On 12 February 2009, Vancouver 2010 will celebrate one year to go until the Opening Ceremony of the XXI Olympic Winter Games. This significant date is being marked in Vancouver by a number of important events, and will also see Jacques Rogge, the IOC President, officially invite the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the world to the Games in 2010.
Olympic Torch Relay
Ahead of the sending of invitations, the Vancouver Organising Committee (VANOC) will launch the Olympic Torch and the uniforms for the torchbearers at a ceremony in Whistler. Whistler is the site of the sliding events and many of the ski disciplines for 2010, and this will be yet another key milestone on the way to this year’s torch-lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece.
Make Some Noise!
The highlight of the week will be an event held at the Richmond Oval, where the IOC President will officially send the invitations to the Vancouver Games to the NOCs of the world. This is the traditional way that the IOC invites the youth of the world to attend the Olympic Games, and a number of NOCs will receive their invitations in person. At the end of this ceremony (6pm PST), people across Canada are being invited to “Make some noise” in order to celebrate exactly one year until the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Sport
Around the one year to go mark, VANOC will also be involved in a number of sports events that will allow them to test some of their planning in a real-life environment. These will include an FIBT Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Cup (2-7 February), the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2009 (2-8 February), an FIS Freestyle World Cup (5-7 February), an FIS Snowboard World Cup (12-15 February) and an FIL Luge World Cup (16-21 February). These competitions will also give local sports fans the chance to see and learn about the sports in question ahead of the Games.
VANCOUVER 2010
Vancouver and Whistler will host the XXI Olympic Winter Games from 12 to 28 February 2010 and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from 12 to 21 March 2010. The seven Winter Olympic sports that will be on show in Vancouver are Luge, Skiing, Skating, Ice Hockey, Biathlon, Bobsleigh and Curling.