Let the wine and cheese begin!

The most exclusive party in Canada during the 2010 Winter Olympics may have been the one at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver before the Feb. 12 opening ceremony. The bill for the bash was $32,161.50.

It cost $14,000 to rent and set-up the Pacific Ballroom, $8,500 for food, $2,500 for the host bar and wines, $100 for a children's buffet, $1,750 for "reception food - placed - media," $900 for coffee break refreshments, plus service charges and applicable taxes.

The event was an opportunity for Canadian politicians to grip and grin with people more famous than them. A photographer paid $25,000 was at the ready to snap shots like the one above, which features lil' Gary Lunn, Canada's Minister of State for Sport and action movie star and former steroid-using bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican governor of California. Of course, it was all about international diplomacy and strengthening trade ties.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was among the guests. Guests put down their wine glasses and cheese plates briefly for a moment of silence for Nodar Kumaritashvili, the 21-year-old luger who died earlier on the opening day of the 21st Winter Olympics while training at the Whistler Sliding Centre.

So, while we wait for Lunn, Canadian Heritage minister James Moore or even Treasury Board president Stockwell Day to tell us exactly how much Ottawa spent on the Olympics, do enjoy reading the menu, agenda and guest list for the Governor General and Prime Minister's shindig.

Canadian Reception
Pacific Ballroom
Feb. 12, 2010

Passed Canapes:

Cold
Hot smoked wild Fraser River salmon on bannock bread
Salt Spring Island goat cheese en croute
Beet cured Queen Charlotte Halibut, organic Barnston Island micro green
Phillo basquet with roasted organic vegetables

Hot
Petit Quebec tourtière
Howe Sound dungeness crab cake
Nova Scotia lobster tartelette
Chinatown crispy wonton prawn, sweet chili dipping sauce

Food Stations (very small offering)
Wild mushroom risotto (vegetarian) with Chiliwack (sic) free range pheasant
Gulf Island lamb 'lollipop' with a mustard and honey crust
Albeta beef tenderloin on a brioche
Digby scallop, citrus beurre blanc

Cheeses Station
Selection of Canadian cheeses
La "Corbeille du Boulanger"

Sweet station
Mini Nanaimo bars
Petit four
Assorted macaroons
Chocolate dipped strawberries


RECEPTION FOR VISITING HEADS OF STATE/GOVERNMENT
PRIOR TO OPENING CEREMONY
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2010
PACIFIC BALLROOM, FAIRMONT HOTEL VANCOUVER

15:15 ARRIVAL of Canadian dignitaries.

15:35 ARRIVAL of Official Party (Governor General and Prime Minister).

15:45 ARRIVAL of international dignitaries.

16:05 INTRODUCTION of the media by the Master of Ceremonies.

16:10 FORMAL REMARKS by the Master of Ceremonies.

16:11 INTRODCUTION of the official party to the stage by the Master of Ceremonies.

16:12 INTRODUCTION of the Prime Minister by the Master of Ceremonies.

16:13 REMARKS made by the Prime Minister.

16:16 THANKING of the first speaker and introduction of the Governor General by the Master of Ceremonies.

16:17 REMARKS made by the Governor General.

16:20 CONCLUSION of formal portion of reception by the Master of Ceremonies.

17:15 ANNOUNCEMENT by the Master of Ceremonies regarding departures for B.C Place for the Opening Ceremony.

Reception on the occasion of the Opening of the XXI Olympic Games
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, Canada
February 12, 2009

GUEST LIST

HOSTS :

Leurs Excellences la très honorable Michaëlle Jean, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D.
Gouverneure générale du Canada
et monsieur Jean-Daniel Lafond

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister of Canada
and Mrs. Laureen Harper

HEADS OF STATE / GOVERNMENT

CZECH REPUBLIC
His Excellency Jan Fischer
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
and Mrs. Daniela Fischerová

ESTONIA
His Excellency Toomas Hendrik Ilves
President of the Republic of Estonia
and Mrs. Evelin Ilves

GEORGIA
His Excellency Mikheil Saakashvili
President of Georgia
and Mr. Levan Vashalomidze

LATVIA
His Excellency Valdis Zatlers
President of the Republic of Latvia
and Mrs. Lilita Zatlere

MONACO
His Serene Highness Prince Albert II
Principality of Monaco
and Ms. Charlene Wittstock

NETHERLANDS
Mr. Jan Peter Balkenende
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
and Mr. Henk M. Brons

RUSSIA
His Excellency Alexander Zhukov
Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation
and Ms. Ekaterina Zhukova

SWITZERLAND
Her Excellency Doris Leuthard
President of the Swiss Confederation (Switzerland)
and Madame Sandra Läuchli

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Honourable Joe Biden
Vice President of the United States of America
and Dr. Jill Biden

OTHER DIGNITARIES

His Royal Highness
Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat
(HRH Crown Prince Frederik)
and HRH Crown Princess Mary

His Royal Highness
Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Oranje
(HRH Prince Willem-Alexander)
and HRH Princess Máxima

His Royal Highnesses
The Crown Prince of Norway
(HRH Crown Prince Haakon)

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal

The Honourable William McKeeva Bush
Premier of the Cayman Islands
and Ms. Kerry Bush

Monsieur Pascal Couchepin
Grand Témoin de la Francophonie
et Monsieur Alexandre Fasel

Son Excellence monsieur Abdou Diouf
Secrétaire général de la Francophonie
et Son Excellence Ousmane Pave

The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor of the State of California
and Ms. Maria Shriver
(+ Christopher Schwarzenegger will be in an adjoining room with other children)

The Honorable Chris Gregoire
Governor of the State of Washington
and Mr. Mike Gregoire

International Olympic Committee - IOC

Comte Jacques Rogge
Président du COI - IOC President
et Madame Anne Rogge

Mr. Richard W. Pound, O.C., O.Q.
Canadian IOC Member
and Ms. Julie Keith

Ms. Rebecca Scott (TBC)
Canadian IOC Member
and Mr. Justin Wadsworth (TBC)

Canadian Olympic Committee

Mr. Michael Chambers
Canadian Olympic Committee President
and Ms. Joan Chambers

Monsieur Marcel Aubut
Président du Comité olympique canadien / Canadian Olympic Committee President

VANOC

Mr. John Furlong
and Mrs. Darlene Poole

Mr. Ruston E.T. (Rusty) Goepel
and Ms. Lindy Goepel

Monsieur Jacques Gauthier
et madame Manon Girardin

OTHER CANADIAN DIGNITARIES

The Honourable Chuck Strahl, P.C., M.P.
and Ms. Deb Strahl

The Honourable Stockwell Day, P.C., M.P.
and Mrs. Valorie Day

The Honourable James Moore, P.C., M.P.
and Dr. James Moore

The Honourable Gary Lunn, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Peter G. MacKay, P.C., M.P.
and Ms. Jana Juginovic (fiancée)

The Honourable Rona Ambrose, P.C., M.P.
and Ms. Colleen Chapchuk (mother)

The Honourable Peter Van Loan, P.C., M.P.
and Ms. Cheryl Carson

The Honourable Jim Prentice, P.C., M.P.
and Mrs. Karen Prentice

Mr. Michael Ignatieff
Leader of the Official Opposition
and Ms. Zsuzsanna Zsohar

Ms. Alice Wong, M.P. 
(M.P. for Richmond)

Mr. John Weston, M.P. 
(MP West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country)
and Mrs. Donna Weston

His Honour the Honourable Steven L. Point, O.B.C.
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
and Her Honour Mrs. Gwendolyn Point

L'honorable Jean Charest
Premier ministre du Québec
et madame Michèle Dionne

The Honourable Darrell Dexter
Premier of Nova Scotia

The Honourable Gordon Campbell, M.L.A.
Premier of British Columbia
and Mrs. Nancy Campbell

The Honourable Robert Ghiz
Premier of Prince Edward Island
and Dr. Kate Ellis Ghiz

The Honourable Ed Stelmach
Premier of Alberta
and Mrs. Marie Stelmach

The Honourable Floyd Roland
Premier of the Northwest Territories

The Honourable Dennis Fentie
Premier of the Yukon

The Honourable Eva Aariak
Premier of Nunavut

His Worship Gregor Robertson
Mayor of Vancouver
and Mrs. Amy Robertson
(+ Tara, Satchel and Jinagh Robertson - will be in an adjoining room with other children)

His Worship Ken Melamed
Mayor of Whistler
and Ms. Uschi Scherer

His Worship Malcolm Brodie
Mayor of Richmond
and Mrs. Christine A. Brodie

Chief Leonard Andrew (TBC)
Chief of Lil'wat Nation
and Mrs. Florence Andrew

Chief Ernest Campell (TBC)
Chief of the Musqueam Nation
and guest

Chief Bill Williams
Chief of the Squamish Nation
and Ms. Julie Baker

Chief Justin George
Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation
and Mrs. Heidi George

Chief Shawn Atleo
National Chief of the Assembly of the First Nations
and Mrs. Nancy Atleo

National Chief Betty Ann Lavallée, C.D., Q.J. (Ret'd)
National Chief, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
and Ms. Jessica Bolduc

Ms. Mary Simon
National Inuit Leader and President of ITK 
and Mr. Whit Fraser

Mr. Clément Chartier
Métis National Council President

Ms. Jeannette Corbiere Lavell
President, Native Women's Association of Canada 
and Ms. Merle Greene

The Honourable Nancy Greene Raine, Senator
Canada's Olympic Ambassador for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games
and Mr. Alan E. Raine

Hey, where's the thank-you note?

The British Columbia government finally told taxpayers who used the tickets they bought for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The 216-page Report on Integrated Hosting and Ticketing, published May 6, said more than $942,000 was spent on 3,750 tickets to the Games. Of those, 164 were for the Feb. 12 opening ceremony at B.C. Place Stadium where the top ticket price was $1,100 but some VIPs received $2,640 deluxe luxury suite tickets, courtesy of B.C. taxpayers.

Here is the list of those who enjoyed the biggest show in Canadian history -- for free.

Businesspeople:
CAI Private Equity managing partner Peter Restler and guest; Ex-Yahoo! chief operating officer Jeff Mallett and two guests; Mitsubishi Canada president Shinji Kowase and guest; Jim Pattison Group president Jimmy Pattison and two guests; BHP Billiton president Graham Kerr and guest; Cummins vice-president Dave Crompton and guest; Listel Group president Hiro Suzuki and vice-president Kaz Kadano; Mitsui and Co. manager Shogo Yoshida and senior-vice president Takuji Senda; Mitsubishi Motors CEO Koji Soga and president Osamu Masuko; Okabe Group (Coast Hotels) past chairman Kaname Ohno and guest and Noriyuki Matsumoto and guest; Marubeni general manager Tomomi Yamamoto; VanEdge Capital partner Glenn Entis and guest, John Lasseter and guest, Paul Lee and guest, advisor Robin Louis and guest.

Politicians, new and old:
Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter, Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak, Northwest Territories Premier Floyd Roland; Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and two guests; Ex-B.C. Premiers Dan Miller and guest, Glen Clark and guest, Ujjal Dosanjh and guest; Ex-B.C. MLA Ian Waddell; Gov. Dan Little and guest (note: Idaho has a Lt. Gov. Brad Little); B.C. Speaker of the House Bill Barisoff and guest, Alberta speaker Ken Kowalski, Yukon speaker Ted Staffen and guest, Ex-Vancouver mayors Larry Campbell and guest, Sam Sullivan and guest; Ex-Whistler Mayor Hugh O'Reilly and Patricia O'Reilly.

Canadian Forces personnel:
Capt. Holland, Capt. Soley, Cpl. Boyes, Cpl. Fleury, Cpl. Frouws, Cpl. Gagne, Cpl. Trouchon, Gen. Walt Natynczyk and guest, L.S. Castromayer, L.S. LePage, L.S. Sully, M. Cpl. Hanson, M. Cpl. Jorgenson, M. Cpl. Pennel, M. Cpl. Royes, M. Cpl. Yeo, M.W.O. Quesnel, Pte. Labbe, S/Lt. McNeill, Sgt. Desmarais, Sgt. Letkeman, Maj. Susan Van Duinen and guest.

RCMP personnel:
Dep. Comm. Gary Bass and guest.

First Nations:
Chief Sophie Pierre, Chief Edward John and guest, Chief Jody Wilson, National Chief Shawn Atleo and guest, Chief William Charlie and guest, Dan Smith, Doug Kelly and guest, Greg Horn, Cindy Sutherland, Tim Raybould.

Holders of $2,640 VIP luxury suite tickets:
Oregon secretary of state Kate Brown, B.C. Transportation Minister Shirley Bond, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and guest, Quebec Premier Jean Charest and guest, Prince Edward Island Premier Robert Ghiz and guest, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and four guests (note: 2 were in $1,100 seats), Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and guest.

Olympians and Paralympians:
Daniel Wesley, Greg Westlake, Gordon Robertson, Kathy Kreiner-Phillips, Sen. Nancy Greene and guest, Dominic Barton, Christoper Daw, Gary Cormack.

Special Olympics:
Andrea Zonneveld, Patty Wheeldon, Rene Girard, Rick Lucy.

Celebrities and entertainers:
Allison Lawton (wife of tycoon Frank Giustra), Eric McCormack and two guests, Janet Holden, Michael J. Fox and two guests, Joan Woffenden-Lawton, Jonathan Abrams, Kate Alexander Daniels, Kerry Fitzpatrick, Robin Balick, Steve Nash and guest, Tamara Lee Reynolds, Athena Bax, Brett Wilson, Fraser Walter and guest, Katrina Kum, Clifton Murray and guest, Remigio Pereira, Kathleen Micallef, Victor Micallef, Dal Richards and guest.

Act Now contest winner: Garth Buhr and guest; 2003 contest winner: Maria Uhrynchuk and guest.

Will the Firths be the last?

What we know about the Feb. 12 opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics at Vancouver's B.C. Place Stadium:

Bryan Adams performed a duet with Nelly Furtado at the Feb. 10 dress rehearsal. On Feb. 6, a recording of Adams and Furtado was played repeatedly inside B.C. Place Stadium. The chorus was “sing something louder so the whole world can hear.” The piece included aboriginal chanting and drumming.

Adams will perform a private show for attendees of Molson Canadian Hockey House after the ceremony.

K.D. Lang and Sarah McLachlan performed solo pieces at the Feb. 10 rehearsal.

Members of the Four Host First Nations offered a welcome greeting. Performers on the white floor were dressed in white, but there were cheerleaders in the grandstands to assist with the audience participation elements. Everyone in the audience will get a bag of props and goodies. The cheerleaders were dressed in red toques, white sweaters, grey pants or slacks and white footwear.

Hudson’s Bay Co. provided the apparel.

Greece will march in first, Canada last. U.S.A. is third to last. Taiwan will be called Chinese Taipei, as usual at Olympics. 
Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean will formally declare the Games open. United States vice-president Joe Biden will be among the VIPs.

VANOC CEO John Furlong and IOC president Jacques Rogge will speak to the audience.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will carry the Olympic flag.

A giant Olympic flag will be carried by eight people. Will they be eight great Canadians? Will Betty Fox, Terry’s mom, be among them?

A snowboarder flew through the Olympic rings at the rehearsal. A performer who did this stunt was injured during a rehearsal more than a week ago.

A pit for the cauldron was dug in the centre of the floor of the stadium in May 2009. This was among the wish list submitted by executive producer David Atkins to VANOC, which provided another $8.3 million for the production at a May 20 board meeting. The expenditure, but not the details, was disclosed on June 16 by VANOC. Click here to see a photo of the construction site in May and a link to the David Atkins Enterprises report that outlined what the production required.

The cauldron may not burn inside for all 17 days. An outdoor cauldron has been erected to the immediate west of the Vancouver Convention Centre, the international broadcast centre, and is hidden from ground view. The location is called Jack Poole Plaza, dedicated Oct. 2 to the founding VANOC chairman. Poole died in a Vancouver hospital three weeks later after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. He passed just hours after the Olympic flame was lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece.

VANOC CEO John Furlong told Global National on Feb. 11 that Wayne Gretzky would not light the Olympic cauldron.

The Government of Canada is paying $20 million for the ceremony and $25 million for the torch relay. Therefore, the Oct. 2006 brainstorming document released via Access to Information could provide a clue. In that document, it was recommended that an aboriginal athlete light the cauldron, just like at Sydney 2000 where Cathy Freeman did the deed.

Could twin cross-country skiers/ex-Olympians Sharon Firth and Shirley Firth-Larson from the Northwest Territories do the honour at the climax of the Vancouver opening ceremony?

The ceremony begins at 6 p.m. PST. The cauldron-lighting will come in the third hour.

Put on your red toques and dance the blues

Red toques with red pom-poms will become the must-have accessory to the wildly successful red VANOC mittens.

That's because performers in the opening ceremony will wear them along with white, long-sleeved sweaters and grey slacks or skirts. Female performers will sport white boots.

The fashions were spotted as hundreds of performers left the stadium after the Feb. 6 evening dress rehearsal and walked along the closed Pacific Boulevard to the temporary backstage tents beside the Plaza of Nations.

Those performers re-emerged in street clothes and left through the main gate, under the Cambie Bridge's north ramp. Many boarded Cantrail motorcoaches for transport elsewhere.

Those red mittens were intended to rescue the Own the Podium program which VANOC sponsors couldn't afford to finish financing. The federal government conveniently bailed out OTP with another $10 million on the same September Friday as the handwear was announced.

By the way, where are the mitts made? The label says China. VANOC refuses to be more precise.

"As per your past requests, we are not in a position to disclose the names of our manufacturers," said VANOC spokeswoman Darlene Small in mid-December.

(One of my past requests was in March 2008 before a trip to China. I was told by Burnaby-based Northern Gifts president Bob McKerricher that his company uses a factory near Shanghai to make the Miga, Quatchi and Sumi dolls. So I asked VANOC for a tour of the facility. People love factory stories, particularly the photographs and video footage that accompany them. Unfortunately, VANOC didn't share my enthusiasm and wanted to keep all things secret about the process. By then, coincidentally, it had already suspended six offshore factories for violations. But it didn't go so far as to name names.)

"There are endemic problems in China with excessive overtime, rock-bottom wages, and intense work pressures," said Kevin Thomas of the Toronto-based Ethical Trading Action Group. "Are these mittens being produced under good conditions? We don't know."

VANOC sponsor Nike regularly discloses the names and locations of its factories around the world, including China.

ETAG is among a coalition of groups under the Play Fair banner, pushing the International Olympic Committee and Games' organizing committees to adopt transparent standards to ensure workers' rights are respected. In January, the Play Fair coalition launched the ClearingTheHurdles.org campaign and ranked sportswear manufacturers. Most, predictably, didn't clear the hurdles in the eyes of Play Fair.

Sing something louder so the whole world can hear

The day after the Vancouver 2010 opening ceremony rehearsal was interrupted by a scheduled RCMP security sweep at B.C. Place Stadium, producer David Atkins was back to work fine-tuning the biggest show in Canadian history on Feb. 6.

A source inside the dome spotted a large, white stage in the centre of the floor and heard, several times, a recording of Bryan Adams singing a duet with an unknown female voice. The chorus was “sing something louder so the whole world can hear” and it included aboriginal drumming and chanting.

Among the cast of thousands were groups of aerial performers and native performers, all dressed in white.

An invitation-only dress rehearsal is scheduled for Feb. 10. The real thing goes at 6 p.m. Feb. 12. Live to the world.