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Opening ceremonies secrets leak out

Final torchbearer still subject of great speculation

By BOB MACKIN , QMI Agency

Last Updated: 5th February 2010, 8:52pm

Secrets of the 2010 Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony are slowly emerging with less than a week to go.

The Feb. 12 B.C. Place Stadium event will feature a cauldron on a hydraulic lift in the middle of the air-supported dome’s new false-floor. Various trap-doors have been built for performers to pop up and down. Performers have been outfitted in lumberjack and voyageur costumes and a canoe will appear to fly above the audience. VANOC volunteers were each offered a ticket to the Feb. 10 dress rehearsal and are allowed to buy an additional ticket for $50.

The biggest secret is the identity of the final torchbearer. Speculation has run rampant that it may be hockey hero Wayne Gretzky. Documents from federal government brainstorming sessions in 2006 proposed an aboriginal athlete, similar to Sydney 2000 where aborigine sprinter Cathy Freeman lit the cauldron. The Vancouver opening ceremony producer is Australian David Atkins, who was involved in 2000.

Preparations for the biggest live TV production in Canadian history have not been without challenges.

Trusses for lights and speakers have caused stress on the 27-year-old roof. Crews with contractor Riggit are on-call around the clock in case of a rainstorm to stop water from pooling on the 27-year-old fabric roof. A panel on the fabric roof inverted during a Jan. 14 downpour and flooded into the stadium like a waterfall.

A performer who was portraying a ski jumper crashed during a rehearsal earlier this week, but details are slim because of VANOC’s information blackout about the ceremony.

“The injuries are not life-threatening and the performer is in recovery,” said VANOC communications vice-president Renee Smith-Valade, who declined to offer further details.

WorkSafeBC spokeswoman Donna Freeman said via email: “There was no inspection report issued in this case; no compliance orders were issued. A safety officer did meet with the employer.”

Some stadium workers, however, may not have the Olympic spirit after 380 were given layoff notices this week. The stadium will close April 7 for up to 18 months while a $458 million retractable roof is installed.

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Sounds like a lot of stereo types.... :unsure:

There were quite a few stereotypes at Sydney too...I'm sure it will be fine. The only surprise there are the lumberjacks.

But flying canoes isn't a surprise to me, something similar happened at Doha 2006.

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To be fair, the logging/softwood lumber is a huge industry in British Columbia and in many other towns in Canada. It is a part of Canada, especially B.C. and for many B.C. towns it's their soul and lifeblood, keeping their towns alive. But since the 1980's, the logging industry has been in decline and when Vancouver hosted the 1986 World's Fair that was a shift from a resource-based economy to a international service-based economy.

I highly doubt the lumberjack segment will be long, it'll probably be a transitional segment into modern Vancouver, B.C., and Canada.

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I can't have been the only one whose imediate thought after "lumberjack" was this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oflabSvvV5w

For he's a lumberjuck as he's OK. He's sleeps all night and he works all day!

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Sounds like a lot of stereo types.... :unsure:

In that case, the cauldron should be lit by...

bobanddoug1.jpg

And the theme song will be Take Off, as sung by Bob, Doug, and Geddy Lee.

Coo Roo Coo Coo Coo Coo Coo Coo...

Coo Roo Coo Coo Coo Coo Coo Coo!

B):P

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What, no rules? It's people's choice for theme song

By Damian Inwood, The Province

Forget Sarah McLachlan's highly-touted song "One Dream."

And don't rush out to buy New York singer Matisyahu's "One Day."

The official word from Olympic organizers is that there will be no Vancouver 2010-sanctioned theme song for this year's Winter Games.

"Let me be clear," Renee Smith-Valade, 2010's vice-president of communications, said Thursday.

"There isn't an official song." There has been widespread Internet buzz about what might become the official theme of the 2010 Olympics.

Smith-Valade said there are many pieces of music that have been put out by artists and sponsors who believe in the Games.

McLachlan's song appeared online several months ago and was being touted as the "official song."

It was used by NBC on Jan. 24 in its run-up to the Games.

The same thing happened with Matisyahu's anthemic offering after NBC used it as the background for an advertisement for the Games.

Smith-Valade said many different pieces of music become linked to the Games, through the growth of Internet music and the many sponsors and organizations involved in the Olympics.

"There can be seven, eight, or 10 different pieces of music theatre identified with the Games," she added. "What it really comes down to is what the individual likes. For one person, one song may become their official song or the one they associate with the Games, but someone else might find another one that particularly appeals to them."

She said the Feb. 12 opening ceremonies will include original music.

"Some people may say, 'That's the official theme song,' but it won't be marketed or designated as such," she added.

dinwood@theprovince.com

© Copyright © The Province

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Is that regular for every games? If not im pretty disappointed.

There are and there aren't. I think it depends on the quality of the songs they (the Org Committee) gets and if say, its contacts in the recording industry (think David Foster) think the piece(s) interest enough artists who can associate them with the Winter Games. Like for example, if there was a 'rap song' gunning to be the Games' Official Song and say...I dunno, who's some rap artist...Busta Rhymes or whatever...is interested...BUT VANOC and the IOC are not, so it's a no go. But if say Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber penned another I BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF THE DREAM BECAUSE WE ARE THE HAITIAN PEOPLE-type song, and maybe Amy WHinehouse liked it enough to attach her name to it...and VANOC and the IOC approve, then it could become the Games' "Official Theme" Song. Certain stars have to line up for something to fall into the category...and this year, obviously, VANOC has decided NOT to endorse a single one. I guess they'll get more onto a CD than just one piece.

Edited by baron-pierreIV
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And Sydney didn't have the official theme song either -- but rather a collection of theme songs for the opening ceremony, i.e. Nikki Webster's "Under Southern Skies", Olivia Newton-John's and John Farnham's "Dare to Dream", Vanessa Amorosi's "Heroes Live Forever" and Tina Arena's "The Flame". And I suppose no one would say that she or he missed a central theme song, regarding the quality of these songs.

Anyway, if the theme song is determined by the individual preferences, I hereby declare this the official theme song of Vancouver 2010 ;) (and I still hope that the rumour is true that it is used not only on CTV's broadcasts but also in the opening ceremony):

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And Sydney didn't have the official theme song either

... I know that there were no official theme song, but I will always link Kylies' "Dancing Queen", Vanessas' "Absolutely Everybody" and Savage Gardens "Affirmation" (altough I just adore "Affirmation" for its lyrics (so absolutely true)) with the Sydney Olympics

Edited by Citius Altius Fortius
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I think this is the way to go! The simple fact that someone has so brilliantly opened this thread has returned the fun to Gamesbids! Knowing a few detail in advance won't take away from the sheer (I suppose "potential" would be a better word) majesty of the opening ceremonies. Now I'm beginning to feel that something special is about to happen in Vancouver!

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Oh, I forgot another sticking point for WHY there are NO OfFICIAL Theme songs for some of the last few Games. I think the recording contracts of some of the most commercial of the stars...involve them NOT GIVING away all their rights and future residuals to the IOC...which, as of 1996 and 2002, the IOC asked for the moon from the commercial artists. So that might be another reason there is NO Official Theme Song for Vancouver...like maybe, a certain artist is already attached to I BELIEVE and they refuse to sign over all future residuals and royalties to VANOC and the IOC. (And I don't blame them.)

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You know more about London? Are you joking?

The article posted above gives a lot of insight, and we know there's a ski jumper, and a cauldron in the middle of the stadium.

I've also had some of the music used described to me. Some parts are 'spacey', as if you were in a planetarium, some parts are more tribal, and some are very upbeat and movie-esque. People have also heard the national anthem being rehearsed.

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You know more about London? Are you joking?

The article posted above gives a lot of insight, and we know there's a ski jumper, and a cauldron in the middle of the stadium.

I've also had some of the music used described to me. Some parts are 'spacey', as if you were in a planetarium, some parts are more tribal, and some are very upbeat and movie-esque. People have also heard the national anthem being rehearsed.

Oh god...that sounds a lot like Torino's music.

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