Obama Holds Vancouver Security Assessment
U.S. President Barack Obama will lead a cabinet-level exercise later today to discuss preparedness, crisis response and incident-management procedures for the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Obama is not expected to attend the Games this month. An official delegation from the U.S. has yet to be named.
Vice President Joseph Biden is believed to be a possible choice to lead the U.S. delegation.
Along with the White House exercise today, Vancouver security leaders will stage a demonstration for the media Monday afternoon. The demonstration takes place at the Pacific Coliseum in east Vancouver, site of figure skating and short track speed skating.
Canada Picks Flagbearer, Names Team
Speedskater Clara Hughes – only the fourth athlete to win medals at both Summer and Winter Games – will lead Canada into the opening ceremony of Vancouver 2010 on Feb. 12.
“This is my last Olympics, I really felt I didn’t have a choice,” said Hughes. “This is something I thought about for a few years.”
Hughes, 37, said being the flag bearer is greatest honor of her athletic career. Her first race is Feb. 14 at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
“I don’t feel any pressure on my performance,” she said. “It’s going to give me an inspiration I’ve never felt before.”
Hughes won two bronze medals in road cycling in Atlanta 1996 and competed again at the Sydney 2000. At 2002 Salt Lake City, Hugues joined the national speedskating team and won bronze in 5,000 meters. She enters Vancouver as the reigning Olympic champion in 5,000 m.
Hugh will lead a 206-member Canadian team into BC Place Stadium for the opening ceremony. It is the largest Canadian winter games team. The team is backed by the $110 million Canadian dollar Own the Podium high performance program. Canada failed to win gold when it hosted Montreal 1976 and Calgary 1988.
Vancouver Flame Route
The Olympic flame will arrive in Vancouver during the noon hour Feb. 11 and visit every community in the host city over the next 25 hours.
The relay will make appearances at B.C. Children’s Hospital, the Killarney and Trout Lake community centers, the VANOC headquarters, Prospect Point in Stanley Park, the English Bay inukshuk and Chinatown Millennium Gate. The torch will travel aboard the Olympic Line streetcar to Granville Island, canoed across False Creek and then run to the Four Host First Nations pavilion for a blessing ceremony. The next time the Olympic torch will be seen is at the opening ceremony where it will light a cauldron in the middle of B.C. Place Stadium’s floor.
Pavilion plodding
A $10 million Canadian government pavilion that was supposed to open for a Jan. 27 media tour was inaccessible because of safety reasons. It will open up after the opening ceremony.
Canadian Heritage minister James Moore said it would open on schedule and on-budget Feb. 13, despite the Dec. 18 start of by Chicago-based Giltspur Exhibits.
City hall documents show the federal government agreed in October 2008 to rent space at LiveCity Downtown, but didn’t act upon the plan until August 2009.
“This project had a sorry record of mismanagement and appears to be continuing,” said Joyce Murray, the federal Liberal party’s Olympic critic. “I hope that in the end they can do something that reflects the investment Canadians are making.”
Media Watch
Vancouver is most marijuana-friendly city in Olympic history, according to the New York Daily News. The newspaper calls the Vancouver 2010 the "Pot Olympics" despite the fact that marijuana is on the banned-substances list.
Former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan profiled in Sunday New York Times.
In the wake of an attempted Christmas Day bombing over Detroit, major sporting events including the Vancouver Olympics and the NFL's Super Bowl are taking security looking closely at security.
CNN begins a series of reports on security and preparations for Vancouver.
The Seattle Times provides an overview of the volunteer army for the Vancouver Games.
With reporting from Ed Hula III, Sam Steinberg with Bob Mackin.
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
