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.
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.
One minute of silence in remembrance of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili.
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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