Freedom

It appears that my initial tour of downtown Vancouver came one day too soon. Somewhere within the many hours that I was buried deep inside a hotel meeting room, the city transformed itself into one that is worthy of and ready for hosting the Olympic Games. This transformation literally happened overnight, as though a fairy godmother sprinkled magical dust onto the city... and poof! January 30, Vancouver is a typically sedate Pacific Northwest city. By February 1, it has become scene and setting for one Olympic-sized international party. Open-air music concerts, Katarina Witt on the Robson Square skating rink, splashes of green and blue Vancouver 2010 signs, sweatshirts, buses and uniformed volunteeers on every corner. Busy traffic lanes have been shut down to make way for lively pedestrian zones, and every street is overflowing with snap-happy tourists. Two days before the Games are scheduled to kick off, there is a buzz and an excitement in the air that tell me this: Vancouver is ready.

These Games, of course, are the hot topic and headline news of every local news source in Vancouver, be it in print or on television. But next in line for hot topic, and something that is garnering quite a bit of media attention, is the protest movement here in Vancouver. February 12 marks the official start of the 2010 Games, and this day may also bear witness to what could be a large-scale and carefully organized protest march on the streets of Vancouver. Apparently there is a strong anti-Olympics movement in this Canadian province, headed up by The Olympic Resistance Network, an organization which seeks to draw attention to the "social injustices perpetrated by the Games." The group is expected to gather thousands of people in the vicinity of BC Place Stadium on Friday evening, with the goal of disrupting both the Torch Relay and the Opening Ceremony.

In regards to this protest, I will not take a political stance one way or another; this is not the appropriate forum to do so. I mention this news, rather, to draw attention to the remarkable freedom that the people of Canada enjoy: freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly (you know, all those things we typically take for granted and never think twice about.) While in Beijing for the 2008 Games, there were whispers about an anti-Games demonstration there. Rumor had it that the government approved a small area of land where this event could take place, the time it could take place, and the manner in which it could be conducted, and in effect corralled the "dissidents" into a predetermined area far enough away from view and from the Olympic venues to have no real impact. I am not sure if the demonstration actually happened, because there was no local media coverage of the event. In fact, throughout the Games, there was no local media coverage of anything that leaned even slightly toward the negative. All newscasts (of which all channels in all languages were run by the government) aired shiny, happy, Olympic-bubble news. For 6 weeks, I was living in a shiny, happy Olympic bubble.

The not so shiny reality - one that is quite disturbing - is this: if the demonstration did happen in Beijing, the protestors were probably arrested soon thereafter. So whether I agree or disagree with the Olympic Resistance movement here in Vancouver is irrelevant. Whether I am slightly irritated that it may disrupt our carefully planned access route into the Stadium on Friday afternoon is beside the point. Regardless of all of this, I tip my toque to those citizens who are willing to organize themselves for a cause. I thank my lucky stars that I come from a country where we are legally entitled to such basic human freedoms. And I am reminded once again just how lucky I am to have been born on this side of the Pacific Ocean.

Will there be snow?

The base of Cypress Mountain looks more like a construction site than a ski resort. A number of hearty Canadians are up here this morning, long before the sun has come up. Teams of construction crews are hard at work, building out the setting for what will be the snowboarding and freestyle ski events of the 2010 Winter Games. Tents and fencing, signs and security lines are being set in place. Concession stands will soon be filled with hot dogs, beer and steamy hot chocolate.

But will there be snow?

Vancouver is accustomed to mild winters, but 45 degrees and muggy is probably more than the official organizing committee had bargained for. Cypress Mountain has been closed to the public for weeks now, and snow-making machines have been running on overdrive in an effort to blanket the slopes in white. Deep inside the high-rise offices of those who will put on this show, I imagine there is plenty of sweating going on, and maybe a little yelling. Stress levels are definitely on high alert.

I for one am not concerned. Call me overly optimistic, but my guess is that a freak storm will blow through any day now, dumping buckets of snow onto Cypress. This is the Olympics, after all. The Weather Gods must be watching. And they wouldn't dare leave The Flying Tomato without a soft place to land his gold-medal ride.

Despite the strangely warm weather, the Olympic spirit is starting to creep in. With 10 days until showtime, Vancouver doesn't yet look or feel at all like an Olympic city about to host the Winter Games. But today's tour of the snow-covered venues at Whistler seemed to get everyone in the mood, and the excitement amongst my colleagues is infectious. After a hellish summer at the 2008 Games, I think we are all looking forward to an Olympic experience that will surely be more organized, more manageable... and all around more sane than Beijing. (Really though, anything would be.)

So now, if you could all please return to your snow dance, everyone here in Vancouver would be appreciative. As for me, I have some Weather Gods to pray to.


Whistler is ready!


View from a motorcoach