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Whistler gets ready for IOC evaluation team

The street sweepers are out, municipal workers are combing the highway edges for garbage and the snow guns are going full blast on the mountains. Is there royalty coming to town? Indeed there is.

The street sweepers are out, municipal workers are combing the highway edges for garbage and the snow guns are going full blast on the mountains.

Is there royalty coming to town?

Indeed there is. A member of the royal family of the Netherlands will visit next week

But it is really the group HRH Willem Alexander, Prince of Orange, is with which is causing all the excitement.

He is a member of the International Olympic Committee’s evaluation team which will study the venues and plans surrounding Vancouver and Whistler’s bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

"We are really excited because it is a focal point," said Maureen Douglas, director of community relations, Whistler, for the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation.

"It is one of the biggest milestones of the whole process."

The 20-member IOC team, which includes advance support staff, began arriving in Vancouver Feb. 27.

Sunday will be the team’s first real day of work, with classroom-like sessions taking place during the day to go over the details of some of the18 themes outlined in the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation’s bid book.

And, unofficially the team is expected in Whistler on Monday.

The team will stay until March 5, spending at least one day in Whistler.

They will most likely travel to the resort by bus, the same way the majority of spectators and visitors are expected to arrive should the Games come to Whistler and Vancouver.

The IOC will choose the host city this July. Vancouver is competing against Salzburg, Austria and Pyeongchang, Korea.

Whistler’s Mayor Hugh O’Reilly has spent the days leading up to the visit being briefed and guided through the process along with a host of other bid corp. personnel.

"It is becoming very obvious that it is not as much marketing as it is technical," said O’Reilly, who will be making presentations to the evaluation team and will be on stand-by to answer any questions they might have about the resort and its venues.

"They are not going to be sold that we are more beautiful than anyone else. "They all come from beautiful counties.

"They want details and issues and they want good people with good answers. They want to make sure that they understand what you said in your bid book, and that if they give it approval, they are confident that they did their due diligence in asking all the right questions because that is their job."

Having said that O’Reilly hopes the team will have a chance to experience the magic of the village and its surrounding countryside.

He recognizes the team will be viewing the resort from an athlete’s point of view but he believes it will also see that it’s not just a great place to compete in the Olympics, Whistler is also a great place to experience the Games.

Doug Forseth, senior vice president of operations for Whistler-Blackcomb, also wants the evaluation team’s visit to be the best it can be.

"We are definitely doing a bit of spit and polish," said Forseth.

"We want to make sure they know we are excited about this and we are eager to be a part of their team and do an Olympic Games here in B.C. and Canada.

"They’ve done their homework and certainly each of the sport federations have been here to sanction what we have put forward in our bid package.

"It has been reviewed and it has been read about and now these folks who are making the evaluation are kind of coming to put it all in a physical location by eyeballing and seeing how it all feels.

"We would like everyone to put their best foot forward and just say welcome to our community and show the pride that we all have in Whistler."

The majority of the evaluation team members are from Europe but that is not expected to sway their votes in favour of Salzburg.

In fact politics and geography favour Vancouver’s selection, according to a recent Canadian Press article.

Not only is Vancouver’s bid coming on the heels of the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Winter Games being held in Europe, there is also the lure of high revenues form television rights since B.C. hits all the right time zones.

"If you look at the Olympic chessboard today I don’t think there is any scenario that plays out badly for Vancouver," John Furlong, president and chief operating officer of the bid corp. told CP.

"I think Vancouver is in a great situation to tell its story and not have somebody suggest it is in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Over 100 people, many of them volunteers will ensure the evaluation team visit goes smoothly in Whistler.

There have been rumours of protesters on the Sea to Sky highway and even in the village but Douglas said as long as they are peaceful it should present no problem.

"The philosophy we have is that (the evaluation team is) used to protests and we live in a democratic society and there are other points of view that people want to put out there and that is certainly understood and respected, as long it is peaceful," said Douglas.

In a letter to the editor in this week’s Pique Paul O’Mara a member of the School Tax Action Committee suggested residents might line the streets of Whistler waving placards protesting the school tax rate in Whistler.

"As long as it is peaceful and doesn’t harm anyone and put people at risk then that is OK," said Douglas referring to any protest.

Where there would be an issue is if the Sea to Sky highway is blocked.

"Ultimately the RCMP has been developing a plan for safety and that is the ultimate concern," said Douglas.

"So any highway blockade is an issue. That is our corridor and we need to be able to have emergency vehicles and others in an out of there so any blockade is simply not acceptable."

Security will be handled by the RCMP as it would be for any visiting diplomats, with perhaps a little extra since a member of European royalty is part of the team.

But most of the mystery surrounding the evaluation tour is to do with the team’s wish to focus on work not security issues.

"The evaluation team has made it quite clear that what they like, is not complete anonymity, but space to work and the freedom to take a look at the venues, and assess them without being under the microscope of the media," said Douglas.

"They need to be able to interact candidly both amongst themselves and to a lesser degree with the 2010 staff.

"They are here to work, they are not here to mingle too much."

The team has been invited to a gala event in Vancouver Tuesday night at which many dignitaries will be present, including the Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

It is likely the Chretien will also greet the team as it arrives at the Vancouver International Airport.

Vancouver and Whistler’s visit is sandwiched between the team’s visit to Pyeongchang, Korea, which ended Feb. 16, and the visit to Salzburg which is to begin March 13.

Organizers in B.C. are facing the visit with light hearts following the results of the Vancouver plebiscite Feb 22.

When all the votes were in 64 per cent voted for the city’s involvement in the Games; 36 per cent voted against.

In Whistler the results were greeted with the sound of champagne corks popping and sighs of relief from many in the Yes camp.

"We are just thrilled," said Mayor O’Reilly minutes after hearing the results.

Suzanne Denbak, President of Tourism Whistler, was also pleased with the result.

"I think collectively this sends a very clear message to the (International Olympic Committee) that we do want the Games," she said.

Van Powel, who founded a whistler based Web site on the 2010 Games ( www.whistlerolympicinfo.com ), hopes the plebiscite has helped raised awareness of the issues surrounding the Games and saluted both sides for their efforts.

"But we should recognize that the ‘No side’ raised the issues that probably wouldn't have been addressed otherwise," said Powel.

"Plus, they did all their work at no cost to taxpayers.

"In these ‘tough economic times’ when we all have to ‘tighten our belts’ and ‘make difficult decisions,’ that seems like the more fiscally responsible approach.

"The latest polls of Vancouverites and Canadians released by proponents look very supportive indeed. But what's glaring in its omission is a poll of British Columbians, since they are the ones who will be paying for the Games.

"Vancouverites should be proud of themselves for having the courage to debate the Olympic issues and conduct a vote.

"Our politicians decided we weren't worthy of a vote in Whistler. Nor in the rest of B.C."