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Cultural events key to winning the bid

Whistler key place to hold cultural festivals The final farewell event in the 2010 Olympics is tentatively slated to take place in Whistler.

Whistler key place to hold cultural festivals

The final farewell event in the 2010 Olympics is tentatively slated to take place in Whistler.

The closing ceremony of the Paralympics, while not as big in scope as the Olympics, marks to end of the entire event and organizers want Whistler to be the host.

The ceremony will focus on Whistler, giving something unique to the community, said Marti Kulich, consulting producer, ceremonies and festivals for the bid.

This is just one of a slew of ideas for the cultural components of the Games, the topic discussed at the Wednesday, June 12 Olympic InfoZone meeting at the Whistler Ski Club Cabin.

"(Culture) has always been a key part of the Olympics," said Kulich.

He went on to explain that culture is the second pillar of the Olympic Movement and, along with Sport and Environmental Sustainability, it is enshrined in the Olympic Charter.

Kulich said there is a lot of weight given to the cultural component of any Games.

This being the case, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Bid Corporation is enclosing a supplemental book to the bid book, detailing the cultural components for the Games, just as they are adding a supplemental book for the environmental sustainability components.

Kulich, who has years of experience hosting a number of large-scale sporting events and comes directly from the World Championships in Athletics in Edmonton, describes the cultural components to the bid as "a massive undertaking."

The required programs include:

• Opening and closing ceremonies;

• Olympic Flame (torch) Relay;

• Olympic Arts Festival;

• Welcoming Ceremonies for the International Olympic Committee and all teams attending the Games;

• Medal awards ceremonies and celebrations;

• Education programs about the Olympic movement;

• Youth programs, including an Olympic Youth Camp;

• Cultural Festivals in each of the four years of the Olympiad (2007-2010).

These events must also be matched for the Paralympics.

Unlike the sporting aspect of the Games, which comes preset with a list of defined rules and regulations, there is more leeway with the cultural programs.

"In the case of culture we don’t have anything preset," said Kulich.

But there will be one common theme throughout – a showcase of Canadian culture.

"National culture will be a core of what we do," he added.

The Olympic Charter also states that the cultural programs need to be international in scope.

This blend of national and international themes will be highlighted in the annual cultural festivals in the four years leading up to the main event. There are already tentative ideas for the themes of these annual events.

The first festival scheduled for 2007 will focus on B.C. The following year the theme will be B.C. and Canada. By the 2009 festival the celebration will be B.C., Canada, and the international community.

The four celebratory years of the Olympiad will set the cultural tone of the main attractions, the Olympics and Paralympics. "Our job is to transcend boundaries," said Kulich.

Whistler lends itself to the annual cultural festivals of the Olympiad because it is pedestrian-friendly and is suitable for outdoor activities.

Other projects for Whistler, which are currently in discussion, are plans for a large outdoor site for athletes and the community to gather for the nightly medal celebrations. This site will be linked to the events going on at B.C. Place in Vancouver.

In addition, a large Whistler hotel ballroom will likely be converted into an indoor venue with the potential to seat over 1,000 people.

Two other cultural aspects of the bid, youth and education, were also discussed at the InfoZone meeting.

Beth Freeman, cultural programs co-ordinator, said next year is a key year.

The IOC has named 2003 the year of education and youth and bid members believe these two areas will be a key concern for the IOC, as they evaluate each bid.

Among some of the educational initiatives Freeman said there might be a speaker series at the university level which would engage youth in the issues surrounding sport and competition.

Another key program is the "20 For 10" program, a model program to encourage youth to become ambassadors.

The Youth Camp, a standard at most Olympic Games, will also encourage participation.

IOC nations will send youth delegates to Vancouver to get to know the local and national communities.

All concepts and themes, which are included in the bid book, must have identified venues, and all logistical, human resources and budget requirements must be projected and committed.

Kulich said they are currently in the process of developing a very detailed budget.

"We have a significant budget for developing what we’re doing," he said.

"We have a key place at the table."

At the end of the meeting people were treated to a sneak preview of the new multi-purpose promotional video for the bid called "It’s Our Time to Shine."

The video showcases the Canadian highlights from Salt Lake City and stirs national sentiment.

Kulich said the video captures a lot of the elements that will be part of the cultural portion of the Olympics.

The Olympic InfoZone meetings are held every Wednesday at 7 p.m. and are open to the public.

There will only be a few more meetings left until a summer hiatus.