OLYMPICS. The Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony took place at Vancouver's BC Place stadium on February 12, 2010 and the Closing Ceremony on February 28, 2010 will also be held at BC Place, one of Vancouver's important Non-Competition Venues of the XXI Winter Olympics 2010 with a capacity to accommodate 55,000 spectators.

The Gates will open at 13:30 local time on February 28, 2010, for the Closing Ceremony. The audience participation rehearsal starts at 15:30, while the final hockey game will be broadcast inside BC Place beginning at 13:30.

Opening and Closing Ceremonies are unique, large-scale celebrations capturing the spirit and personality of our city, province and country, and are a celebration of the world's greatest athletes.

Olympic Ceremonies were hosted every night from February 12 to 28 in the BC Place stadium, located in the heart of downtown Vancouver. The Paralympic Opening on March 12 will also take place in the stadium. Given the multitude of Ceremonies, one of the challenges the Team faces is quick turnover at the stadium venue. "It definitely makes it more exciting," notes David Atkins, Executive Producer for Vancouver 2010's Olympic Ceremonies Team. "The combining of all three Olympic Ceremonies [Opening, Closing and Victory Ceremonies] in the one venue provides another opportunity for Vancouver 2010 to distinguish itself from all other [Games] Ceremonies.

The Vancouver Games organizers reckoned the advantages of combining all Olympic Ceremonies in one venue would outweigh any difficulties that may arise, being well aware that the BC Place Stadium is an indoor venue with the largest air-supported stadium roof in North America. The indoor aspect eliminates weather concerns, while opening up further surfaces for the projection, lighting and special effects planned for the Ceremonies.

With years of preparation involved in staging the Ceremonies, the weather is, in Atkins' opinion, the "single greatest risk to the delivery of a Ceremony." Taking weather out of the equation will "free up the team to explore new ideas and push new boundaries."

Even without having to worry about what Mother Nature has in store, the Olympic Ceremonies Team was busy. Nightly medal presentations were followed by large arena-style concerts, featuring some of Canada's top performers.

FISalpine.com
Sunday 28 February 2010

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