VANCOUVER, Canada—Fifty thousand live audence members joined the final countdown to the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games opening ceremony. After the long anticipation, it began with confetti, cheer, and fireworks at 6 p.m. local time (9 p.m. EST) at Vancouver’s B.C. Place Stadium.
After a first countdown, the audience was drawn to a video presentation of a second countdown of all the past host cities of the Winter Games, starting with 1924 in Chamonix, France.
At the shout of “2010, Vancouver,” a snowboarder from the roof of the stadium sailed down a slope, through gigantic Olympic Rings, and landed on the snow-covered surface of the stadium, bringing an enthusiastic cheer and cry from the audience.
An estimated 2.5 million television viewers worldwide tuned in to watch the ceremony along with notable Canadian VIPs in the stadium including Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General Michaëlle Jean.
The crowd then turned solemn as a group of Royal Canadian Mounted Police marched in carrying a Canadian flag. Sixteen-year-old Nikki Yanofsky, a Canadian jazz-pop singer from Montreal, sang O Canada, the national anthem, while the “Mounties” raised the flag.
Paying tribute to oldest and original residents of Canada, the Games’ organizing committee chose key dignitaries and the Four Host First Nations to welcome the world on behalf of the country.
Entering like a flock of free and energetic eagles, members of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-waututh and Lil'wat aboriginal nations danced into the center of the stadium as four giant totem poles rose from the ground. Canada is the first country to recognize indigenous people as partners in an Olympic Games.
As the spirits of the ancient ancestors were filling the stadium, first nations members from the Northwest, East, Prairies, Métis, and Inuit joined the celebration, moving to traditional rhythms and dressed in their national costumes.
With the blessing of aboriginals, hosts Tamara Taggart and Ben Mulroney, both TV broadcasters, announced the entrance of the athletes from over 80 countries.
According to the organizing committee, 47 of the participating nations in the 2010 Games have never won an Olympic medal.
Although the evening was a celebration, the day was marred by the horrific death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, after a high-speed crash at the end of his final pre-Olympic training run at the Whistler Sliding Center in the afternoon.
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics took seven years of preparation. The opening ceremony is expected to last for two and half hours, ending with the Olympic torch arriving to light the cauldron.
Prime Minister Harper said he is planning to stay in Vancouver for a few days to cheer on Team Canada.
After a first countdown, the audience was drawn to a video presentation of a second countdown of all the past host cities of the Winter Games, starting with 1924 in Chamonix, France.
At the shout of “2010, Vancouver,” a snowboarder from the roof of the stadium sailed down a slope, through gigantic Olympic Rings, and landed on the snow-covered surface of the stadium, bringing an enthusiastic cheer and cry from the audience.
An estimated 2.5 million television viewers worldwide tuned in to watch the ceremony along with notable Canadian VIPs in the stadium including Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General Michaëlle Jean.
The crowd then turned solemn as a group of Royal Canadian Mounted Police marched in carrying a Canadian flag. Sixteen-year-old Nikki Yanofsky, a Canadian jazz-pop singer from Montreal, sang O Canada, the national anthem, while the “Mounties” raised the flag.
Paying tribute to oldest and original residents of Canada, the Games’ organizing committee chose key dignitaries and the Four Host First Nations to welcome the world on behalf of the country.
Entering like a flock of free and energetic eagles, members of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-waututh and Lil'wat aboriginal nations danced into the center of the stadium as four giant totem poles rose from the ground. Canada is the first country to recognize indigenous people as partners in an Olympic Games.
As the spirits of the ancient ancestors were filling the stadium, first nations members from the Northwest, East, Prairies, Métis, and Inuit joined the celebration, moving to traditional rhythms and dressed in their national costumes.
With the blessing of aboriginals, hosts Tamara Taggart and Ben Mulroney, both TV broadcasters, announced the entrance of the athletes from over 80 countries.
According to the organizing committee, 47 of the participating nations in the 2010 Games have never won an Olympic medal.
Although the evening was a celebration, the day was marred by the horrific death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, after a high-speed crash at the end of his final pre-Olympic training run at the Whistler Sliding Center in the afternoon.
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics took seven years of preparation. The opening ceremony is expected to last for two and half hours, ending with the Olympic torch arriving to light the cauldron.
Prime Minister Harper said he is planning to stay in Vancouver for a few days to cheer on Team Canada.
