Olympic Updates for Locals

With only 100 days to go the rings are lit, the Village is handed over, the torch continues by dogsled and more tickets will go on sale.

Victory Ceremony Tickets
The third and final phase of ticket sales for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games begins Saturday, November 7 at 10:00 am (Pacific Time) on their website. This final phase of ticket sales also marks the release of further details on the nightly Victory Ceremonies at BC Place. The indoor ceremonies will last just over two hours, will be held on 12 nights only and will be sponsored each night by a province or territory. The lineup of bands and solo performers, as well as the schedule of provincial and territorial nights, will be released later this year. Customers who secure tickets by November 20th will have the option to receive special souvenir versions of their Victory Ceremony tickets. The highly collectable, full-colour and oversize tickets prominently display a single Vancouver 2010 Olympic medal and its unique crop of a larger Aboriginal artwork of an orca whale.

Olympic Rings
For those who missed it yesterday, the 14 meter-tall Olympic rings are still on view in the Burrard Inlet today. They were lit on Wednesday evening November 4, 2009 marking 100 days until the start of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Each time that a medal is won by Canada there will be a light show both at these rings and at the airport. The rings will be moved shortly and moored at a temporary site near Brockton Point until closer to the Games.

Alternate Transport for the Torch
Yesterday the Olympic Torch was carried by dog sled to Old Crow, Yukon and today it will carry on by dogsled to Kugluktuk in the Northwest Territories. Tomorrow, it will be transported by chuckwagon trough the streets of Grande Prairie.

Olympic Village
Also to officially mark the 100 day countdown to the Games on Wednesday November 4th, Mayor Gregor Robertson handed over the keys to the Olympic and Paralympic Village Vancouver to John Furlong. VANOC will now begin its final preparations of the village to house 3,000 athletes with an extensive list of amenities and services available to them.

Military Presence
The Jericho Garrison at 4th Avenue and Alma is gearing up for its security role during the Games. The grounds will be used as a temporary accommodation facility for soldiers who provide additional support to the RCMP. Trailers have been moved in to provide self-contained living and working quarters.

Canadian Artwork
The current CODE exhibit, number 5 in the series, is entitled ‘The Stuff of Us’ and features Canadian artists who use common objects to encourage new interpretations of the things around us. The current and four previous exhibits can be view at the CODE website.