Expect to see the Bushes at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
No, not necessarily the father and son ex-presidents.
Billy Bush hosts the syndicated Access Hollywood, an NBC Universal production that will no doubt be following the celebrities expected to show-up in Hollywood North at Games-time. Cousin Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter of "Dubya," got a new gig on Sept. 17 when she was unveiled as the newest on-air personality for NBC's Today Show.
The Today Show will broadcast at Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver during the Games. Its announcement on Aug. 12 was the highlight of an otherwise boring six-month countdown to the Games.
While he was vice-president, George H.W. Bush visited Vancouver's Expo 86. Two-term president George W. Bush did not visit Vancouver. He did open the Salt Lake 2002 Olympics and "Dubya" also attended the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Vancouver 2010 organizers are hoping President Barack Obama accepts an invitation to attend. Obama is sending First Lady Michelle to Copenhagen to support Chicago for the Oct. 2 election of a host city for the 2016 Summer Games.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Secrecy crosschecks transparency, but no penalty called.
Rene Fasel is a busy cat.
The former hockey referee and dentist is an International Olympic Committee executive board member, heads the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations and is president of the International Ice Hockey Federation. He is also the chair of the sub-committee that oversees the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
So when he was accused in May of receiving kickbacks, it made big headlines around the world. After all, the IOC has been no stranger to corruption.
On Sept. 17, the IIHF received a report from accounting firm Deloitte AG that the IIHF says clears Fasel of the allegations. Deloitte's Canadian office is a VANOC sponsor.
Here's my story.
Since then, I asked Deloitte AG in Switzerland and the Switzerland-based IIHF for a copy of the report. The IIHF press office didn't respond to me. Instead, it was Yves Vonlanthen who is administration and legal manager and assistant to the president.
"Dear Mr Mackin, Many thanks for your request. Please be informed that the report will not be published," said the Vonlanthen email.
So if the report will not be published, how is the world to know that Fasel is truly innocent of corruption?
Just asking.
The former hockey referee and dentist is an International Olympic Committee executive board member, heads the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations and is president of the International Ice Hockey Federation. He is also the chair of the sub-committee that oversees the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
So when he was accused in May of receiving kickbacks, it made big headlines around the world. After all, the IOC has been no stranger to corruption.
On Sept. 17, the IIHF received a report from accounting firm Deloitte AG that the IIHF says clears Fasel of the allegations. Deloitte's Canadian office is a VANOC sponsor.
Here's my story.
Since then, I asked Deloitte AG in Switzerland and the Switzerland-based IIHF for a copy of the report. The IIHF press office didn't respond to me. Instead, it was Yves Vonlanthen who is administration and legal manager and assistant to the president.
"Dear Mr Mackin, Many thanks for your request. Please be informed that the report will not be published," said the Vonlanthen email.
So if the report will not be published, how is the world to know that Fasel is truly innocent of corruption?
Just asking.
2010 Olympic transparency is dead. Long live transparency.
Transparency: easily detected or seen through; characterized by visibility or accessibility of information especially concerning business practices.
Before Sept. 17, one could have successfully argued that the words "transparency" and "VANOC" didn't belong in the same sentence.
Now there is no argument.
Vice-president of communications Renee Smith-Valade told media about the new normal in a briefing update sent Sept. 17. It serves as the de facto obituary for transparency.
The board will meet via teleconference on Sept. 18. It was supposed to meet in-person on sept. 16.
According to Smith-Valade, VANOC board meetings are now "subject to change from time to time."
Only three are scheduled before Games-time, but board meetings will continue to be reported via news releases.
"Our website will be adjusted promptly to reflect changes in meeting dates and agendas will continue to be posted approximately one week in advance of the meeting," she wrote.
So reporters will have to become frequent visitors to the VANOC website to find out when there may be a board meeting. That will serve to inflate the visitor statistics for the Games website.
To VANOC's credit, a schedule of regular subject-specific media briefings is being developed, but those details will come another day. Topics will include weather, anti-doping, athletes villages, commercial rights management in venues, aboriginal programs, medical services, protocol, volunteer-training, accreditation and asset management after the Games.
With five months remaining until the Games, is there enough time left for all these topics? Beijing organizers held Wednesday afternoon briefings just like this. But they started one-year out.
Quarterly financial reports will continue (hey, where's the overdue report on the period-ended July 31 and the annual report? ) but venue tours will be fewer, further-between and on a case-by-case basis.
You might remember that on May 16, 2007, VANOC -- in its own words -- took steps "to increase transparency and accountability."
It rejected calls to allow the public to observe board meetings and continued its policy of issuing no minutes. It did say it would be "Hosting a media briefing following each Board meeting with the Board Chair, the CEO and other director (s) or members of the VANOC senior management team needed to elaborate on matters to be reported."
The Sept. 18 meeting will be via teleconference and the media will be allowed to call-in afterward. Gone are the face-to-face news conferences and the subsequent scrums. Voices will be heard, but faces will not be seen.
Transparency, VANOC-style, is dead. Long live transparency.
Before Sept. 17, one could have successfully argued that the words "transparency" and "VANOC" didn't belong in the same sentence.
Now there is no argument.
Vice-president of communications Renee Smith-Valade told media about the new normal in a briefing update sent Sept. 17. It serves as the de facto obituary for transparency.
The board will meet via teleconference on Sept. 18. It was supposed to meet in-person on sept. 16.
According to Smith-Valade, VANOC board meetings are now "subject to change from time to time."
Only three are scheduled before Games-time, but board meetings will continue to be reported via news releases.
"Our website will be adjusted promptly to reflect changes in meeting dates and agendas will continue to be posted approximately one week in advance of the meeting," she wrote.
So reporters will have to become frequent visitors to the VANOC website to find out when there may be a board meeting. That will serve to inflate the visitor statistics for the Games website.
To VANOC's credit, a schedule of regular subject-specific media briefings is being developed, but those details will come another day. Topics will include weather, anti-doping, athletes villages, commercial rights management in venues, aboriginal programs, medical services, protocol, volunteer-training, accreditation and asset management after the Games.
With five months remaining until the Games, is there enough time left for all these topics? Beijing organizers held Wednesday afternoon briefings just like this. But they started one-year out.
Quarterly financial reports will continue (hey, where's the overdue report on the period-ended July 31 and the annual report? ) but venue tours will be fewer, further-between and on a case-by-case basis.
You might remember that on May 16, 2007, VANOC -- in its own words -- took steps "to increase transparency and accountability."
It rejected calls to allow the public to observe board meetings and continued its policy of issuing no minutes. It did say it would be "Hosting a media briefing following each Board meeting with the Board Chair, the CEO and other director (s) or members of the VANOC senior management team needed to elaborate on matters to be reported."
The Sept. 18 meeting will be via teleconference and the media will be allowed to call-in afterward. Gone are the face-to-face news conferences and the subsequent scrums. Voices will be heard, but faces will not be seen.
Transparency, VANOC-style, is dead. Long live transparency.
Friday, September 11, 2009
History not cheap
When VANOC looks to be hitting a home run, or even a grand slam, sometimes the dinger just dies in the wind and lands in the warning track.
The latest example is a news release issued Sept. 11 about a promotion with the Historica-Dominion Institute.
It proclaims 40 budding teenage journalists or videographers from across Canada will be chosen to come to Vancouver, be given tickets to 2010 Winter Olympic events and ceremonies and then have their stories and video diaries published on fyicanada.ca and vancouver2010.com/edu. A great, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for 26 Metro Vancouver students and the rest from elsewhere in Canada who enter the best essays or videos explaining why they should be chosen.
VANOC supplies the tickets and (for out-of-towners) Canadian Heritage the airfare. The 16-to-18-year-olds will get homestay accommodation. But there's a catch. Each student is required to pay $625 for "meals, local transportation and other costs during their week at the Games." Teenage unemployment is at record highs, so that's a lot of pop and beer cans to cash-in.
Normally, such a national contest would involve a big-name sponsor, be all-expenses-paid and the scales wouldn't be tipped towards Metro Vancouverites. But it's another sign of how the recession has impacted VANOC.
The latest example is a news release issued Sept. 11 about a promotion with the Historica-Dominion Institute.
It proclaims 40 budding teenage journalists or videographers from across Canada will be chosen to come to Vancouver, be given tickets to 2010 Winter Olympic events and ceremonies and then have their stories and video diaries published on fyicanada.ca and vancouver2010.com/edu. A great, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for 26 Metro Vancouver students and the rest from elsewhere in Canada who enter the best essays or videos explaining why they should be chosen.
VANOC supplies the tickets and (for out-of-towners) Canadian Heritage the airfare. The 16-to-18-year-olds will get homestay accommodation. But there's a catch. Each student is required to pay $625 for "meals, local transportation and other costs during their week at the Games." Teenage unemployment is at record highs, so that's a lot of pop and beer cans to cash-in.
Normally, such a national contest would involve a big-name sponsor, be all-expenses-paid and the scales wouldn't be tipped towards Metro Vancouverites. But it's another sign of how the recession has impacted VANOC.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Vancouver Olympic stadium bigwigs scared speechless?
By now you probably know that B.C. Place Stadium is a dangerous place to work.
A female janitor with the stadium's official contractor Modern Cleaners collapsed with a headache while on the job and died later in hospital.
Nobody cared to tell WorkSafeBC, the provincial workplace health and safety regulator. That's a big no-no. The Workers' Compensation Act says any serious injury or death of a worker must be reported immediately by the employer. It says so in section 172 under "immediate notice of certain incidents."
WorkSafeBC found Modern in violation of section 172. No sanction was levied on B.C. Place, however. Stadium management, however, knew about the fatality. Proof includes a Nov. 20, 2006 investigation by stadium security supervisor Eric Borglund.
When did WorkSafeBC find out? Oct. 6, 2008. Who reported it? An unidentified worker. That's right. Not an executive, director or a manager. A worker.
That's right. Not Modern management. Not B.C. Place management. But an unidentified worker. B.C. Pavilion Corporation freedom of information officer Steve Lingenfelter told me in writing that records of correspondence between B.C. Place and Modern about this incident do not exist. All this and more in these exclusive documents.
The janitor, Pritam Kaur Sandhu, died of apparent natural causes. No police investigation took place. No WorkSafeBC claim was made in her name; perhaps a payout would've helped her family with funeral expenses? Even the stadium's own management and union-run occupational health and safety committee did nothing.
Did B.C. Place and Modern simply forget to notify WorkSafeBC? Was it procrastination on a grand scale? An Alphonse and Gaston impersonation? Or were they conspiring to hide a deep, dark and dirty secret?
Wish I knew the answer to those questions. I know there are people who do, but they don't seem to be in any rush to offer their knowledge about the dome and the death. You might wonder if they're scared speechless.
B.C. Pavilion Corporation CEO Warren Buckley, B.C. Place general manager Howard Crosley and Omni Facility Services national safety manager Rennie Kissoonsingh have not responded to any of my repeated phone messages or email. I even resorted to a third-party, Pavco media relations contractor Norman Stowe of the Pace Group. No luck there, either.
Hey guys, I don't bite. I only want to ask some questions.
B.C. Place Stadium is Vancouver's Olympic stadium, where the Winter Games will open on Feb. 12, 2010.
A female janitor with the stadium's official contractor Modern Cleaners collapsed with a headache while on the job and died later in hospital.
Nobody cared to tell WorkSafeBC, the provincial workplace health and safety regulator. That's a big no-no. The Workers' Compensation Act says any serious injury or death of a worker must be reported immediately by the employer. It says so in section 172 under "immediate notice of certain incidents."
WorkSafeBC found Modern in violation of section 172. No sanction was levied on B.C. Place, however. Stadium management, however, knew about the fatality. Proof includes a Nov. 20, 2006 investigation by stadium security supervisor Eric Borglund.
When did WorkSafeBC find out? Oct. 6, 2008. Who reported it? An unidentified worker. That's right. Not an executive, director or a manager. A worker.
That's right. Not Modern management. Not B.C. Place management. But an unidentified worker. B.C. Pavilion Corporation freedom of information officer Steve Lingenfelter told me in writing that records of correspondence between B.C. Place and Modern about this incident do not exist. All this and more in these exclusive documents.
The janitor, Pritam Kaur Sandhu, died of apparent natural causes. No police investigation took place. No WorkSafeBC claim was made in her name; perhaps a payout would've helped her family with funeral expenses? Even the stadium's own management and union-run occupational health and safety committee did nothing.
Did B.C. Place and Modern simply forget to notify WorkSafeBC? Was it procrastination on a grand scale? An Alphonse and Gaston impersonation? Or were they conspiring to hide a deep, dark and dirty secret?
Wish I knew the answer to those questions. I know there are people who do, but they don't seem to be in any rush to offer their knowledge about the dome and the death. You might wonder if they're scared speechless.
B.C. Pavilion Corporation CEO Warren Buckley, B.C. Place general manager Howard Crosley and Omni Facility Services national safety manager Rennie Kissoonsingh have not responded to any of my repeated phone messages or email. I even resorted to a third-party, Pavco media relations contractor Norman Stowe of the Pace Group. No luck there, either.
Hey guys, I don't bite. I only want to ask some questions.
B.C. Place Stadium is Vancouver's Olympic stadium, where the Winter Games will open on Feb. 12, 2010.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Welcome to the Blunderdome
Those that work in Vancouver's Olympic stadium don't call it the Blunderdome for no reason.
B.C. Place Stadium is a well-documented dangerous workplace. A janitor collapsed on the job and died later in hospital. Her death was covered up for almost two years!
Now the government is getting cold feet about the $365 million plan for pre-Olympic renovations and a post-Olympic replacement of the air-supported fabric roof with a retractable system. This type of roof-swap has never been done anywhere. If it goes ahead, is completed on-time and on-budget, it will be an engineering marvel.
If it fails, it will be the west coast equivalent of Montreal's Olympic stadium.
The Liberal government led by Premier Gordon Campbell has been a promoter of public/private partnerships and privatization. While cutting back on schools and hospitals in a recession, Campbell has suddenly realized taxpayers may not want their dollars spent on a publicly owned stadium. Has a P3 or privatization been contemplated? No public statements were made to that effect by Campbell or B.C. Pavilion Corporation. In fact, the business plan and funding formula for this whole project have never been released. Here's what the government told me when I asked for a copy.
Don't taxpayers have the right to know how the government is managing public assets and spending public money?
But, imagine if you will, that a business plan and funding formula do not exist. Is this the only guide for the most-expensive renovation of a public building in this province's history?
Minister responsible Kevin Krueger, B.C. Pavilion Corporation CEO Warren Buckley and B.C. Place general manager Howard Crosley have ignored my interview requests.
This building is supposed to be the most important and famous stadium on the planet when the 2010 Winter Olympics open Feb. 12 and close Feb. 28.
Surely the International Olympic Committee should be concerned at least about the stadium's sorry record for workplace safety. Surely it should be pushing for improvement. It would be a black mark on the Games if a worker, volunteer, spectator, athlete or -- gasp -- a VIP or IOC member is hurt because of the negligent or incompetent activities that seem to be ingrained in the stadium's culture.
I asked Games' executive director Gilbert Felli on Aug. 26 in a news conference. His response? “We cannot comment on your assessment of local issues here.”
Apparently the IOC has its "eyes wide shut."
B.C. Place Stadium is a well-documented dangerous workplace. A janitor collapsed on the job and died later in hospital. Her death was covered up for almost two years!
Now the government is getting cold feet about the $365 million plan for pre-Olympic renovations and a post-Olympic replacement of the air-supported fabric roof with a retractable system. This type of roof-swap has never been done anywhere. If it goes ahead, is completed on-time and on-budget, it will be an engineering marvel.
If it fails, it will be the west coast equivalent of Montreal's Olympic stadium.
The Liberal government led by Premier Gordon Campbell has been a promoter of public/private partnerships and privatization. While cutting back on schools and hospitals in a recession, Campbell has suddenly realized taxpayers may not want their dollars spent on a publicly owned stadium. Has a P3 or privatization been contemplated? No public statements were made to that effect by Campbell or B.C. Pavilion Corporation. In fact, the business plan and funding formula for this whole project have never been released. Here's what the government told me when I asked for a copy.
Don't taxpayers have the right to know how the government is managing public assets and spending public money?
But, imagine if you will, that a business plan and funding formula do not exist. Is this the only guide for the most-expensive renovation of a public building in this province's history?
Minister responsible Kevin Krueger, B.C. Pavilion Corporation CEO Warren Buckley and B.C. Place general manager Howard Crosley have ignored my interview requests.
This building is supposed to be the most important and famous stadium on the planet when the 2010 Winter Olympics open Feb. 12 and close Feb. 28.
Surely the International Olympic Committee should be concerned at least about the stadium's sorry record for workplace safety. Surely it should be pushing for improvement. It would be a black mark on the Games if a worker, volunteer, spectator, athlete or -- gasp -- a VIP or IOC member is hurt because of the negligent or incompetent activities that seem to be ingrained in the stadium's culture.
I asked Games' executive director Gilbert Felli on Aug. 26 in a news conference. His response? “We cannot comment on your assessment of local issues here.”
Apparently the IOC has its "eyes wide shut."
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
VANOC will rule Britannia, despite opposition
VANOC is coming to Britannia Centre Aug. 26 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with its Game Plan 2009 community relations open house to discuss venue plans and neighbourhood impacts.
The Commercial Drive area was one of the only voting districts in the February 2003 civic plebiscite on the Olympic bid to vote no to the Games. The long-running debate over whether Britannia Ice Rink should host Olympic hockey practices included raucous public meetings at which opponents vastly outnumbered hockey fans. Opponents didn't want Olympic surveillance cameras, police or soldiers in their neighbourhood and were worried about cost overruns.
Last fall it was finally settled when the frightened Britannia volunteer board made an impromptu and controversial decision to hold a secret-ballot vote at a public meeting. The VANOC proposal won.
What VANOC may or may not reveal at the open house is the schedule for its use of the ice rink. A source said the key dates are as follows:
Exclusive use Jan. 27-March 3 for Britannia Centre and permit parking areas;
Overlay fitout is Jan. 27-Feb. 2 and includes installation of perimeter fencing, electrical, lighting and communications systems, tents, trailers and porta-potties.
A lockdown security sweep will happen either Feb. 2 or 3.
Olympic operations will run Feb. 6-Feb. 27.
Remediation and handback are March 5.
The Commercial Drive area was one of the only voting districts in the February 2003 civic plebiscite on the Olympic bid to vote no to the Games. The long-running debate over whether Britannia Ice Rink should host Olympic hockey practices included raucous public meetings at which opponents vastly outnumbered hockey fans. Opponents didn't want Olympic surveillance cameras, police or soldiers in their neighbourhood and were worried about cost overruns.
Last fall it was finally settled when the frightened Britannia volunteer board made an impromptu and controversial decision to hold a secret-ballot vote at a public meeting. The VANOC proposal won.
What VANOC may or may not reveal at the open house is the schedule for its use of the ice rink. A source said the key dates are as follows:
Exclusive use Jan. 27-March 3 for Britannia Centre and permit parking areas;
Overlay fitout is Jan. 27-Feb. 2 and includes installation of perimeter fencing, electrical, lighting and communications systems, tents, trailers and porta-potties.
A lockdown security sweep will happen either Feb. 2 or 3.
Olympic operations will run Feb. 6-Feb. 27.
Remediation and handback are March 5.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Tourism B.C.'s Black Monday
Maybe, the 2010 Winter Olympics will be the athletic and creative success that VANOC is promising.
But all bets are off about any sort of economic windfall.
Oh, sure, the powers that be in Victoria can say nobody could have predicted "this" recession. "This" recession being the worst economic trouble since 1929. If they didn't see "a" recession coming down the slope, they weren't following the headlines since 2007 when the sub-prime mortgage meltdown reared its ugly head south of the 49th parallel.
The latest bad news is the most telling indicator in recent months of how dismal the economic forecast is for the Games themselves. The British Columbia government on Aug. 17 fired Rod Harris, the head of Tourism B.C. Deputy minister Lori Wanamaker took over.
According to its 2008 summary compensation table, Tourism B.C. paid Harris $380,506 in the last fiscal year.
The 15-member board that oversaw the Crown corporation was also turfed. In its place will be a five-to-nine member advisory group. And, by the way, it will no longer be a Crown corporation as of April 1, 2010.
Part of this story was told under a government news release headlined "B.C. strengthens and aligns tourism promotion."
It didn't list the 15 directors who are gone. They are: Museologist Bill Barkley, Whistler Blackcomb president Dave Brownlie, Best Western Inn at Penticton managing partner Colin Campbell, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies general manager Andrew Cohen, North Island College tourism department chair Harley Elias, Accent Inns founding president Terry Farmer, Hells Gate Airtram owner Debbie McKinney, London Drugs chief financial officer Laird Miller, Hupacasath First Nation chief Judith Sayers, Links Investments principal Michael Smith, Prince Rupert Port Authority business development and marketing head Shaun Stevenson, Capilano Suspension Bridge owner Nancy Stibbard, Lexlaur Properties president Allen Tozer, Discovery Club and Oak Bay Beach Hotel owner Kevin Walker and former Vancouver Canucks' president Chris Zimmerman.
Something either went horribly wrong inside Tourism B.C. or the Liberal government found a convenient scapegoat. This comes less than six months to go before the biggest tourism promotion in the province's history.
I reported on Aug. 12 that neither the Canadian Tourism Commission nor Tourism B.C. had any records related to attendance or spectator ticket purchases by out-of-province visitors for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the same story, VANOC CEO John Furlong claimed the Games would eventually sell-out, but he did not have any ticket sales numbers or dollar figures to back-up his statements when he was asked by me on Aug. 7. If the news really was good, Furlong would have the statistics tattooed on his brain and the entire staff of the media relations department at Campus 2010 would be beating the drum loudly and rapidly.
Based on VANOC disclosures in quarterly reports, the Games have surpassed the halfway point in ticket sales revenue. That's as good as it gets.
By the way, I'm writing from Seattle where I'm taking a short break. That's why I missed the Canada Line debut and the Hockey Canada jersey reveal. The latter was no surprise -- save, perhaps, for the nifty official supplier deal cut with VANOC.
I have been looking for any hint that the next Winter Olympics are scheduled to occur in the next big city to the north. So far, nary a hint.
When I return north via Interstate 5, I expect to see the same "Best Place on Earth" British Columbia propaganda sign that fails to mention the province is hosting the next Winter Olympics.
I covered Torino 2006 and was not the only one surprised by the lack of Olympic fever in Milan, about a 90 minute train ride away. That lack of regional activation was something that Tourism B.C. was supposed to avoid for Vancouver 2010.
But all bets are off about any sort of economic windfall.
Oh, sure, the powers that be in Victoria can say nobody could have predicted "this" recession. "This" recession being the worst economic trouble since 1929. If they didn't see "a" recession coming down the slope, they weren't following the headlines since 2007 when the sub-prime mortgage meltdown reared its ugly head south of the 49th parallel.
The latest bad news is the most telling indicator in recent months of how dismal the economic forecast is for the Games themselves. The British Columbia government on Aug. 17 fired Rod Harris, the head of Tourism B.C. Deputy minister Lori Wanamaker took over.
According to its 2008 summary compensation table, Tourism B.C. paid Harris $380,506 in the last fiscal year.
The 15-member board that oversaw the Crown corporation was also turfed. In its place will be a five-to-nine member advisory group. And, by the way, it will no longer be a Crown corporation as of April 1, 2010.
Part of this story was told under a government news release headlined "B.C. strengthens and aligns tourism promotion."
It didn't list the 15 directors who are gone. They are: Museologist Bill Barkley, Whistler Blackcomb president Dave Brownlie, Best Western Inn at Penticton managing partner Colin Campbell, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies general manager Andrew Cohen, North Island College tourism department chair Harley Elias, Accent Inns founding president Terry Farmer, Hells Gate Airtram owner Debbie McKinney, London Drugs chief financial officer Laird Miller, Hupacasath First Nation chief Judith Sayers, Links Investments principal Michael Smith, Prince Rupert Port Authority business development and marketing head Shaun Stevenson, Capilano Suspension Bridge owner Nancy Stibbard, Lexlaur Properties president Allen Tozer, Discovery Club and Oak Bay Beach Hotel owner Kevin Walker and former Vancouver Canucks' president Chris Zimmerman.
Something either went horribly wrong inside Tourism B.C. or the Liberal government found a convenient scapegoat. This comes less than six months to go before the biggest tourism promotion in the province's history.
I reported on Aug. 12 that neither the Canadian Tourism Commission nor Tourism B.C. had any records related to attendance or spectator ticket purchases by out-of-province visitors for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the same story, VANOC CEO John Furlong claimed the Games would eventually sell-out, but he did not have any ticket sales numbers or dollar figures to back-up his statements when he was asked by me on Aug. 7. If the news really was good, Furlong would have the statistics tattooed on his brain and the entire staff of the media relations department at Campus 2010 would be beating the drum loudly and rapidly.
Based on VANOC disclosures in quarterly reports, the Games have surpassed the halfway point in ticket sales revenue. That's as good as it gets.
By the way, I'm writing from Seattle where I'm taking a short break. That's why I missed the Canada Line debut and the Hockey Canada jersey reveal. The latter was no surprise -- save, perhaps, for the nifty official supplier deal cut with VANOC.
I have been looking for any hint that the next Winter Olympics are scheduled to occur in the next big city to the north. So far, nary a hint.
When I return north via Interstate 5, I expect to see the same "Best Place on Earth" British Columbia propaganda sign that fails to mention the province is hosting the next Winter Olympics.
I covered Torino 2006 and was not the only one surprised by the lack of Olympic fever in Milan, about a 90 minute train ride away. That lack of regional activation was something that Tourism B.C. was supposed to avoid for Vancouver 2010.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Greetings, fellow mushrooms of the Olympic city
There are mushrooms in the Olympic city. I don't mean the hallucinogenic kind.
They're you, me, the butcher, the baker, the old lady at the bus stop. They're everywhere.
Yes, we've been fed you know what and kept in the dark by those organizing the 2010 Winter Olympics. Their task is, well, Olympian. It's not easy to move tens of thousands of people around a crowded city for 17 days.
Disclosure is the problem. The Olympic transportation plan has been formulated behind close doors with no public input.
Time is running out and the official transportation plan is neither finished nor properly disclosed to the public. The pressure on the Olympic and Paralympic Transport Team members must be enormous. But they're obviously afraid of being upfront with the public.
Compare this with London where organizers of the 2012 Summer Games have sought public input twice. Yes, twice.
In Vancouver, it's been a case of cultivating mushrooms and putting the cart before the horse. With TransLink's budget woes, horse-drawn carts might just be in the fleet.
Which brings me to the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. It has done what the official authorities have failed to do. That is to publish a detailed list of streets that will be closed or restricted in the first quarter of 2010. See below or visit the Vancouver 24 hours unofficial Google map of the 2010 Winter Olympics so you know what's where when the world comes.
Live near any of these streets? Have something to say? E-mail me: bob.mackin@sunmedia.ca
University of B.C.
-Wesbrook Mall between 16th Ave West and Agronomy Rd.
-Thunderbird Blvd. between East Mall and Wesbrook Mall
Olympic Village:
-1st Ave. from Quebec St., to Wylie St. (plus all the streets running between 1st and 2nd Ave. along this section of 1st Ave.)
-Quebec St. from 1st Ave. to Terminal Ave.
-the portion of the seawall between Quebec St. and Spyglass Pl.
Richmond Olympic Oval:
-roads in and around the venue site of the Richmond Oval at 6111 River Road, possibly including the dyke pathway (this is the extent of the information in the documents)
Britannia Centre:
-several alleys around the Britannia Community Centre (not precisely specified in the documents)
John Hendry Park:
-Victoria Dr. from E 16 St. to Commercial
-E 19 St. from Victoria Dr. to Hull St.
Hastings Park:
-Renfrew St. from McGill St. to Hastings St.
-Kaslo St. from McGill St. to Hastings St.
-the following streets between Kaslo St. and Renfrew St.:
-Eaton St.
-Cambridge St.
-Oxford St.
-Dundas St.
-Triumph St.
-Pandora St.
-Franklin St.
Vancouver Main Media Centre:
-Canada Place Viaduct from Howe St. to Thurlow St.
-Thurlow St. from Canada Place Viaduct to West Cordova St.
-Howe St. from Canada Place Viaduct to West Cordova St.
-Burrard St. from Canada Place Viaduct to West Cordova St.
-West Cordova St. from Thurlow St. to Howe St.
-Waterfront Road from the Cordova Street Ramp, located at the foot of Main Street
GM Place and B.C. Place Stadium:
-Georgia Viaduct from Beatty St. up to and including Gore St. off ramp and Main St. off ramp
-Dunsmuir Viaduct from Beatty St. up to and including Gore St. off ramp and Main St. off ramp
-Beatty St. from Smithe St. to West Georgia St.
-Pacific Blvd. from Nelson St. to Quebec St., including Cambie St. Bridge off ramp
-Expo Blvd. from Smithe St. to Quebec St.
-Griffiths Way from Pacific Blvd. to Expo Blvd.
-Abbott St. from Pacific Blvd. to Expo Blvd.
-Carrall St. from Expo Blvd. through Pacific Blvd. to South end of Carrall St.
-Terry Fox Way from Pacific Blvd. to Expo Blvd.
Beatty Street EasyPark Live Site:
-Georgia St. from Cambie St. to Beatty St.
-Beatty St. from West Georgia St. to Dunsmir St.
-Dunsmir St. from Beatty St. to Cambie St.
-Cambie St. from Dunsmir St. to West Georgia St.
David Lam Park Live Site:
-Pacific Blvd. from Drake St. to Homer St.
-Drake St. from Pacific Blvd to Marinaside Cres.
-Homer St. from Pacific Blvd. to Beach Cres.
Downtown pedestrian corridors:
-Granville St. from Helmcken St. to West Hastings St.
-Robson St. from Beatty St. to Jervis St.
-Hamilton St. from Drake St. to Georgia St.
-Beatty St. from Smithe St. to Dunsmuir St.
Westin Bayshore Hotel:
-Bayshore Drive from Denman St. to Cardero St.
-Cardero St. from Coal Harbour Quay to Hastings St.
-1500 block of Coal Harbour Quay
Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Centre:
-Dinmont Ave. from Midlothan Ave. to Peveril Ave.
-Peveril Ave. from Dinmont Ave. to Ontario St.
-Midlothan Ave. from Ontario St. to Yukon St.
-Ontario St. from Peveril Ave to Midlothan Ave.
They're you, me, the butcher, the baker, the old lady at the bus stop. They're everywhere.
Yes, we've been fed you know what and kept in the dark by those organizing the 2010 Winter Olympics. Their task is, well, Olympian. It's not easy to move tens of thousands of people around a crowded city for 17 days.
Disclosure is the problem. The Olympic transportation plan has been formulated behind close doors with no public input.
Time is running out and the official transportation plan is neither finished nor properly disclosed to the public. The pressure on the Olympic and Paralympic Transport Team members must be enormous. But they're obviously afraid of being upfront with the public.
Compare this with London where organizers of the 2012 Summer Games have sought public input twice. Yes, twice.
In Vancouver, it's been a case of cultivating mushrooms and putting the cart before the horse. With TransLink's budget woes, horse-drawn carts might just be in the fleet.
Which brings me to the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. It has done what the official authorities have failed to do. That is to publish a detailed list of streets that will be closed or restricted in the first quarter of 2010. See below or visit the Vancouver 24 hours unofficial Google map of the 2010 Winter Olympics so you know what's where when the world comes.
Live near any of these streets? Have something to say? E-mail me: bob.mackin@sunmedia.ca
University of B.C.
-Wesbrook Mall between 16th Ave West and Agronomy Rd.
-Thunderbird Blvd. between East Mall and Wesbrook Mall
Olympic Village:
-1st Ave. from Quebec St., to Wylie St. (plus all the streets running between 1st and 2nd Ave. along this section of 1st Ave.)
-Quebec St. from 1st Ave. to Terminal Ave.
-the portion of the seawall between Quebec St. and Spyglass Pl.
Richmond Olympic Oval:
-roads in and around the venue site of the Richmond Oval at 6111 River Road, possibly including the dyke pathway (this is the extent of the information in the documents)
Britannia Centre:
-several alleys around the Britannia Community Centre (not precisely specified in the documents)
John Hendry Park:
-Victoria Dr. from E 16 St. to Commercial
-E 19 St. from Victoria Dr. to Hull St.
Hastings Park:
-Renfrew St. from McGill St. to Hastings St.
-Kaslo St. from McGill St. to Hastings St.
-the following streets between Kaslo St. and Renfrew St.:
-Eaton St.
-Cambridge St.
-Oxford St.
-Dundas St.
-Triumph St.
-Pandora St.
-Franklin St.
Vancouver Main Media Centre:
-Canada Place Viaduct from Howe St. to Thurlow St.
-Thurlow St. from Canada Place Viaduct to West Cordova St.
-Howe St. from Canada Place Viaduct to West Cordova St.
-Burrard St. from Canada Place Viaduct to West Cordova St.
-West Cordova St. from Thurlow St. to Howe St.
-Waterfront Road from the Cordova Street Ramp, located at the foot of Main Street
GM Place and B.C. Place Stadium:
-Georgia Viaduct from Beatty St. up to and including Gore St. off ramp and Main St. off ramp
-Dunsmuir Viaduct from Beatty St. up to and including Gore St. off ramp and Main St. off ramp
-Beatty St. from Smithe St. to West Georgia St.
-Pacific Blvd. from Nelson St. to Quebec St., including Cambie St. Bridge off ramp
-Expo Blvd. from Smithe St. to Quebec St.
-Griffiths Way from Pacific Blvd. to Expo Blvd.
-Abbott St. from Pacific Blvd. to Expo Blvd.
-Carrall St. from Expo Blvd. through Pacific Blvd. to South end of Carrall St.
-Terry Fox Way from Pacific Blvd. to Expo Blvd.
Beatty Street EasyPark Live Site:
-Georgia St. from Cambie St. to Beatty St.
-Beatty St. from West Georgia St. to Dunsmir St.
-Dunsmir St. from Beatty St. to Cambie St.
-Cambie St. from Dunsmir St. to West Georgia St.
David Lam Park Live Site:
-Pacific Blvd. from Drake St. to Homer St.
-Drake St. from Pacific Blvd to Marinaside Cres.
-Homer St. from Pacific Blvd. to Beach Cres.
Downtown pedestrian corridors:
-Granville St. from Helmcken St. to West Hastings St.
-Robson St. from Beatty St. to Jervis St.
-Hamilton St. from Drake St. to Georgia St.
-Beatty St. from Smithe St. to Dunsmuir St.
Westin Bayshore Hotel:
-Bayshore Drive from Denman St. to Cardero St.
-Cardero St. from Coal Harbour Quay to Hastings St.
-1500 block of Coal Harbour Quay
Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Centre:
-Dinmont Ave. from Midlothan Ave. to Peveril Ave.
-Peveril Ave. from Dinmont Ave. to Ontario St.
-Midlothan Ave. from Ontario St. to Yukon St.
-Ontario St. from Peveril Ave to Midlothan Ave.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Souvenir of Beijing, your marching order
One year ago today... at the moment I write, actually... the Beijing Summer Olympics' opening ceremony was on in the Bird's Nest.
The world was watching the biggest, most controversial event ever staged on this planet.
The opening ceremony was a stunning feast for the senses for those of us lucky to be there on Aug. 8, 2008. "Ba-ba, er-ling-ling-ba" as they say in Mandarin.
The four-hour-plus show was so long because of the march of athletes. It began with Greece and ended with China. Always the originator first and the host nation last. Two-hundred-four teams, to be exact. Canada was 63rd, based on its Mandarin pronunciation: "jia-na-da."
Japan was followed by Taiwan (which marches and competes at Olympics under the monicker "Chinese Taipei) and then the Central African Republic and Hong Kong.
Download your own official list.
Beijing 2008 opening ceremony athletes' marching order.
The world was watching the biggest, most controversial event ever staged on this planet.
The opening ceremony was a stunning feast for the senses for those of us lucky to be there on Aug. 8, 2008. "Ba-ba, er-ling-ling-ba" as they say in Mandarin.
The four-hour-plus show was so long because of the march of athletes. It began with Greece and ended with China. Always the originator first and the host nation last. Two-hundred-four teams, to be exact. Canada was 63rd, based on its Mandarin pronunciation: "jia-na-da."
Japan was followed by Taiwan (which marches and competes at Olympics under the monicker "Chinese Taipei) and then the Central African Republic and Hong Kong.
Download your own official list.
Beijing 2008 opening ceremony athletes' marching order.
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