The 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver were a triumph for the Olympic Movement as well as the host city, province, and country—albeit tempered by the terrible loss of a young participant. An estimated 1.4 million people attended events during the 10 days of competition with no single bad incident tarnishing the overall impression of safety.
In contrast, the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal are regarded as a failure because of political turmoil in Canada and America that prevented either country from sending a team to compete at their best. Only 168,000 people saw track and field events during those 10 days of competition.
Vancouver was chosen to host the Winter Olympics after Montreal's proposal fell through due to financial problems. The games were expected to cost $50 billion Canadian ($140 billion US). Vancouver was an unlikely candidate for such an event because it has no tradition as a winter sports destination. But the city's mild climate and access to snow via natural ice caves and bridges helped it win out over other contenders.
The Vancouver Olympics were held from February 12 to 28, 2010. It was the fourth time that Canada had hosted the games and the first time since 1908 that it had done so twice.
The successful 2010 Winter Olympics were the result of years of preparation, hard work, and expenditure. Vancouver was a kind host, and the 17-day event triumphed despite human sorrow, technological problems, and a lack of snow.
Vancouver's Olympic ceremony was hailed as one of the best ever, with Oprah Winfrey providing the voice-over for the opening and closing ceremonies. The ceremonies included highlights such as Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir performing their ice dancing routine to Pharrell Williams' song Happy. It was the first time in 100 years that Canada had won gold in an alpine event. In total, Canadian athletes won 26 medals, more than any other country.
Vancouver's real success can be seen in the reports of no deaths or injuries due to weather events, which is important given the nature of winter sports. Also important is the fact that there have been no major incidents during or after the games. Violence at sport events is usually caused by fans who get drunk and upset about one side not doing well enough, which results in fights breaking out between them and others. There have been no reports of this happening at Vancouver 2010.
Another positive aspect of Vancouver 2010 has been its impact on tourism. Bookings for vacation rentals in the city have increased by about 10 percent, while hotel rates are up by about 6 percent.
2010 On July 2, 2003, the 115th IOC Session in Prague chose Vancouver as the host city for the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010. The Games will be the first to be held in North America since 1980 when Lake de France in Montreal hosted them.
The decision was made after a vote by the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Canada's bid was unanimously accepted by the committee on February 21, 2002. Vancouver was chosen over Almaty, Kazakhstan and Saint Petersburg, Russia. The latter two cities had also been candidates for the right to hold the games. Vancouver will be the second Canadian city after Toronto to host an Olympic Games (the first being Montreal in 1976).
The Games are scheduled to take place from February 9-25, 2010. They will be the first to be staged in the southern hemisphere during winter season. Vancouver has already announced some major changes to its transportation system to handle the expected influx of people coming to watch the athletes compete. The city is building more than 700 new beds at three downtown hotels to house all the visitors.
Vancouver has also promised to be "green" during the games with more environmentally friendly practices being encouraged. Some events such as ice dancing and synchronized swimming will be held outside during cold weather conditions.
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