| |
Posted Feb 12, 2009, 8:51 AM
|
 |
Dérive-r
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 4,446
|
|
|
Opening/Closing Ceremony Discussion
Thought a thread on this specific topic might generate some interesting discussion/speculation (on top of all the past speculation spread throughout various threads).
Here is a new related article to get things going:
Quote:
We’d love to tell you about the ceremonies, but, well, you know …
Details of opening and closing festivities are secret, but organizers vow they will make us proud
BY KEVIN GRIFFIN, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE
FEBRUARY 11, 2009
A year from today, about 3.5 billion people will be watching what’s going on in Vancouver.
Whether they’re at home staring at their flat screen TV, at the office in front of their desktop computer or in a restaurant sneaking a peek at their handheld, they’ll be looking at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in BC Place.
The estimated worldwide audience for the opening ceremonies will dwarf anything in this country’s history. It’ll surpass by far the numbers who watched the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In 1988, just 64 countries broadcast the Games; by Turin in 2006, the number had climbed to 200. And as a one-time event, there’s no saying ‘whoops, let’s try that again’.
These ceremonies have to deliver the kind of entertaining stories that satisfy both an international audience and a demanding Canadian one, too. Everyone at Vanoc realizes what’s at stake, says David Guscott, executive vice-president of celebrations and partnerships.
“We’ve struck out with the view of establishing Games that will resonate and make every Canadian proud,” he says. “For people beyond Canadian borders, we want them to be intrigued and curious and have a little better understanding of Canada and its story.
“I can tell you for those of us involved in it, that’s a daunting aspect. We don’t take lightly that responsibility.”
Vanoc has been working since last February to hone the vision for the ceremonies, says Guscott. Vanoc started with six symposiums with the country’s leading artists, performers, choreographers and cultural producers. The process was directed by David Atkins, the Australian entertainer and producer who was instrumental in creating the spectacular show for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Atkins’ company was hired to produce the 2010 opening and closing ceremonies.
Some parts of the ceremonies are far from secret, mandated as they are by the International Olympic Committee. These elements include the entry of athletes, the raising of the Olympic flag and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.
As for anything else — or anything more specific — Guscott was mum about details.
“You won’t get anything about the content of the ceremonies,” he says.
“What we want to do is to have people on the edge of their seats and watching what’s happening. We don’t want anyone to know who or what is involved, so they can be amazed as things unfold.”
But a concept has been developed, Guscott says, and Atkins and the ceremonies team will move into their “operational phase” during the next six months.
If past opening ceremonies are any indication, the 2010 show will include a cast of thousands, movie stars, pop singers and spectacular special effects.
Guscott predicts the $38-million opening and closing ceremonies will have a huge national impact.
“It’s a time when we can get Canadians thinking about and feeling proud of their country and proud of their locale in a way that hardly ever comes up,” he says. “What we do here is partly a sporting event, but it’s also an entertainment piece and a TV show.”
For the first time in Olympic history, both the opening and closing ceremonies will be held indoors.
On the positive side, that means the weather won’t play havoc with any plans for the show, Guscott says.
As well, indoor opening ceremonies in BC Place mean more athletes likely will attend. At previous Games, some athletes competing during the first few days of the Winter Games avoided the opening ceremonies because they were worried about getting sick from spending hours outdoors in sub-zero weather. Unlike the Summer Games, each athlete will have a seat inside BC Place to watch the opening ceremonies.
On a not-quite-so-positive note, hosting the Games indoors presents one big challenge to Vanoc: how to light the Olympic cauldron indoors. Guscott says we should be prepared for a surprise.
“The way we’re going to handle the elements I can’t talk to you about because it would give it away,” he says.
As for who will light the Olympic cauldron and how that person will be selected, well, that’s also under wraps.
“That will be one of the biggest surprises,” says Guscott.
“Our objective is for people to say, ‘Oh yeah, what a great choice.’ We have so many possibilities. We’ll be choosing among a very, very rich and deep field.”
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
|
Source: KEVIN GRIFFIN, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE
|
|
|
Prev
Linear Mode
