2010 Winter Olympics

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XXI Olympic Winter Games
Image:250px-Vancouver 2010 final.png The 2010 Winter Olympics logo was unveiled on April 23, 2005 named Ilaanaq the Inukshuk. Ilaanaq is the Inuktitut word for friend. Until a new design was revealed, the candidate bid logo was being used by the International Olympic Committee.
Nations participating	---
Athletes participating	---
Events	---
Opening ceremony	February 12, 2010
Closing ceremony	February 28, 2010
Officially opened by	Governor General Michaëlle Jean or Queen Elizabeth II of Canada
Athlete's Oath	---
Judge's Oath	---
Olympic Torch	---
Stadium	BC Place Stadium

The 2010 Winter Olympics, known formally as the XXI Olympic Winter Games, will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Several venues will also be featured in the resort community of Whistler. The games, the first in North America since Salt Lake City hosted the games in 2002, are expected to be officially opened by either the Governor General of Canada on behalf of the Monarch of Canada, or by the Monarch in person, on February 12 and will be declared closed on February 28 by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge.

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada. Previously, it was home to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The villages of Whistler and Garibaldi bid for the games in 1976 before and failed to win.

The Canadian Olympic Committee, as the host country, has pledged to obtain the most gold medal standings at the 2010 Winter Olympics, due to its failures to obtain a gold at both the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

1 Bidding
2 Construction
3 Events
4 See also
5 External links

Bidding

Main article: 2010 Winter Olympic bids

Vancouver won the bidding process to host the Olympics by a vote of the International Olympic Committee on July 2, 2003 at the 115th IOC Session held in Prague, Czech Republic. [1] Earlier in February, Vancouver's residents were subjected to a referendum accepting the responsibilities of the host city should it win its bid. Sixty-four percent of residents accepted the challenge. Vancouver faced two other finalists shortlisted that same February: Salzburg, Austria and Pyeongchang, South Korea.

During their coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Australian comedians Roy & HG launched a campaign for the 2010 games at the little-known, tiny Australian ski resort of Smiggin Holes, even going so far as to produce a promotional video, jingle and directly raising the issue with IOC President Jacques Rogge. Obviously, the attempt came to nothing.

See: Smiggin Holes 2010 Winter Olympic bid

2010 Winter Olympics bidding results
City	NOC Name	Round 1	Round 2
Vancouver	Image:Flag of Canada.svg Canada	40	56
Pyeongchang	Image:Flag of South Korea.svg Republic of Korea	51	53
Salzburg	Image:Flag of Austria.svg Austria	16	-

Construction

The initial challenge Vancouver faced in winning the bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics was fundraising for construction of venues. The committee charged with planning the games received commitments of investment by the federal and provincial governments as well as donations from private corporations and institutions. Such commitments were made enthusiastically as a chance to build on the world prestige Vancouver already gained as host of the 1986 World's Fair and to improve on the technological advances made during that event, like the expansion of the SkyTrain transit system.

As of 2004, the cost of the 2010 Winter Olympics is estimated to be in the range of C$1.4 billion. C$620 million is the approximate cost to construct venues throughout Vancouver and Whistler, C$200 million is expected to be spent for security, and C$600 million will be used to refit the Sea-to-Sky Highway to accommodate increased traffic between Vancouver and Whistler, although this highway upgrade has been over due for more than a decade and will still not meet the basic needs of the corridor. Vancouver and Whistler will maintain an operating budget of about C$2 billion from the provincial and federal governments.

Events

Fifteen winter sports events were announced as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Eight events categorized as Ice Sports were included: bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating, curling. Three sports were categorized as Alpine, Skiing and Snowboarding events: alpine, freestyle and snowboarding. Four sports categorized as Nordic Events were included: biathlon, cross country skiing, ski jumping, nordic combined.

The opening and closing ceremonies and the events categorized as "Ice Sports" will be held in Vancouver, while the sports categorized as either "Alpine, Skiing, and Snowboarding" or "Nordic Events" will be held in Whistler or at Cypress Bowl.

Image:Vancouver2010logo.jpg