The world will be coming to Vancouver, B.C. for the XXI Olympic Winter Games Feb.12–28, 2010. More than 80 countries will be represented, showcasing 2,500 top athletes competing in seven sports with 15 disciplines. It adds up to more than 90 medal events.
Other elite competitors will vie for medals at the same sites at the Paralympic Winter Games March 12–21.
Here’s a rundown of the venues, which stretch 75 miles from the shores of Richmond just south of Vancouver, through Vancouver’s downtown center north to the snowy peaks of Whistler mountain resort.
Ice Hockey – General Motors Place, home of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks in downtown Vancouver with seating capacity for 18,000; and the University of British Columbia Winter Sports Center on Vancouver’s west side with 7,200 seating capacity.
Curling – Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park located in Queen Elizabeth Park with seating for 6,200.
Figure skating and short-track speed skating – Pacific Coliseum at Hastings Park with seating for 14,000.
Long track speed skating – Richmond Oval, located 9 miles south of Vancouver, with seating for 6,900.
Women’s and men’s downhill and slalom – Whistler Creekside, located 75 miles north of Vancouver at Whistler Resort, with spectator seating for 7,600 at the finish line of the women’s and men’s events on Wildcard/Franz’s Run and Dave Murray Downhill.
Nordic skiing – Callaghan Valley located 12 miles south of Whistler with 100 km of trails, three separate 12,000-seat stadiums, a biathlon facility, a lodge and two ski jumps.
Bobsled, luge and skeleton – Whistler Sliding Center on Blackcomb Mountain with seating for 12,000 spectators on the 1,700-meter ice track consisting of 16 corners and 124-meter drop where speeds will average 75 miles per hour.
Skiing freestyle and snowboard competition – Cypress Mountain, located in West Vancouver 30 minutes from downtown, with an in-ground Olympic half pipe, parallel giant slalom course, freestyle sites for aerials and moguls, a snowmaking system, lighting and two stadiums with 12,000 seating each.
Athletes Village – One housing facility for the athletes and coaches on Vancouver’s metropolitan inner harbor of False Creek and a second village at Cheakamus River Gorge at the south entrance to Whistler.
Ceremony sites – The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be held indoors at BC Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver. The 60,000-seat facility, which has the largest air-supported stadium roof in North America and is home to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, was built to host the ceremonies for the 1986 Expo. This will also be the venue for nightly Victory Ceremony presentations for athletes competing in the Vancouver area. Victory Ceremonies for athletes competing at Whistler will be held outdoors in the center of the resort with a capacity for 8,000 spectators.
NBC television coverage – Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Al Roker and Ann Curry will broadcast Olympic updates live each day at 4 a.m. local time on the “Today” Show from Grouse Mountain, located 15 minutes from Vancouver.
General Olympics Information – Visit www.vancouver2010.com, the official web site for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
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