There is no mistaking that the Olympics are here in Vancouver. There are nearly incessant crowds on all of the main roads in downtown Vancouver, transit is heavily congested even at non-peak hours, scalpers tout their tickets at corners and long line-ups are everywhere. Along with the crowds has appeared wave after wave of street performers, far more than one would normally find haunting the street corners.

These street performers add a flare of entertainment as one wanders about the downtown core. In a matter of 20 minutes I had spotted at least 10 performers. One man had just escaped from a straight jacket as I arrived at the back of a riotous crowd (see picture), while only meters away a spoon player was educating a number of tourists in his melodious ways (see picture). The spoon player and his disciples made quite a clamour indeed when they all attempted to play together.

Numerous masked heroes and villains were wandering about such as batman (see picture) and robot-humans. It was unclear whether some were merely dressing in costume as a means to party or to attract attention rather than to perform.

Street vendors too seem to have embraced the crowds with flower and pin vendors (see pictures) among the many that have magically appeared practically overnight.

None of the street performers are paid in any official way – or at least they said as much when asking for money. However, from what I could see they seemed to be benefiting quite nicely from the hordes of tourists. That said, I do think that they are contributing something to the experience that people are having here in Vancouver by adding to the festive atmosphere. And thus I hope they continue to perform to the delight of the crowds.