Vancouver 2010: Ceremonies team chosen

The Vancouver Organising Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) has chosen Australian company David Atkins Enterprises (DAE) as the executive producer of the Opening, Closing and Medals Ceremonies.
A world-class team
This will not be new for David Atkins, who worked on the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2000 Games in Sydney, and more recently the 15th Asian Games in Doha (Qatar) last year. In Vancouver, the team will include globally-renowned specialists such as Jacques Lemay, Ian Pool and Catherine Ugwu, who have already worked for the Olympic Games – Calgary 1988, Sydney 2000 and Turin 2006 - , the Commonwealth Games and other international sports events. The team also includes top names from Canada’s music scene, including Sam Feldman, Bruce Allen and Dan Fraser, Director and Image Creator Erick Villeneuve, and the Artistic Director of the Doha Asian Games ceremonies, Ignatius Jones. Marti Kulich, VANOC’s Programme Director, Ceremonies and Cultural Services completes the team.


One venue, three ceremonies
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the Opening, Closing and Medals Ceremonies will be held indoors, at the BC Place Stadium. Located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, the BC Place Stadium has the largest air-supported stadium roof in North America, and can seat 55,000 people. The XXI Olympic Winter Games will thus be opened on 12 February 2010 at the BC Place Stadium, and will close 17 days later, on 28 February. The ceremonies to present the medals won in the Vancouver region will also be held at the BC Place Stadium, while those won in Whistler, for most of the Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing and sliding events, will be awarded at the 8,000-capacity Celebration Site in Whistler village. For their part, the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games will also be held at the BC Place Stadium, on 12 March 2010, with the closing ceremony on 21 March 2010 in Whistler.