Vancouver celebrated the 100 day countdown by lighting the new Olympic Rings

2010 Olympic Rings after the lighting ceremony  ©Carlanne McCrystal

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Wednesday night at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer, VANOC, Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia, and Houourable Mary McNeil, Minister of State for the Olympics and ActNow BC held a ceremony to light the 2010 Olympic Rings at Coal Harbour.  They now sit on a barge in the water.  This was the second such event, the first being by the airport near Russ Baker Way.  Speeches were brief and the lighting countdown began.  This was not a public event but was viewed from the sidewalk by on-lookers.  Media and a select few invitees lined the railing outside the Convention Centre to watch the historic moment that marked the 100 days until the games begin.  There were high spirits and the night was clear and bright with the lights of Grouse Mountain in the distance.  Many of the media seemed in a celebratory mood after the lighting and had their pictures taken, both as a group and individually with the rings in the background.  Here is a brief video of the moment. 

Many of the passers-by thought the rings looked great.  When asked, one gentleman said he felt very full of pride to be a Canadian.  His companion added that this kind of experience was what made all the inconvenience of construction and disruption worth the effort.  There were no protestors or disruptions to the ceremony. 

Contact Carlanne via email:  travelindustryexaminer@gmail.com

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