Buy Real, Prevent Counterfeit

Real 2010

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) is committed to helping consumers make informed decisions about the Vancouver 2010 products and merchandise they purchase. VANOC will continue to inform the public of marketplace activities that come to our attention which may appear to be officially approved, endorsed, authorized or otherwise associated with VANOC or the 2010 Winter Games when, in fact, such activities have no official association with VANOC or the 2010 Winter Games.

To reduce confusion among consumers, VANOC will be updating this section of vancouver2010.com regularly in order to keep you informed of activities that either intentionally or unintentionally falsely promote an association with VANOC or the 2010 Winter Games.

If you're in doubt as to the legitimacy of any activity in the marketplace regarding Vancouver 2010, kindly contact us at brandprotection@vancouver2010.com.

Real 2010 Partners

Official Sponsors, licensees and government partners of the Olympic and Paralympic movements have made significant investments to ensure the successful staging of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, in addition to funding Canadian athletes. In return they are granted the exclusive right to access the marks, images and stories that make the Olympic and Paralympic Brand a sought-after marketing tool. Unfortunately, certain commercial bodies frequently attempt to capitalize on the goodwill of the Olympic/Paralympic Movement by creating unauthorized associations with the Movement, the Games and/or its athletes, without making the financial investment required to secure official sponsorship rights.

This form of marketing - often called "ambush marketing" - is unfair because it allows the marketer to benefit from associating with Vancouver 2010 without providing financial support for either the Games or Canadian Olympic/Paralympic athletes.

Learn more about VANOC Sponsors and Licensees.

Real 2010 Merchandise

The trade in counterfeit merchandise is not only illegal but also puts consumers at risk. Consumers should be assured that official Vancouver 2010 merchandise is produced according to strict safety and quality assurance standards and to a high level of ethical sourcing and social responsibility. By purchasing official Vancouver 2010 merchandise, consumers can feel confident the products they buy are safe, ethically sourced and support both the staging of the 2010 Winter Games and Canadian athletes,

When purchasing Vancouver 2010 merchandise, VANOC encourages consumers to look for the unique hologram that's affixed to each item, a symbol of the product's authenticity. These holograms feature Vancouver 2010 emblems and several layers of security and have been designed to prevent unauthorized copying, protect consumers and assist customs officers.

Read more about Vancouver 2010 merchandise.

Real 2010 Tickets

Ticketing is an important source of revenue that's vital to the successful staging of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. As such, VANOC is taking significant measures to address the issue of secondary ticket sales. With the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), these measures include deploying "secret shoppers" to purchase tickets from unauthorized dealers, tracing the origin of tickets and disabling all tickets from that source. In addition, VANOC is looking into establishing a centralized resale and distribution resource where members of the public can safely exchange and purchase tickets. VANOC is committed to protecting consumers and ensuring that access to the 2010 Winter Games is achieved using authentic tickets purchased at market prices.

VANOC's message is simple: to ensure authenticity buy directly from vancouver2010.com or Jet Set Sports—along with its affiliate company CoSport—the Official Hospitality Services provider for Vancouver 2010. Tickets bought from elsewhere may not be valid and may not be accepted for entry to 2010 Winter Games events.

To receive 2010 Winter Games ticketing information updates, subscribe here.

Read more about VANOC's ticketing program.

Unauthorized sales promotion

It has come to our attention that there are a number of individuals and organizations offering unauthorized tickets and hospitality packages to the 2010 Winter Games or otherwise claiming to be able to provide tickets in the future. VANOC has NOT and does NOT expect to ever authorize any of these individuals or organizations to market 2010 Winter Games tickets or hospitality packages. Consumers are advised that there is a high degree of risk that any such products obtained from unauthorized parties will be recognized as invalid. VANOC recommends that you not deal with these unauthorized parties. To ensure authenticity buy directly from vancouver2010.com or Jet Set Sports—along with its affiliate company CoSport—the Official Hospitality Services provider for Vancouver 2010.

Accommodation

VANOC is not directly involved in accommodation for visitors to the 2010 Winter Games. This task is being led by VANOC’s tourism partners who have created a website — 2010destinationplanner.com — to assist spectators in finding a range of accommodation including hotels, bed and breakfasts, private home rentals and rooms on cruise ships. Visitors can also access accommodation inventory through HelloBC.com, tourismvancouver.com, whistler.com and tourismrichmond.com.

While there are several other third-party websites currently providing listings for property rentals during the 2010 Winter Games, none of these are associated with, or sanctioned or authorized by VANOC.

To receive 2010 Winter Games Tourism and Accommodation updates, subscribe here.