2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games, opened in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from February 12-28. The Opening and Closing ceremonies were held in the BC Place Stadium with a budget of $48.5 – million and 5,000 volunteers. David Atkins Enterprises (DAE) organized the opening and closing ceremonies, as they did for the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics and the Doha 2006 Asian Games. It is no surprise that the Vancouver 2010 ceremonies were extensive and spectacular!

Like all Olympic games, the 2010 Winter Olympics left viewers in awe, happiness, and sometimes tears.

However, an unfortunate and unexpected event occurred during a training run right before the opening ceremony, during which luger Nodar Kumaritashvli died in a fatal crash. Despite the heartbreaking start to the Olympics, we also experienced many great moments.

French figure skaters Vanessa James and Yannick Bonheur became the first black couple to compete at the Olympic Games. South Korean figure skater, Yuna Kim, not only broke her own top records, but has set a new world record and raising figure skating to a new level. Norway’s curling team made an impact with more than how they played the game, as their memorable pants completely stole the show!

The Men’s Ice Hockey final audience was composed of about 16.6 million people (nearly half of Canada’s population!) which could have been expected considering the gold medal game was between Canada and the United States. Sidney Crosby scored Canada’s winning goal in overtime, defeating the United Stated 3-2.

The medals won, records set, and memories shared, were all a collective contribution to the great 2010 Olympic Games. Canadian hospitality was felt not only throughout the Olympic village, but across the entire country. This was an Olympics we will always truly remember.