Unfortunately, I am not in attendance at the Winter Olympics and so will enjoy the Opening Ceremony from the comfort of my home. Of course being in Vancouver would be better, but attending an Olympics will still need to remain a goal. As usual, I am excited for the games to begin and the unexpected stories to emerge. And surely my Olympic spirit was reinforced earlier today when I received an Olympic Commemorative pin, courtesy of Vons. Nice surprise!
"Tonight's Ceremony is dedicated to the memory of Georgian Olympic athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili"
Opening Ceremony begins with the film of a snowboarder starting down a mountain with the simultaneous "countdown" of the previous Winter Olympic Games leading to Vancouver 2010 and the actual snowboarder ends his ride in BC Place.
Singing of Canadian national anthem, "O Canada".
Welcome by the four Chiefs of the First Nations, who are from the surrounding Vancouver area, while ice sculpture totems rise up from the stadium floor. Presentation of all aboriginal groups from the Northwest, prairies, and Eastern areas of Canada. The Aborigines welcome the Olympic athletes in the name of all Canadians.
Parade of Nations - eighty-two participating countries. Indigenous people dance during the parade.
Snowing inside the covered stadium! Song of welcome for the athletes, "Bang Your Drum", sung by Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado.
Hymn to the North. Aboriginal constellations light up around the stadium. Ice sculpture of the Great Bear constellation rises from the floor. Then the "ice" floor breaks up. The "ocean" and "whales" appear and then "salmon" ascends and transforms into totem poles which then transform into trees. Sarah McLachlan sings "Ordinary Miracle". Dancers among the trees.
Rhythms of the Fall. Tribute to Quebec whose colors are blue and white. Fiddler in a witched canoe. Then many fiddlers and tap dancers. Maple leaves falling to the floor. Then a single male tap dancer becomes many more tap dancers and return of the fiddlers.
Who has seen the Wind? Tribute to the Canadian prairies. Joni Mitchell's song "Both Sides Now". Man on "prairie" lifted up on wires, flies and acrobatically tumbles above the stadium.
Peaks of Endeavor. Tribute to Western Canada and the Rockies. Mountain and snowboarders and skiers and ice skaters below. Transforms into a tribute to Vancouver.
Slam Poetry by Shane Koyczen on defining Canada.
Olympic Flag enters stadium carried by Donald Sutherland, Betty Fox, Jacques Villeneuve, Barbara Ann Scott, Anne Murray, Roméo Dallaire, Bobby Orr (I didn't realize he's Canadian!), and Julie Payette.
Olympic Hymn sung by opera singer Measha Brueggergosman.
One minute of silence in remembrance of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili.
Olympic Oaths - sworn by Hayley Wickenheiser for the athletes (in English) and by Michel Verrault for the officials (in French)
Rick Hansen enters stadium with Olympic torch and lights the torch of Catriona Le May Doan, and she lights Steve Nash, and he lights Nancy Greene, and she lights Wayne Gretzky.
Although only three of the four chutes to light the Olympic cauldron rose up from the stadium floor, the Olympic cauldron is lit, the Opening Ceremony is over, and the games can begin!
The first story of these Olympics is a tragic one. This morning, on a practice run, twenty-one year old luger Nodar Kumaritashvili lost his life after crashing his sled and being thrown into a steel pole. He was part of the Georgia delegation. Despite their sorrow, the Georgian delegation marched in the Opening Ceremony and received a standing ovation from the spectators. They will continue to participate in the Games. May this be the only tragedy of the Winter Olympics.
XXI Winter Olympics logo from Wikipedia.
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