Olympic Fever Rising in Vancouver

British Columbia will be party central in February when the five rings of the XXI Olympic Winter Games roll in after several years of intense planning (and, if you ask the locals, some equally intense spending). But with a packed schedule of snow-dusted sporting events and a feast of accompanying festival-like shenanigans, what are some of the must-see highlights for those planning a visit?

Launching with what promises to be a spectacular opening ceremony at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium on Feb. 12 − look for mascot Quatchi to steal the show − the 17-day event (plus the 10-day Paralympic Games beginning March 12) is the first Canadian-hosted Olympics since Calgary in 1988. That’s the one where inept ski jumper Eddie (The Eagle) Edwards and the ever-smiling Jamaican bobsled team hogged the limelight.

While Eddie isn’t leaping into the void this time around, the latter-day version of his event takes place at the breathtaking Whistler Olympic Park, a forest-lined setting 16 kilometers southwest of the gable-roofed ski village. Ski jumps have been cut into the mountainside here, and the venue will also host biathlon, cross-country and Nordic-combined skiing competitions.

This back-country location illustrates that although the 86-event Games is centered on Vancouver, its 5,500 participants from more than 80 countries are competing at sites spread widely across the region. Watched by 3 billion global TV viewers, battles will be waged in and around Whistler, throughout Vancouver, and also in the Lower Mainland suburbs of Richmond and West Vancouver. Aside from its Olympic Park, the Whistler Sliding Centre, near the base of Blackcomb Mountain, hosts luge, skeleton and bobsled events, while its Creekside slopes are staging alpine skiing competitions. With its own medal ceremonies, Whistler also has six Live! Sites, with Village Square and Skiers Plaza likely the best spots to join the cheering throngs and wrap yourself in Olympic glory.

Closer to the host city, West Vancouver’s Cypress Mountain overlooks the metropolis and is offering freestyle skiing and snowboarding action. And south of Vancouver, the city of Richmond has created its own piece of the 2010 pie with a sparkling new $175 million Olympic Oval that will host the speed-skating contests.

While a network of special buses will transport spectators between these venues, many visitors will simply stick around the downtown core for the duration of the Games. Vancouver will have a smorgasbord of events and activities, and even those not attending competitions will have plenty of reasons to slip on the mittens and hit the streets.

The city’s new and refurbished arenas will serve up curling, figure skating and short-track speed skating. And then there’s the hottest ticket in town: Men’s and women’s ice hockey is at UBC’s new Thunderbird Arena as well as downtown’s GM Place arena, renamed Canada Hockey Place for the Games. This is where the men’s gold medal game will take place Feb. 28.

If you haven’t snagged a ticket (official resales will be offered through the Games’ official Web site), warm yourself at one of Vancouver’s two free LiveCity sites. Don your maple-leaf face paint at Yaletown’s David Lam Park or at the former bus depot location at the corner of Georgia and Beatty Sts. Both will have big-screen Olympic action, live performances and plenty of al fresco partying.

Of course the Olympics aren’t just about sports. A giant Cultural Olympiad runs Jan. 22-March 21 and includes more than 600 events, many of them free. Artists and performers will include Ron Sexsmith, Steve Earle, Robert Lepage, the Alberta Ballet and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Granville Island’s annual two-day Winterruption festival will be expanded to nine days to keep visiting culture vultures happy.

In fact, the “island” − actually a peninsula studded with art studios and a public market − will be one of the leading mini-destinations during the Olympics. House of Switzerland, Atlantic Canada House and Place de la Francophonie will be based here, offering food, hospitality and cultural presentations in a festive atmosphere. A free streetcar will also shuttle from the island’s entrance to the bustling Olympic Village in Southeast False Creek.

Other countries are also colonizing the city during the Games. The German region of Saxony will roll out the beer and sausages at the Vancouver Rowing Club, while Russia is taking over Science World to promote its hosting of the 2014 Winter Olympics. But you can expect the Dutch to win over most visitors. Their Holland Heineken House, transforming Richmond’s Minoru Arenas, is expected to be B.C.’s best party spot. You might even forget the Games are on at all.

RESOURCES
General information and tickets: http://www.vancouver2010.com/
Cultural Olympiad: www.vancouver2010.com/culturalolympiad
Tourism Vancouver: http://www.tourismvancouver.com/
Tourism Whistler: http://www.tourismwhistler.com/