Vancouver 2010

The city of Vancouver was elected host city of the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010 at the 115th IOC Session in Prague on 2 July 2003. Eight cities applied to host the Games: Andorra la Vella (Andorra), Bern (Switzerland), Harbin (China), Jaca (Spain), PyeongChang (Republic of Korea), Salzburg (Austria), Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) and Vancouver (Canada).

The following cities were accepted as Candidate Cities to host the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board on 28 August 2002 (in the order of drawing of lots):

• Vancouver (Canada)
• Salzburg (Austria)
• PyeongChang (Republic of Korea)
• Bern (Switzerland)

On 27 September 2002, the city of Bern withdrew its candidature to host the XXI Olympic Winter Games.

115th IOC Session, 2 July 2003, Prague: Election of the Host City of the XXI Olympic Winter Games:

The venues for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games stretched over a 120-kilometre zone from Richmond, through downtown Vancouver and north to the mountain resort of Whistler. Drawing on both new and existing facilities, VANOC’s goal was to create spectacular theatres for sport that provide top conditions for athletes and a welcome place for spectators to experience the excitement of competition.

Vancouver Venues Overview

The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games events in Vancouver included curling, figure skating, ice hockey, sledge hockey, short-track speed skating and wheelchair curling.

Speed skating took place in Richmond, while the snowboard and freestyle skiing events were hosted at Cypress Mountain in the District of West Vancouver. The Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, were staged indoors at BC Place in Vancouver city centre.

Whistler Venue Overview

For the 2010 Winter Games, Whistler hosted Olympic and Paralympic Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and biathlon, as well as Olympic Nordic combined, ski jumping, bobsleigh, luge and skeleton. Olympic and Paralympic Villages and media facilities were located in Vancouver and Whistler.

Quick Facts about the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games

• 17 days of Olympic Games events
• 2566 athletes
• 82 participating countries
• 10,000 media representatives
• 3 billion television viewers worldwide

On the obverse, the Olympic rings marked in relief accompanied by Aboriginal designs taken from the orca work produced by laser and giving the impression of additional texture. On the reverse, the official name of the Games in English and French, the two official languages of Canada and the Olympic Movement. Also present are the 2010 Olympic Winter Games emblem and the name of the sport and event concerned.

The undulating shape of the medals was devised by Omer Arbel, a Canadian industrial designer and architect originally from Vancouver. This distinctive look requires the medal to be struck nine times as part of the 30-step fabrication process. The inspiration for these medals came from a large artwork by Corrine Hunt, a Vancouver-based artist of Komoyue and Tlingit heritage. Each of the medals has a hand-cropped section of the artwork, thus making each medal one of a kind.

Quatchi and Miga

The Vancouver Games mascots were creatures inspired by the fauna and tales of the First Nations on the West Coast of Canada.

Number of torchbearers: around 12 000 in Canada and 560 in Greece
Total distance: around 45 000 km in Canada and 2 180 in Greece
Countries crossed: Greece, Canada

The official report of Vancouver 2010 has a unique format: an official commemorative book published by Wiley, “With glowing hearts” and a multimedia set, “Post-Games report guide: the official report of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games”. This set contains an explanatory brochure, two CD-ROMs containing the official results and texts, as well as a commemorative film on DVD, “The Canada that now is”. The two volumes are fully bilingual – French and English.