing a whole new sound to sport. Urban Vancouver bloggers will participate from Vancouver via a live connection.

Over the past month, Kris Krug of Bryght, Robert Scales of Raincity Studios and various other Vancouver companies have been working together with New Media BC and Leading Edge BC to coordinate a technology symposium at the BC Canada Place next month during the Torino Olympics in Italy.

This morning as part of my first assignment for Urban Vancouver, I attend Vancouver Mayor, Sam Sullivan and Vancouver 2010 CEO, John Furlong's announcement at the Vancouver City Hall.

Canadian Mayor to make history at Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games

Vancouver – In just one month, in what may be one of the most memorable moments of the Torino 2006 Closing Ceremony, Canada’s first quadriplegic Mayor will accept, on behalf of all Canadians, the Olympic flag. The City of Vancouver and the 2010 Organizing Committee today revealed the innovative behind-the-scenes work being done in support of Mayor Sam Sullivan’s historic role on the world stage.