Welcome to the Olympic Hangover

Man! Is it quiet around here!

 After 7 1/2 years of knowing the Games were coming, and an almost hourly update every hour for the last six months, the entire thing seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye. It only seemed like yesterday that we were hunkering down readying ourselves for the opening ceremonies, and now we are left feeling like we are experiencing the morning after the night before.

 I was frequently asked what I felt about having the games, and increasingly in the final few weeks, I was thinking that if it ever came off, it would be a miracle. After all, since we got the Games, we have experienced a global financial plug hole that saw about 20% of the planets wealth disappear with the last of the suds, and a tripling of the security budget to over $1 Billion. One month before kick off, w entered the mildest January on record, and one of the venues didn’t have enough natural snow for the first time in living memory. Even the day of the ceremonies, the games (and us, because we felt it keenly), there was a death on the sliding track. I remembered laughing at the U.S., coach’s description of that track in late 2009 as “An elevator shaft with ice.” suddenly the real mental picture of that phrase hit home, and I felt as guilty as hell.

 We have endured the sight of fragile, yet tall and perfectly dressed ski jumpers taking everyone to court from the IOC to the guy that grooms the snow in the landing area, because they wanted entry to the games. The morning after the opening ceremonies about 4 people tried to start a riot by smashing some glass, and we all held our breath – it didn’t take. Even during the opening, one of the major effects didn’t work, and we all knew that the rest of the world was sniggering at us. You know what? It didn’t matter an iota.

 It took a few days for every local to get into it, but as soon as the Canadians won their first gold, something happened. We knew we belonged, and the sound of the National Anthem being played made us feel as if we were hosts. Like the poor drunk who had a few too many waiting for the party to arrive at his apartment, we suddenly woke up and said: “We have paid for this, why don’t we just enjoy it?”

 Over 150,000 people dressed in red and white were walking around downtown every night – most of them from out of town, and the majority of those from out of the country. At the end of week one, we were winning a medal a day, and had our collective sights set on the Norwegians. When the hockey team crushed the Russians, even the U.S. loss in the round robin didn’t appear to be terminal. When our skeleton Gold came in, the town exploded, and the sight of him drinking from a pitcher of beer on the way from doping to a live TV interview that had been handed to him by a complete stranger, we felt that these athletes were just like us.

 I went to our local athletic track, named the O-Zone for the two week period, and enjoyed a free concert with 20,000 strangers, before piling into the Holland House (Junior hockey arena), and shared a Dutch speed skating Gold with overpriced Heinekens, and an indoor crowd I haven’t been a part of for decades. Most people did ditch their cars and take transit, which became the home to dozens of global accents.

There was no trouble, no crime, no riots, no demonstrations, no bodies, and hardly any drunks downtown. Then we won our 13^th Gold – tying a record only held by the Norskis and the mighty Soviets over 30 years ago. By the time the final day came around and Vancouver became a ghost town as the entire country watched the Gold medal game (You could hear the cheer when they scored the winner. Even if you were on top of a mountain), we knew that we had set a new record and had one of the most successful games ever. Time to say goodbye, and that was it – everyone left next day. Was the 80 Million plus we spent on athlete training worth it? Yes. How about the visitor numbers? Could we live with it? Yes.

What we never realised what we would feel is Pride. Pride in our city, our people, and our country. It was an unforgettable two weeks, and something I am proud to be a part of. Heck, I don’t even mind paying for it for the next Olympiad or two. Over to you, Russia, but be aware of the hangover – it’s quiet here.

Inside the Olympics: A Load of Rubbish

Amongst the triple Salkow’s, sub 3-minute skated miles, and bulls eyes scored from prone positions (Skiing and shooting? Who thought of that?), there are, of course, the mundane everyday chores that still have to be done. Think of rubbish clean up, carting and disposal. Not only are we being flooded by competitors, the Olympic family big-wigs, and tourists, we are getting in more food and beverage items, and the cups, plates, and cutlery required to sink them. The work entailed in clean up is testing at most times, but imagine what it will be like, when you can only do this under the cover of darkness, in mid-winter, under a strict security blanket.

The regular Joe’s that run companies like these are the ones that are taking on extra help during this special month, and to quote an old English phrase: “Where there’s Muck, there’s brass.”

For anyone that has ever travelled up here, you will remember that the city of Vancouver and the alpine venues at Whistler are about 2 hours away along the Sea to Sky Highway. About half way up this road is the town of Squamish, the home of the only landfill around these parts. That First Nation name, by the way, translates as “The Place of Big Winds” as if garbage collectors will feel a little too comfortable. The logistics of getting in and out of this place, along that road, in these conditions are a nightmare, of course, especially when you consider the numbers involved:

Regular Whistler population is under 10,00. The amount of warm bodies expected for February and March is 55,000. The amount of garbage expected is about 1,200 Tonnes. That’s going to be a mean feat for the capacity of garbage trucks – 28 tonnes when full. How would you like to be driving a full truck down an icy road in a whiteout, while being overtaken by drunken Lexus drivers, and tour busses full of rowdy Austrian ski fans?

The stated goals of VANOC concerning sustainability and legacy, together with a green a delivery of the spectacle as possible seem to be at odds with the reality of what is going on. Indeed the promises of Games-created jobs also appear to a little rosier that what will take place also. While companies contracted to perform such unseen housekeeping tasks as these are definitely there, they aren’t sustainable in any way. Many small companies will simply suck it up and work extra hard during the two weeks of the main Games calendar, to avoid taking on any short-term staff.

All in all, however, even though us residents were sold a bill of goods with this event resulting in higher taxes for many years to come and there is no promise of future tourism or corporate investment directly attributable to the Games, the fact that everything is ready to go well in advance, there has been infrastructure spending to ready ourselves for this, and we have appeared to dodge the financial meltdown bullet, it is no longer miraculous of the Games come off. VANOC have done a great job readying ourselves for the World, and we may well get some future visitors and new corporate residents because of the Games. Well done to them, as well as to the garbage collectors.

History’s longest Olympic torch run continues, with the only negative press coming from demonstrations in Toronto two weeks ago. News of this, however, was swamped by the appearance of an 81 year old Canadian athlete taking the flame into a full Parliament to a standing ovation from our elected representatives. The Tour has now been to the most Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern parts of the country, and is on its way back to the Pacific Coast. A fantastically inclusive event, it is a daily reminder of the scale of what’s to come. You can follow the last 48 days of it, here http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/olympic-torch-relay/olympic-torch-relay-interactive-map/

 and we hope you join us for the Games in February and March 2010.

The Olympics: Mixed Media Messages

So who is against this global event convening in their back yard? Well, don’t expect a cogent answer from the media. In our City there are two major groups that continually upbraid the populace for supporting The Games. One is native-rights group that state that the land the games are being contested on is stolen, and belongs to them. Given that a second’s thought? Good – let’s move on. The second one is an Anti-Poverty group that protests on a regular basis that…..well, I didn’t know really. The fact that poverty in the city is bad, I suppose – or perhaps that there is poverty in the World. It’s something like that. While there has always been some ‘rhubarb’ from the back of the room that this exercise will cost a lot of money, it is these two groups that are always heard from when any announcement is made from the organising committee. “We have finished our building one year ahead of schedule.” Comes the clarion cry from VANOC HQ, closely followed by either: “Oh yeah? Well the entire process is being held on land that us First Nations’ land.” or “That is an unbelievable amount of money being spent, considering that there is poverty…somewhere.” Perhaps these negative comments have to be listened to, to be balanced in your reception of all messages, but there haven’t really been anymore. I would have thought that once these groups have been heard from once or twice, that would be all we needed to know about their existence, but No. Every time we get a Pres Release from the organising committee, there is a competing one from one of these two groups. My main problem with this is that the usual shit-storm stirring that the Press feels it must do while, at the same time, proudly boasting that they are “The Official TV/Radio/Newspaper/Blog of the Olympics. We aren’t children. We know that the Olympics are going to get a lot of press, and you want to be a major part of it. We KNOW! So while you are busting a gut to get the five rings connected to your corporate logo in front of us courtesy of your ability to get into our houses, do you really have the right to drag these burbling hand puppets out in front of us every single time to advertise yourself to us? The mixed message here is that the media are desperate to have you watch, read, or listen about this massive event on their channel, they can’t help showing that the very act of hosting this behemoth of PR causes angst in the hearts of about 0.25% of the populace – well, thanks a lot. Here is a story for you. The Olympic medal design was unveiled last week. Made mainly of cast off, junked computer parts harvested by those no doubt under the poverty line, they were made (and covered in Gold Silver and Bronze, I hasten to add), by the Canadian Mint – which is out of province. No poverty or First Nation issues there, I think, but a story you probably won’t get anywhere lese, because it doesn’t have the tension that the media require to report on.