The Olympic bid committee is packing up their boxes, clearing off their desks and officially disbanding today.
Win or lose they always knew that theirs was a temporary gig, slated to end on July 18.
Though it’s been several years of hard work for the bid team, there’s a lot more to do now that Vancouver and Whistler have been awarded the 2010 Winter Games. That work will be left to the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, which is yet to be formed.
A transition team of about ten people will keep things operating while the move from bid committee to the OCOG takes place.
The OCOG’s first step will begin with forming a 20-member board of directors this fall.
The board will include:
• Two people appointed by the city of Vancouver;
• Two people appointed by Whistler;
• Three people appointed by the federal government;
• Three people appointed by the B.C. government;
• One person appointed by the Canadian Paralympic Committee;
• Seven people appointed by the Canadian Olympic Committee (including the Canadian Olympic Committee president, all Canadian International Olympic Committee members, and an athlete who has competed in a recent Olympics);
• One person appointed by the Lil’Wat and Squamish First Nations bands;
• One additional person appointed by the other 19 members.
The OCOG will grow from these 20 positions to more than 1,200 staff by the time the Olympics come to town in 2010. The bid book estimates that $149 million will be spent on the organizing staff, which is just over 15 per cent of the Games’ operating budget.
One of the OCOG’s first orders of business this fall is to hire a CEO and an executive committee.
There’s considerable speculation about who will be the OCOG’s CEO. A popular choice by many would be Bid president John Furlong.
The OCOG board will also choose an advisory board which may include Whistler and Vancouver residents, members of First Nations and representatives of different social groups and ethnic backgrounds.
Some of the OCOG’s early work in 2004 will include establishing plans for venue construction, consulting with existing venue owners and developing the marking and sponsorship opportunities with the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Not to mention the OCOG will also travel to Athens next year to observe the Summer Games there.
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