Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2556
WHISTLER BUDGETING C$18.5 MILLION ON PROGRAMMING CELEBRATION PLAZA, PLUS C$14.2 MILLION ON BUILDING AND CONVERTING IT

The resort municipality of Whistler (RMOW) is proposing to raise and spend C$18.5 million for the Games-time operations of its Celebration Plaza during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and to raise and spend another C$14.2 million building it and then converting it after the Games to the "outdoor epicentre of performing arts in Whistler."

That compares to the City of Vancouver's planning, which calls for a total of C$23.2 million, including C$8.8 million in operations and C$14.4 million in hard expenses over two Live Site locations that are to be temporarily renovated for the events, and then generally returned to their original uses, one as a parking lot and the other as a public park.

The Plaza is scheduled to be built in 2008 and 2009, hold crowds of up to 8,000 at a time, and be one of the main centrepieces of the public's view of the 2010 Games in Whistler.

Almost all of VANOC's snow and sliding events are scheduled for areas around Whistler, and almost all of the Paralympics events are also to be held in the Whistler area. The nightly medal ceremonies for the Whistler-area events are scheduled to be held at the Celebration Plaza, in conjunction with TV network ties to ceremonial and cultural events via large-screen television broadcasting to similar locations at three locations in Vancouver and one in Richmond.

Assuming the application for Canadian government funding goes through -- it's assumed it will since Whistler says the Canadian Heritage ministry invited Whistler's application -- Whistler managers say they'll start spending the communications portion of the programming budget. According to the managers, "RMOW, the Whistler Arts Council, VANOC and Canadian Heritage will jointly develop a communication strategy and plan regarding the contribution from the Government of Canada to the Whistler Live Sites program.... RMOW, Whistler Arts Council and VANOC will develop a strategy and plan to continue to engage the community, communicate plans and progress for the Celebration Plaza and the programming of Whistler Live Sites."

Next, we'll have a look at how the operations and capital planning are to work, and what money is expected to be spent and for what.

[See BACKGROUND, below]

Operations [for the pro-forma, see BACKGROUND, below]
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Whistler managers will work with VANOC's Ceremonies and Cultural Olympiad departments and the Whistler Arts Council (WAC) to provide daily and nightly programming at the Plaza in downtown Whistler, which, they expect, will be perceived as one seamless Olympic or Paralympic experience.

To date, Whistler has identified all but C$2.6 million of the operational revenues it needs to offset the projected costs. The operational shortfall, Whistler managers

suggest, the cost of the nightly finale during the Games, is expected to be covered by a sponsor -- whether corporate or government is not being revealed until the deal is done. However, they say that if the funds aren't forthcoming, they expect to still have time to cut back other aspects of the programming to compensate.

According to the Whistler managers, "Spectators will have the opportunity to participate in one seamless Live Site program that will incorporate the Victory Ceremonies and Concerts; the Olympic and Paralympic Arts Festival; the Paralympic Closing Ceremonies and 'Village Animation.' All three organizations believe that, during the Games, spectators should not be able to distinguish between -- or even be aware of -- the various organizations producing and presenting programming in Whistler. This fundamental belief is shared by the RMOW, VANOC, and WAC, and was the motivation for the integration, collaboration and on-going communication between the organizations, and for the combining of resources to create a single, unified, and engaging spectator experience that achieves the objectives of each organization."

In addition to the current programming, Whistler staff are still working to refine the budget itself, as well as on on the possibility of some additional entertainment concepts, for which sponsorship funding is still being sought (none of these program are expected to proceed if the funding can't be confirmed): These include "Late Night Live", which is estimated to cost C$307,950; Snow & Glow Olympics, budgeted at C$1.3 million and a companion program, Snow & Glow Paralympics, expected to cost C$23,280.

Whistler's C$1.3 million contribution involves C$1 million in cash, with the rest as value-in-kind (cleaning and waste, snow removal, accounting etc.) contributions, as well as funding for the Village appearance program for the Games.

Capital construction [for the pro-forma, see BACKGROUND, below]
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Whistler staff say they have identified all of the capital funding the Celebration Plaza needs for the basic operation of what they want to do, but they have not yet included the revenues nor costs of the landmark roof and the suggested ice connected with the proposed Whistler pavilion at Celebration Plaza's, as that's going through a separate approval process. The open-air ice rink, if built, is expected to have a suspended clear glass roof designed by Vancouver's Bing Thom of Bing Thom Architects -- if the engineering and snow loading can be worked out.

But, they suggest, the same sense of collaboration as exists on the programming and operations site extends to the construction on what is now lightly forested bush land in Whistler and the Plaza's later conversion shortly after the Games are completed, which is in March, 2010. "Post-Games, Celebration Plaza will emerge as the outdoor epicentre of performing arts in Whistler -– a place to showcase the richness of talent in the community, and to celebrate local heritage, adding a distinct maturity and sophistication to community life and the visitor experience. Celebration Plaza will be designed and programmed to attract community members and visitors from across Canada and around the world."

Whistler's already budgeted in its five-year plan for its C$6.2 million contribution.

BACKGROUND

Several Whistler managers have been working for the past year or so on the economics and constructing the future of the so-called Live Site at Whistler: John Rae, the manager of Strategic Alliances; Keith Bennett, the general manager of Resort Experiences; Diane Mombourquette, the general manager of Economic Viability; and, Jim Godfrey, the executive director of the Whistler 2010 Games Office and who is also Whistler's appointee on the Board of Directors for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

The Plaza is expected to be built on the land known there as Lots 1/9, which was at one point planned to hold the arena that would be used as for sledge hockey and wheelchair curling during the 2010 Paralympics. Those sports have since been transferred to Vancouver after the arena's C$33 million capital cost was more than what Whistler council was willing to bear.

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Whistler's Preliminary Live Sites Program & Production Budget pro-forma
(All figures are in Canadian dollars)

Revenue
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Canadian heritage funding $5,000,000
VANOC subtotal: $8.95 million
-- VANOC Overlay $4,402,100
-- VANOC Ceremonies $2,251,566
-- VANOC Culture $2,300,000
Resort Municipality of Whistler: $1,269,800
Event Revenue $585,000
Other Contributions $2,637,815 (currently unfunded, funds possibly from sponsor or sponsors)
TOTAL: $18,446,281

Expenses
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Event Workforce $3,221,645
Creative & Artistic Services $6,049,515
Finance & Administrative Services $336,500
Production and Operations $5,710,630
Technical Operations $2,241,991
Media & Communications Services $886,000
TOTAL: $18,446,281

===

Capital Construction
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Whistler's Preliminary capital budget for the Celebration Plaza (Lots 1/9)
(All figures are in Canadian dollars)

Revenue
-------

Canadian Heritage $5,000,000
Resort Municipality of Whistler $6,200,000
VANOC $3,000,000
Total revenue: $14,200,000

Expenses
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Pre-Games

Hard Costs
-- Site Preparation $$880,000
-- Pavers $1,310,000
-- Infrastructure and Site Servicing $280,000
-- Utility Building $910,000
-- Performance Infrastructure $1,200,000

Soft Costs
-- Contingency $910,000
-- Escalation contingency (based on 09/2009 completion) $570,000
Soft Costs subtotal: $1,690,000
PRE-GAMES TOTAL $7,750,000

--

Post-Games Conversion

Hard Costs
-- Terracing and Hard Landscaping $1,260,000
-- Site Services 550,000
-- Lawn 350,000
-- Reforestation/Planting 170,000
-- Public Art/ Federal Recognition 250,000
-- Play Equipment 260,000
-- Water Feature 1,000,000
-- Soft Landscaping and Equipment 190,000
-- Contingency 760,000

Soft Costs 930,000
Escalation (based on 11/2010 completion) 730,000
POST-GAMES TOTAL 6,450,000

TOTAL CAPITAL COST: $14,200,000


RESOURCES

Our report on the City of Vancouver's Live Site operations and capital costs:
'Vancouver City staff propose two major Olympic Live Sites in downtown Vancouver'
[Morgan:News:2010:Number:2523; Published on Wednesday, September 12, 2007]

Our story about the Whistler ice pavilion proposed for the Celebration Plaza:
'Some good news and bad news about Whistler's 2010 Celebration Plaza'
[Morgan:News:2010:Number:2503; Published on Friday, August 31, 2007]

Our story about the overall look of the Celebration Plaza
'Vancouver architect team to design Whistler Olympic Ceremonies Plaza'
[Morgan:News:2010:Number:2233; Published on Tuesday, April 3, 2007]

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on October 1, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2555

WHISTLER TO ASK CANADA FOR C$10 MILLION FOR LIVE SITES WORK

Whistler municipal council is expected to approve two applications next week to the Canadian government for up to C$10 million that can be applied against costs associated with the Resort's construction, development and programming of its 2010 Olympic Live Sites. The City of Vancouver's council approved a similar application earlier this month, also for C$10 million. In Whistler's case, the resort's staff say they intend to apply for C$5 million from Heritage Canada's under its Celebration, Commemoration & Learning Program, which Whistler staff says deals with the development and programming costs (the program exists, but is not listed in the Department's public information). Staff also say they intend to apply for the remaining $5 million under Heritage Canada's Cultural Spaces Program for the funds to help with construction of the 2010 Olympics main Celebration Plaza for the nightly medal ceremonies and the Closing Ceremonies for the Paralympics, on what was once called Lots 1/9. The Cultural Spaces program's rules say that the fund "offers support of up to 33% of eligible project costs for expansion, construction or renovation, and up to 40% of eligible project costs for specialized equipment purchases or feasibility studies. Under exceptional circumstances, [Heritage Canada officials] may consider increased levels of support towards eligible project costs." This program also requires federal-government recognition signage on projects that receive such money, which Heritage Canada also supplies. Staff say they're working with the Olympic offices of Vancouver and Richmond to coordinate programming and planning, to keep costs down.

NBC OLYMPICS HIRES PORTUGUESE SOFTWARE COMPANY TO HELP HANDLE 2010 DIGITAL DATA

NBC Olympics, a subsidiary of the American TV network that holds the broadcast rights for the 2010 Winter Olympics, has signed a contract with MOG Solutions of Portugal to provide it with software, include its new Toboggan suite, that works as an intermediary to integrate the operations of NBC's Blue Order Media Asset Management System, its editing suites and its video servers. High-definition TV, which is what the Vancouver 2010 Games is using, involves a lot of digital data, and hauling it around, particularly from country to country, for processing and editing requires a lot of bandwidth and computer processing power. Getting that data into presentation form doesn't necessarily require all the data all the time. As well, the Internet and telephone transmissions of such video don't need all the data. If only a portion of that data can be used by human editors to prepare a package, and then, when the package is ready, only the data that needs to be processed and moved is used, it cuts down on the sheer volume of data that needs to be moved, and it speeds up the editing and transmission processes. Toboggan is a group of software tools that enable the new-media production group within NBC Olympics to share the media feeds and work that process them for various types of transmission between NBC's operations located in Vancouver and in New York. The live video feeds, and the computer data that describe them, emerge from the 2010 Games, are processed by Toboggan, setting them up for the Blue Order warehouse computers, then the software exports a portion of the data into the Avid software NBC crews use to edit the feeds and set the packaged programs up for broadcast transmission on, say, the Internet or on video-telephones. “It is always a challenge to encompass NBC Olympics’ requirements within MOG’s state-of-the-art technology. This is a very exciting project following the rewarding collaboration during the coverage of the Torino Olympic Winter Games,” says Vitor Teixeira, MOG's vice president of Product Development & Sales. [See RESOURCES, below]

RESOURCES

MOG Solutions:
www.mog-solutions.com

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NBC Olympics:
www.nbcolympics.com

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 28, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2554

MORE INFO ON MORE FEDERAL MONEY FOR TRANSIT AND PORT SECURITY IN VANCOUVER AND BC

Here's a followup to our report that BC Transit is to conduct a terrorism security study in Whistler and the Whistler-Vancouver corridor, among other locations in BC, because those areas are going to be involved in the 2010 Winter Olympics. About $300,000 of the funding for the review, which is to be completed by the end of March, comes Transport Canada, which says the grant, issued earlier this year, is part of its Transit-Security program: "The Transit-Secure contribution program will defray the expenses of developing a security plan and a threat and risk assessment." We've also learned that Transport Canada has given Translink, the agency that looks after public transit in the Greater Vancouver area, C$9.9 million last May 29 for security related work; C$3 million of that is for the same type of study that BC Transit is undertaking outside of Greater Vancouver, while the balance is for defraying "costs related to high-priority projects such as a threat and risk assessment, a security plan, employee traning program, public awareness and the upgrade of security equipment." At the same time, it also gave TSI Terminals Systems C$210,558 for "marine security enhancements", although it's not immediately clear if it's for Olympics-related work. TSI, a wholly owned subsidiary of Orient Overseas International Limited of Hong Kong and Railpower Technologies of Montreal, is Vancouver's largest container terminal operator, and operates at Vanterm and Deltaport. The Port of Vancouver also received a total of C$2.3 million in similar grants late last year, while Westshore Terminals, which handles bulk commodities for Greater Vancouver, received C$1.4 million at the same time, also for "marine security enhancements."

BC OLYMPICS SECRETARIAT EXPANDS BENEFITS-STUDY PROPOSAL DEADLINE AND CONTENT

Within a day of asking companies to contact it by October 3 to do a series of major impact reports on the 2010 Winter Games franchise, the BC government's Olympic Secretariat has extended the closing date of the process by a week to October 10. It's also added an assessment of environmental impacts of the Games' activities to the lengthy list of economic impacts it wants covered in the reports, which are to be done annually for the BC and Canadian governments until 2013. We detailed the project in an article earlier this week [See RESOURCES, below].

RESOURCES

TSI Terminals:
www.tsi.bc.ca

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Our first article on the impact reports the BC and Canadian governments want done on the 2010 Games:
'BC, Canadian governments to mount $2 million, seven-year study of annual benefits to hosting 2010 Olympics'
[Morgan:News:2010:Number:2547; Published on Wednesday, September 26, 2007]

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 27, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Business| #2553
BC TRANSIT TO CONDUCT TERRORIST SECURITY REVIEW IN WHISTLER AND OTHER LOCATIONS BY MARCH

BC Transit, the BC government agency that public transit systems outside of Greater Vancouver, is planning to conduct a major terrorist security review between October and March in Whistler and the Vancouver-Whistler corridor, among other places, because of the area's connection to the 2010 Winter Olympics.

"The context for this work is the 2004 attacks on public rail and bus transit in Europe," says a BC Transit planning document. BC Transit expects to "review and assess international and domestic terrorism risks to BC Transit operations, property, personnel and passengers" generally, but intends to focus on Whistler, where it operates 28 buses, as well as Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna, Kamloops and the central Fraser Valley, which includes such towns as Abbotsford and Chilliwack. It's chosen the other locations because of the mix of security risks and targets offered within them. It expects the work to start in mid- to late October.

BC Transit is paying for the work partly with its own money, partly from a grant it's been given by the Canadian government's Transport Canada department. It intends to use the money and the study to add or enhance "security measures and mechanisms to prevent, respond to and mitigate security breaches and incidents caused by international and domestic terrorist threat."

The first part of the plan, which it hopes to have by mid-December, is for the targets and risks to be assessed in the key areas, including Whistler, along with the status of existing anti-terrorism "mechanisms", along with an evaluation of how effective they are, plus some ideas on the gaps within those "mechanisms" that would affect BC Transit. It also wants to see some possible terrorist scenarios developed, with an eye to seeing how BC Transit might respond to them.

By the end of next March, it wants to see a list of recommended changes, how much upgrading each might cost in capital, administrative -- such as equipment, material, training -- and operational expenses, along with estimates of how long it might take to implement the recommended improvements.

BC Transit says it expects to use experts in terrorism that also have extensive knowledge of bus systems and, "given the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in 2010... an understanding of the special circumstances that will pertain to Whistler and the Vancouver - Whistler corridor."

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 27, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2552
VANCOUVER CULTURAL PLANNING TASK FORCE FLOUNDERING AS VANOC FINALIZES THE START OF ITS CULTURAL OLYMPIAD

One of the City of Vancouver's most extensive planning projects, a reworking of its cultural planning to incorporate the springboard of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad and Olympic ceremonies, has run out of money without yet handing in a final report, and, thanks to the current civic strike, is more than two months behind schedule.

The news comes only five months before the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) launches the first of its three-part Cultural Olympiad.

Vancouver city staff indicate the Creative City Task Force has spent all of the C$75,000 it was given by the City in 2005 to conduct the strategic planning process for the directions the city should take in supporting culture over the next decade, as well as an additional C$20,000 grant from the Arts Now program of 2010 Legacies Now.

Staff feel it will take another C$50,000 of civic money, and another three months to conduct the final public-consultation process the Task Force wants to do for reaction to its draft report, and publish its final report. They add that because of the civic strike, which is expected to last at least another week, the Task Force couldn't meet during the last few months, stalling its process.

Staff say, as part of the rationale for approving more money and time for the Task Force, that the city is home to the decision by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) to spend C$20 million on its Cultural Olympiad, which also takes place in Whistler and Richmond, and that the city is "committed to supporting the Games [which expects to be] rich in sporting and cultural memories."

And, they add, there is expected to be more support from 2010 Legacies Now directed toward Olympic-related art in the next few years. VANOC is also expected to spend about C$60 million on the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies program.

VANOC's vice-president of Culture and Ceremonies, Burke Taylor, who is not involved with the City's Task Force nor the city's issues with it, says 188 proposals were received by VANOC since it issued a public call June 12 for concepts of what might be done with the Olympiad, particularly for the 2008 celebrations, which he and his team are still analyzing. "We had the full spectrum, from off the wall to quite conservative, but it's a fantastic choice," he says.

Taylor says that while VANOC's budget is limited, particularly for 2008, it's able to do a lot more programming because of its co-production/co-presentation strategy. "It means that we, alone, don't have to foot the whole bill. It's a way of maximizing the program and sharing the load."

Taylor says VANOC will detail the 2008 program in November. "The final programming isn't complete yet, but it'll be a full spectrum of activity, with probably on the order of 55 or so partners and organizations we'll be working with to co-produce or co-present, and probably something on the order of about 100 events overall."

Taylor says this time through, it will be "very much the Whistler-Vancouver corridor" where most of the events will take place, but it will also include Richmond, where the sports complex that is to house VANOC's long-track speedskating venue is being built, and, while he declined to confirm it, likely the Vancouver Art Gallery as well.

Taylor says the 2008 musical events are likely to range widely, as well theatre and dance events, but he adds, "We're already talking to a wide range of organizations now -- locally, nationally and internationally -- about the '09 and 2010 programs." Taylor says he expects an open call will also be launched in November for the 2009 and 2010 proposals. The 2009 program is also expected to take place in February and March of that year.

The Task Force includes seven city managers, two City councillors -- Elizabeth Ball and Heather Deal -- the cultural sector -- such as artists, administrators, board members, and professional associations -- Tourism Vancouver, the Vancouver Board of Trade, the Vancouver Economic Development Commission, the Vancouver School Board, the Vancouver Park Board, the Vancouver Library and the University of British Columbia.

BACKGROUND

The City says that more than three million people attend live performances, screenings, exhibitions, festivals and special events every year in the City. Festivals in our parks and community centres present more than 1,800 performances. Music, dance and theatre groups introduce more than 540 different live productions and the city’s galleries and major museums feature more than 600 exhibitions.

Vancouver is home to the highest concentration of artists per capita in Canada.

The sector includes arts and cultural organizations, film and television production and "new media", such as Internet and video-games companies. Cultural employment in the Greater Vancouver area has increased by 23.7% between two censuses for which information is available, from 1996 to 2001, compared to the general labour force rate of 5.3%.

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The City of Vancouver:

Awarded C$10.1 million this year to non-profit arts and cultural organizations through 13 grant programs;

Develops public art through civic, private sector and community arts programs, street-banner programs and graffiti programs;

Supports the film industry through the Film Office;

Encourages new cultural facilities through planning and development incentives;

Is landlord of 36 arts and cultural organizations that receive rent-free and tax-free occupancy of public facilities;

Owns and operates the Queen Elizabeth and Orpheum Theatres, and the Vancouver Playhouse;

Owns an extensive collection of art and artifacts in the stewardship through the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver Museum and Maritime Museum; and

Owns the Pacific National Exhibition, which mounts the largest annual festival in the Greater Vancouver area every August.

RESOURCES

Our report on the overview of VANOC's Cultural Olympiad
'2010 organizing committee launches $20 million Cultural Olympiad and outlines $60 million Ceremonies planning'
[Morgan:News:2010:Number:2367; Published on Tuesday, June 12, 2007]

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 27, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2551
BC GOVERNMENT'S C$900,000 TO HELP PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES BENEFIT FROM 2010 JOBS, VOLUNTEER POSITIONS

The BC government says it has given 2010 Legacies Now a C$900,000 grant to establish Access Works, a program that will help people with disabilities benefit if jobs or volunteer spots open up for them in connection with the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, among other situations.

Claude Richmond, the government's minister of Employment and Income Assistance, says, "Access Works is a unique endeavour that will aid persons with disabilities to take full advantage of all the exciting opportunities leading up to 2010 and beyond."

2010 Legacies Now is a non-profit society that was originally set up by the government so that it could work in a quasi-independent basis on a range of specific Olympic-related projects throughout the province with private companies, Olympic sponsors and other organizations. Much of the funding for the organization's projects, however, comes from government grants.

Carla Qualtrough, of the Accessibility and Inclusion Program at 2010 Legacies Now, says, "Right now, there are approximately 300,000 disabled, working-age British Columbians – people who are well-educated, highly motivated and want to work and contribute to our province. Access Works will open doors for many persons with disabilities and help them play an instrumental role in their communities."

More than two-dozen agencies -- including the Neil Squire Society, the program's lead disability-service provider, as well as the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the British Columbia Paraplegic Association -- have been enrolled in Access Works.

The concept of the program is to "establish connections between organizations needing to fill job and volunteer positions with disabled persons who are qualified for these opportunities," according to representatives of the government and 2010 Legacies Now. They add, "In addition to its role in facilitating employment and volunteer opportunities, Access Works will also identify potential joint economic ventures between businesses, disability-friendly organizations and disabled entrepreneurs."

VANOC has been steadily hiring people for a number of specific positions through open job listings; it's also using a number of volunteers for specific positions, such as vehicle drivers, but its first general call for volunteers won't start until February.

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 27, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2550

VANOC CONSIDERS NATIONAL COMPUTER SPONSORSHIP CATEGORY

VANOC has begun putting out feelers for companies in Canada interested in being a corporate supplier to the 2010 Games for the thousands of computers it will need to host the Games. It's doing so because so far Lenovo, the Chinese-owned laptop computer company that's still being strongly courted by the International Olympic Committee as a corporate sponsor of the 2010 Games, still hasn't confirmed it will extend its sponsorship past the Beijing Summer Games next year. VANOC had hoped Lenovo would make its sponsorship-extension decision, as it said it would, within six months of last year's February Olympics in Torino, Italy, and VANOC had expected it to have done so by the beginning of this year. Dave Cobb, VANOC's executive vice president of Revenue, Marketing and Communications, says, "We are starting to talk to companies to guage what the interest would be for a domestic sponsorship would be if the international deal doesn't get done, but we're nowhere near a conclusion. We're still hoping the IOC can do it." Gilbert Felli, the IOC's Executive Director of the Olympic Games, says, however, that talks with Lenovo should conclude soon. "We are negotiating this category. We are discussing a timeline about where and when the category is to be released, so that VANOC can move forward. It's not going to be long before the decision will be taken."

IOC STARTS NEGOTIATIONS WITH POTENTIAL 2010 SPONSOR JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Talks are also underway between the IOC and another potential 2010 international sponsor, the big American health-products firm Johnson & Johnson. Those discussions only began about two months ago. Another potential international sponsor, Kodak, isn't yet on VANOC's outlook because the timing of its supplies, which include X-ray films and related processing for the Olympic-related medical systems isn't nearing a VANOC deadline yet.

LENOVO CONTEST UNDERSCORES BEIJING OLYMPIC TORCH SPONSORSHIP

Speaking of Lenovo: It is conducting a contest, as part of its Olympic sponsorship marketing activation, in Canada, among other countries, to find people aged 21 or older interested in carrying the Beijing Summer Games Olympic Torch next summer. Quebec residents aren't allowed to take part for legal reasons. The Olympic torch isn't coming to Canada, but one of the three Beijing Paralympic torches is expected to stop in Vancouver; this contest is only for the Olympic Torch. The concept of Lenovo's contest is to look for "new thinkers", which Lenovo describes as "motivating, provocative, imaginative, individualistic, explorative". It wants a 50-word essay in English, explaining why an entrant believes themselves to be such a thinker; applicants are registered for up to six draws for a Lenovo computer and Olympics pin. The 20 finalists and 10 alternates shortlisted are to complete a timed math or cultural question to side-step laws dealing with games of chance, and provide "a 30-second video, showcasing how your torch relay participation idea demonstrates new thinking and upholds the Olympic ideals." The videos are be the subject of public voting starting October 10. Voters are entered into a random draw to be one of three to receive a Beijing Olympic torch; the top three who win the vote have their names submitted to the Beijing Olympic Committee, who makes the actual decision whether they'll be included in the run. The winners get a free return trip to China for at least two days with a travelling companion of their choice, and a torchbearer's uniform. The original entry for the contest includes a check box to tick if it's okay with the applicant for their contact info to be used by Lenovo "about special offerings, products and services." There are quite a few restrictions on what can be in the video, for instance, it can't include anybody "under the age of 21 years old, depict someone smoking or intoxicated, [or] contain an advertisement or a solicitation of any business...", nor any of the Olympic symbols. The overall out-of-pocket cost to Lenovo for all of this appears to be about C$20,000.

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 27, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2549

TWICE AS MANY DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE VANCOUVER RESIDENTS OK WITH 2010 GAMES AS OPPOSE THEM

Apparently, twice as many residents of Vancouver's poorest neighbourhood are strongly in favour of the 2010 Olympics as oppose it. Anthropology professor Claudia Launhardt of Greater Vancouver's Trinity Western University has given the results of a poll by 47 of her students of 200 residents of Vancouver's downtown east side neighbourhood to VANOC and the City of Vancouver's Olympics manager, Dave Rudberg. The poll, which appears to have been done for anthropological reasons, as opposed to statistical reasons, indicated about a third of the interviewees strongly supported the 2010 Olympics, and 18% strongly opposed the Games, with the rest being either indifferent or unable to express how they felt. Two deeply religious Christians, Launhardt and her husband, Nasser, own or control small hotels in the area: they bought the 125-room Ivanhoe Hotel in 2001, and lease the C & N Backpacker's Hostel; until earlier this year, they also owned the Dominion Hotel. The survey was done through personal interviews over a two-week period in June while the students lived in the area. About 51% of those surveyed felt the government and Olympic-related programs affecting the area were doing the work to improve the look of the area, and two-thirds felt the Olympics would push people out of the area. However 30% said they would volunteer for the 2010 Games. The Vancouver Province newspaper interviewed Launhardt, quoting her as saying, "The general assumption is that people in the Downtown Eastside have a negative view of the Olympics. But we found people with a positive view -- people who want to be involved but don't have a voice to express that." Confidence statistics on the information were not available.

ROGERS' BEEFORTH FORTHRIGHT

Some information gleaned from an interview between Slam sports columnist George Gross and Doug Beeforth, 52, the president of Rogers Sports Net, one of the main Canadian cable TV channels that is part of the official Canadian consortium that won the right to broadcast the 2010 Winter Olympics. "We have 300 employees, most of whom are under 30. They have a huge amount of energy and are passionate for sports. Also, some of our key personnel are women," Gross quotes Beeforth as saying. Gross writes that sharing the two Olympic Games with CTV and TSN is, for Beeforth, something like asking a dog and a cat to eat from the same plate. "It's an interesting partnership," Beeforth said to Gross, likening the companies to two competitive NHL hockey teams. "Most days us and CTV are like the Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. Suddenly you have to work with your competitors as partners. For instance, Rick Brace, president of CTV, is a friend, yet we never worked together before." Beeforth, it turns out, invented the hockey net-mounted camera for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

US SPEEDSKATING ORGANIZATION RALLIES -- REPORT

A report today in the Detroit Free Press newspaper suggests the reorganization of the American Olympic speedskating organization since its poor performance at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics is beginning to show results. The US women's short-track team failed to win a medal in Torino, and while the US men's team won three medals, the one gold and one of the two bronze medals were won by only one man, Apolo Anton Ohno. Since the Italian Games, US Speedskating has moved its headquarters from Cleveland to Kearns, Utah, and replaced much of its staff, and moved the national short track team from Colorado Springs to the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns. The new US short track head coach is Jae Su Chun, a Korean who worked with the Canadian Olympic team. He told Free Press reporter Jo-Ann Barnas, "For 2010 Olympics, three gold medals for boys group; for girls, one silver. I see eight medals total. Until now, US Speedskating was only Apolo. We need to make other strong skaters. That is my goal." An new speedskater to the team, Ryan Bedford, 21, told Barnas, "You can feel things changing. In 2010 we're going to have more than one individual medalist. And in the relay, Apolo said, 'We're going to win gold, no matter what.' He definitely wants revenge. When there's pressure, Apolo feeds off that. He brings a little extra level of intensity to the group whenever he's with us."

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 27, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2548

ONLY HANDFUL OF TOWNS TO GET OLYMPIC PROMO VIDEOS UNLESS MORE MONEY FOUND

Here's a bit more information on that C$500,000 joint venture we reported yesterday, the agreement between the BC provincial government and Northern Trust to hire a video-production company to shoot high-definition television marketing videos of communities in northern BC for use at the 2008 and 2010 Olympics. The BC Olympics Secretariat is to hire the video crew at $42,000 per community so that there's quality control, but officials in each community that takes part will have most of the creative control. Since the amount of money available and the cost of the production indicates only about 10 or 11 communities can be involved, and there are about 40 communities in the Trust's area, which includes the main northern BC city of Prince George, some communities are being expected to work with smaller neighbouring towns for one video clip. However, Trust officials say they are hoping to bring in another financier to the project to increase the amount of money available; they're not saying who, but presumably it's the Canadian government. The video development work is expected to start next week, and is also expected to focus on summer and winter aspects of the communities.

VANOC BEGINS STAFFING PROCESS FOR WHISTLER NORDIC CENTRE

VANOC has begun to hire its initial staffing complement for the Whistler Nordic Centre, timing it so that they'll phased onto the payroll as the WNC's construction ends and it begins operations in December. Management is expected to start in November, with some of the workers starting in December. In many of the cases, VANOC's work plan means the employees will only be seasonal for this upcoming winter, until April, or seasonal for the next couple of years, although many are expected to be working after the Games. Some jobs involve dealing with lift or Winch Cat operations, others with refrigeration, still others with snow management, training or looking after volunteers. The positions being filled include venue management such as an events and range coordinator, a trail-grooming supervisor, a professional safety patroller, a mechanical supervisor, maintenance and safety crews. The staffing also includes several positions dealing with the two ski jumps, such as a landing-hill supervisor, a couple of jump specialists, and operators. These people will be working with grooming Staff, sport managers and the senior competition volunteers right through the Games and into its legacy mode. The venue staff also includes a venue manager and assistant operations manager.

RBC SPONSOR WORKING ON MARKETING AND ACTIVATION

A couple of Olympic sponsorship activation notes about the Royal Bank, VANOC's financial sponsor: RBC will celebrate the September 29 opening of its newest branch in Orleans, Ontario, but using Canadian winter Olympic aerial skier Jeff Bean to promote it. And, RBC says, "our on-site banking services at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will be green-powered." By that, it means it will be using the power with an EcoLogo certification from the province's electrical utility, BC Hydro. EcoLogo is a trademark and process that belongs to the Government of Canada. In this particular case, being able to provide that certification means the electrical power comes from technologies that use naturally occurring energy sources, such as the wind and sun, or power sources that, with the proper controls, are seen as environmentally friendly, such as small run-of-river hydro power and energy from some specific types of biomass. RBC will be offering various banking services at every VANOC venue used by the public and athletes when the 2010 Games are underway.

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 26, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2547
BC, CANADIAN GOVERNMENTS TO MOUNT $2 MILLION, SEVEN-YEAR STUDY OF ANNUAL BENEFITS TO HOSTING 2010 OLYMPICS

The BC and Canadian Olympic Secretariats, which are the bureaucracies that supervises the Canadians and BC's government's involvement in the 2010 Winter Olympics, intend to do a C$2 million joint study on the economic benefits of hosting the Olympics.

According to documents involved in the process, they want the study to be "a comprehensive assessment of the direct and indirect impacts of the 2010 Games, and of the steps taken by the [two governments] to maximize the benefits for Canada and British Columbia, by tracking a variety of economic and social measures, analyzing the results, and preparing a series of relevant reports on the findings."

The job of the company that's being sought now to do the work is to produce a benchmark report, five annual reports, and a final report, that are to be supervised by a professional economist and an experienced research team. The interim reports are also expected to show projections of how the benefits are likely to turn out to the end of the project.

The BC Olympic Secretariat, which has agreed to administer the project and cost-share the expense with the Canadian government, has now begun a Canada-wide search for a company to do all this work, which includes gathering the necessary data, processing it and then modelling and analyzing it, all the way from when the Games were handed off to Vancouver by the Torino Winter Olympic Committee on February 27th, 2006, through to May 31, 2013. The final report is expected to summarize the benefits gained during the entire seven-year period.

One of the comparison benchmarks they expect the company awarded with the contract to use is the federal government's policy for hosting international sport events, which says, in essence, that the Canadian government can only invest in events that produce "significant sport, economic, social and cultural benefits." But they also want Tourism BC economic study guidelines that cover tourism economic impacts from "gated and ungated events and festivals" to be followed [See RESOURCES, below].

The study is expected to be focused on the economic, employment, tourism, arts & cultural, sport, social and environmental aspects of hosting the Olympics. The government policy is that these benefits be "identified early and realized before, during and after the 2010 Games," and that they become legacies for communities and businesses in Canada. The governments are warning proponents right up front that if they are thinking about using proprietary or confidential methods of compiling and using the data, because the governments expect to make the reports public.

The governments want the reports to provide data on three scenarios:

Had the 2010 Games not been held

Had the 2010 Games been held, but no incremental activity was undertaken by any or all of the governments, and

Had the 2010 Games been held with full incremental participation by the governments.

They're in a rush: they want the first draft of the first report, the benchmark one that goes back to February, 2006, done by this November, and but they say they'll take up to two months to make comments to the contractor, so that it can make "appropriate revisions" to the data or presentation. Why the rush on the first report isn't clear, but likely has to do with budget-making for next year. Each of the annual reports are to be completed by the end of each April.

The contractor awarded the work won't be able to brag about it for marketing purposes; there's to be a gag order in the contract. The contractor can use Olympic related slogans, word marks and such that have to do with the 2010 Olympics, but only with written permission from the BC Olympic Secretariat.

BACKGROUND

The reason for ending the contract in the middle of May, 2013: The governments' rights to the Olympic franchise expire on December 31, 2012, but the government's fiscal years end the following March 31. That gives the analytical firm time to get the information they need and get the latest information just past the governmental year end. The governments want an event-to-date report prepared following each of their fiscal years.

What economic indicators can we expect to be in the final report? What measurements are important to the two governments? These:

MACRO-ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its components

Employment, both full- and part-time, temporary and permanent

Tax revenue

Economic welfare

INFRASTRUCTURE

Value of spending on new construction

Impact on sustainable economic capacity

TOURISM

Number of tourists

Average spend/day/person

Room nights

Increase in tourism jobs (e.g., investment in tourism recruitment, sector employment levels)

Increase in product capacity and market readiness (e.g., investment in product formation, renewal and expansion)

Enhanced destination market position (such as Winter Olympic brand awareness; awareness and interest in BC across all seasons)

IMMIGRATION

Number of new and skilled economic immigrants

International business development

New exporters (e.g., based on the exporter registry)

New export markets

"INWARD INVESTMENT"

Number of additional investments

Value of incremental foreign direct-investment inflows

Cluster development and innovation system impacts

Penetration of multi-national supply chains by Canadian small- to medium-sized businesses

Return on current investments by the governments and corporate sponsors of VANOC in the 2010 Games

International awareness

Value of business, travel and other media coverage generated pre, during and post Olympics

Awareness and appeal of Canada and British Columbia as a place to do business, to live, and/or visit

IMPACTS ON:

Trade and investment opportunities for Canadian companies

Resources

Retail

Manufacturing

Construction

Indicators from The Federal Policy for Hosting International Sport Events, such as the impacts and legacies for athletes and sport system development, including those for officials, volunteers, and events

Youth involvement

Canadian identity and citizenship

Fitness

Arts and heritage activities

Exposure of Canadian culture

Impacts on "priority groups", such as the homeless, aboriginals, the disabled, ethnic and cultural communities


RESOURCES

Tourism BC's Resources for Researchers:
tourismbc.com/template_list_research.asp?id=7147

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The Federal Policy for Hosting International Sport Events:
www.pch.gc.ca/progs/sc/pol/accueil-host/index_e.cfm

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The RFP for this is on BC Bid, under the BC Olympic Secretariat's section
www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 26, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2546

COSSETTE HIRED FOR VANOC MEDIA BUYING BUT THERE WON'T BE MUCH OF IT
VANOC has finally hired an ad agency, Cossette Communications (TSX: KOS), to do media buying for the 2010 organization, after it issued an RFP for the contract last January 9, telling applicants at the time it hoped to make the award last March. Terms of the agreement last month were not released, but Cossette will be working closely with The Hyphen Alliance, comprised of three small, independent agencies that are seen as relatively strong in their marketplace: Hyphen Communications of Vancouver, Downtown Partners of Toronto, and Blueblancrouge of Montreal. The Alliance is doing the creative. Cossette is an international communications firm with operations in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. The arrangement with VANOC is to do all of the usual media buying and contracting work, including distribution of the ads to the media channels involved. VANOC says it has a limited advertising budget and wanted the media buyer to take advantage of sponsor and co-branding arrangements. VANOC's chief marketer, executive vice-president Dave Cobb, says VANOC has just begun working through the early stages of briefing Hyphen. "Probably by the end of the year, you'll start to see some work from them." VANOC, he says, doesn't have "formal advertising relationships" with Bell Canada's subsidiaries that include the CTV television network, which is the Games' Canadian broadcaster, or The Globe & Mail, "at this stage". But, he adds, "we're working now with Hyphen Alliance to determine the best way to spend the resources that we have, though what avenues, such as radio, television, the Internet and what have you, and putting together the long-term plan, right through the Games." Cobb says VANOC will not do much in the way of traditional advertising for the Games until it gets much closer to the Opening Ceremonies, but he says, it will be doing advertising around specific programs, such as when ticketing goes on sale, expected next summer. "Some other things are important, like our transportation plan. We need to make sure that all of the community groups and others understand where our buses are going, street lane closures for us. These are things of necessity that we'll be doing [with advertising]. To be honest, at this stage, we were advised by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee that we don't need to spend a lot of money on advertising, because there's such a spotlight on us. With our website, for instance, we're tracking several times ahead of [the website for the Torino Winter Games]... so we don't necessarily have to put a lot of ads in the paper. We think through the media, through our stories, through our website, it will be the majority of what we would do, but there will be an element of traditional media buys as well." [See RESOURCES, below, for contact info.]

IDEAS ON SCHOOL CLOSURES DURING 2010 GAMES STARTING TO COALESCE

There's still quite a bit of consulting, public discussion and decision-making to do, so this is useful only for planning possibilities and human-resources issues, but here's how it currently looks for where and whether schools will be open or closed during the 2010 Winter Olympics:

-- Whistler, West Vancouver school districts: Schools of all grades probably closed.
-- University of British Columbia: probably closed during Olympics, students encouraged to volunteer for Games; open during Paralympics.
-- Richmond, Vancouver and rest of province: Schools of all grades probably in session as usual.

VANOC Paralympic staff have informally suggested that schools be open and students in class during the Paralympics in mid-March, 2010, but that classes consider attending Paralympic events, most of which are in Whistler, as class field trips. In other possibilities, schools may be asked to "adopt a country" that's competing in the Olympics, or may have live feeds of the Games transmitted to places within schools that will be remaining open. Ticketing details, which should include whether there will be special arrangements for students, haven't yet be revealed by VANOC. VANOC's general call for volunteers is scheduled to start in February, and, since they're mostly looking for those aged 19 or over, few grade school students would qualify, so that would not be a primary reason for a senior secondary school to close.

IOC'S HEIBERG HAPPIER NOW THAN FIVE YEARS AGO WITH VANOC'S WORK

Gerhard Heiberg, the chairman of the Marketing Commission of the International Olympic Committee, is spending two days with VANOC officials reviewing the status of the organization's venues. In 2002, he was head of the IOC's commission that evaluated the technical aspects of the Vancouver/Whistler bid. He told Vancouver Province newspaper reporter Clare Ogilvie yesterday following a Whistler venues tour with VANOC CEO John Furlong he was primarily interested in seeing for himself whether VANOC was able to keep the promises it made five years ago. He said that two things primarily worried him then, the plans for the Whistler Nordic Centre in the Callaghan Valley, and whether VANOC was too optimistic about its sponsorship revenue numbers. Ogilvie reports he's feeling much happier about things now. She quotes him as telling here, "There was absolutely nothing there [in the Callaghan Valley] and I was thinking, 'Can this be possible?'... I had some meetings with the First Nations at the time and they were opposed to this, and they told me this was impossible, and they told me that we should not do anything in the Callaghan Valley." VANOC subsequently made arrangements with the aboriginal groups, and is about to complete most of the Nordic resort by this winter, with test events starting in the first quarter of next year. As for the budget, Ogilvie quotes Heiberg as saying, "When I saw the budget, I thought it was too high a level, but after having watched what is happening and talking to the people involved, I feel VANOC may even exceed the figures in the budget." VANOC has said that it expects to meet its 2007 sponsorship-revenue targets.

RESOURCES

David Martin
President
Hyphen Communications Inc.
230 - 375 Water Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 5C6
Phone: 604.694.0844
Fax: 604.694.0845
e-mail: <david@hyphenweb.com>
Web: www.hyphenweb.com

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John Hall
Cossette Communication
1085 Homer Vancouver, BC V6B 1J4
Phone: 604.669.2727
Fax: 604.687.1243
E-mail: <jhall@cossette.com>
Web: www.cossette.com

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 25, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2545

BC AND NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT TRUST TO SPEND C$500,000 ON BC PROMO FILMS FOR OLYMPICS

The BC provincial government and the Northern Development Initiative Trust organization report they each intend to invest C$250,000 to support two initiatives designed to help BC communities take advantage of opportunities created by the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Colin Hansen, the BC minister responsible for the province's aspects of the Olympics, and the Trust's chairman, Bruce Sutherland, made the pledge at the 2007 Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention that is being held in Vancouver this week. "The BC Stories and BC Explorer projects are video-production pieces that showcase British Columbia people, places and businesses to the world leading up to and during the 2010 Winter Games," said Hansen. "Local communities will have a chance to market themselves to journalists from around the world at the BC Canada Pavilion in Beijing at the 2008 Summer Games and again in 2010." The money is designed to help realize a government-led goal of adding at least 25 new BC Stories and 50 new communities to the BC Explorer project in time for the Beijing 2008 Games next summer. Participating communities will each receive copies of their footage to use in future marketing campaigns. The programs were both started during the 2006 Torino Olympics to support the BC-Canadian pavillion there, and BC officials say they helped to generate more than C$30 million in editorial coverage during those Games. BC Stories is aimed at supporting news media, particularly television, but the images can be easily adapted to other news programs, newspapers and magazines worldwide. The program creates stories that will help generate awareness of British Columbia as a preferred place to visit, conduct business and invest. The BC Explorer project highlights various aspects of communities throughout British Columbia; kiosks with touch screen allow visitors and investors to explore the province interactively, and experience its tourism, business and community features. During the next few months, officials from the community relations group at the BC government's Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Secretariat say they will help communities figure out how best to use the funds.

WHISTLER SLIDING CENTRE TO OPEN TO PUBLIC IN MARCH

Although VANOC has been talking about finishing the construction of the 2010 Whistler Sliding Centre track by November, it won't be open for public use until at least next March, according to the latest plans. Ice is expected to be first laid in December, at which time the international federations that supervise the sports of bobsleigh and luge will take the track through its paces, in a process known as homologation. Although their experts have been involved in the design and the construction of the track in a number of ways since the beginning by VANOC officials, their tests and the results of VANOC engineering testing will determine whether VANOC needs to make changes to it under operational condition before test events and, later, the Olympics, use it. About 50 Canadian high-performance athletes representing bobsleigh, luge and skeleton are expected to arrive to try out the track, unique among 15 in the world, for the first time in an organized way next March. They are expected to train for about four weeks. The Whistler Sliding Centre has also developed a Track Club, which now has about 115 members, and more promotion about the Club is expected to take place in on the North Shore of Vancouver on October 12 and in the Whistler area on October 13, in an effort to expand it as part of the WSC's business plan, constructed by VANOC. Officials courses are also planned for next month. In the fall of 2008, selection races for luge, bobsleigh and skeleton are tentatively scheduled to take place, and a luge international training week is also tentatively planned, where teams from other countries are expected to try out the track for the first time. The international week for bobsleigh and skeleton is tentatively set for January, 2009. The bobsleigh and skeleton world cup, which is an Olympic test event, is expected to be held in February, 2009, along with a separate luge World Cup event the same month. A second luge international training session is expected to take place in the third or fourth calendar quarter of 2009.

VANOC LAUNCHES EDUCATIONAL WEB PORTAL

VANOC has set up a portion of its website for students and teachers in classrooms across Canada, to focus on what a VANOC spokesman calls "the positive influence of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements and the three pillars of sport, culture and sustainability." This is to be accomplished through the web portal and an online, bilingual e-magazine. The website has four main sections: a lead story each month, and a teachers, students and school section. At first, the portal "will target Canadian schools, teachers and students looking to build content and maximize opportunities to showcase local and national education resources," according to the spokesman. Later, it will set up a teachers' forum, moderated by representatives of the University of British Columbia. The portal also provides links to programs affiliated with other non-profit organizations, such as the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees, Canadian museums, environmental groups, and organizations involved in arts and culture. Although VANOC first made it known it was working on such a site when it outlined its cultural plans a few months ago, it was formally introduced today in Victoria by BC Education minister Shirley Bond to ministers responsible for education from provinces and territories from across Canada shortly before the start of a regular meeting of the Council of Ministers of Education. Noting that the Quebec Summer Olympics in 1967 began the educational side of the Olympic cultural offerings, Terry Wright of VANOC, executive vice president of service operations and ceremonies, whose responsibilities include the cultural side of the Games and who was also at the launch session, said, "Canada has a history as an innovator in Olympic and Paralympic education, and as a leader in developing online learning and resources for teachers. [This website] is the first-ever fully online, interactive Olympic and Paralympic Games program." VANOC says it will add international resources and support after the 2008 Olympic Beijing Summer Games are completed next September. Previous Olympic cities would create a program for schools, package it in boxes and ship it out to educators.

RESOURCES

BC Government's "Explorer" project website:
www.bcstories.gov.bc.ca

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VANOC's new web portal for the educational community:
www.vancouver2010.com/edu

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 25, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC, Business| #2544
CPR SUSTAINABILITY PR EVENT OUTLINES CONCEPTS OF HOW VANOC TO ACCOUNT FOR TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS EMISSIONS

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) and one of its national sponsors staged a public-relations event this morning to focus on sustainability, but VANOC is still a year away from resolving how to make the 2010 Games carbon-neutral.

The PR event, which took place in downtown Vancouver at Waterfront Station, involved VANOC's executive vice-president of Sustainability, Donna Wilson and Fred Green, the president and CEO of Canadian Pacific Rail (TSX/NYSE: CP). The company is one of the national sponsors of the Games, with cash and value-in-kind estimated by VANOC to be worth C$15 million to it at retail rates.

CPR, at five minutes after the appointed time, brought into view two of its newest diesel engines and both machines, 8858 and 8859, recently had VANOC livery painted on them in the company's Calgary work yards. After the short speeches, Wilson and Green climbed onto 8859 to have their pictures taken next to the VANOC logo, which only included "Vancouver 2010" and "Canadian Pacific - Official Sponsor."

The choice of these specific engines is significant to VANOC. They are both made by GE Transportation Systems -- a division of General Electric, which is an international sponsor of the 2010 Games -- and they are nicknamed "GEVO". That's short for a fuel-efficient design of engines called the "GE Evolution Series" that was first approved to meet US government environmental-protection standards in 2002. The 12-cylinder engine -- which produces 4,400-horsepower, the same as the previous generation of engines that used 16 cylinders -- reduced emissions 40 percent over the then-current locomotives in use.

But the PR veneer is still quite thin on the event. While the big diesels may be lower in emissions than previous GE diesel generations, they still produce quite a bit of greenhouse gasses as they burn the 19,000 litres of fuel they can hold in their tanks while travelling an average 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) per tank, and Green expects to put the 2010 livery on "15 to 20" of these engines "which should be enough to get widespread coverage" as the machines pull trains through the 300 communities across Canada that CP serves.

VANOC's Wilson said after the sponsorship-activation event that her department is still at least a year away from resolving its methods of ensuring the emissions -- from these trains, from the hundreds of trucks and warehouse operations that CP will be using or developing in its role to support the 2010 Games, and from transportation services provided by other sponsors and suppliers to the Games -- are negated by VANOC's environmental efforts.

CPR, for instance, hasn't yet provided VANOC with estimates of the amount of pollution from these engines and other CPR vehicles that would expect to be produced as it fulfills its sponsorship, but that's in part because VANOC is still working on the amount of logistics it needs, in both materials and support, and that is expected to take a while yet for the planning to complete.

The VANOC-liveried engines will be used as needed by CP, so there's no particular guarantee that when they're seen they'll be hauling VANOC-related materials, and engines without the logo could just as easily be carrying VANOC-bound supplies. CPR trains, whether they bear the 2010 livery or not, have been bringing in construction supplies to VANOC renovations sponsor Rona and other firms from across North America for use at the venues since CPR became a sponsor last January. CPR transport trucks have also been used to haul goods from various places for pickup by the trains, and for VANOC from Greater Vancouver to Whistler, since CPR competitor CN Rail has control over the rail line between Vancouver and Whistler.

Wilson says that VANOC will also be asking CPR to carry supplies for athletes to the Games when the time comes.

Over the next two years, Green says his company will also be hauling the thousands of passenger vehicles and buses, many of them made by another VANOC sponsor, General Motors Canada, for use by VANOC during the Games. And, as VANOC sorts out its significant overlay requirements and arranges to rent the materials from a range of contractors during the next year, CPR will be involved in hauling those things as well. CP logistics personnel are in the process now of making sure there are places to temporarily store such materials when they start arriving, in addition to the amount of space VANOC has leased in Richmond.

In addition to all that, CPR staffers confirmed that the company will also be involved in VANOC's two Olympic Torch Relays, which are large-scale, cross-country marketing events for VANOC; the Olympic Torch Relay, which will be travelling across Canada, will begin in late 2009. The formal Paralympic Torch Relay will occur in the short time between closing of the Olympic Games on February 28, 2010, and the start of the Paralymics March 12, but VANOC expects to promote the Paralympics at the same time as the Olympics. CPR will be involved in supplying the Torch shows as they occur in various cities and towns across Canada, but is also expected to be carrying the Olympic Torch as well.

It's also expected that CPR and VANOC will announce, possibly later this year or early next year, a kind of Olympics-related "peace train" concept that will travel between communities to further promote the 2010 Games.

BACKGROUND

Each of the GE Evolution series of engines costs CPR about C$2.25 million, and the firm is still in the process of negotiating the cost and delivery timing of the 160 engines it intends to buy from GE. Today's engines were the first two it's purchased. Green says, however, that CP expects to take delivery of 20 this year and "between 40 and 60" per year over the next few years, adding, "I can't tell you all my secrets, because we're still negotiating."

Today's event was originally planned for the week of September 10, and CPR moved engines into position from Alberta early that week in anticipation. However, that was also the week the International Olympic Committee's commission that oversees VANOC was in Vancouver for briefing sessions, and VANOC's Communications staff and Wilson became simply too busy to contemplate taking part in the event, which was subsequently postponed to today.

VANOC was able to support two of its corporate sponsors in today's PR event: General Electric is an international sponsor of the 2010 Winter Olympics, though the International Olympic Committee's sponsorship program.

There were a total of seven reporters at today's PR event, only a couple of people from VANOC, but about two dozen people from CP Rail, most of them from the Vancouver section. There was only one police officer in plain view.

VANOC's Wilson ripped her skirt slightly as she took advantage of an unexpected invitation from a CPR media representative to climb up the steep steps of one of the engines with CP's Green, so they could stand next to the VANOC livery for the TV cameras and print photographers. She laughed it off afterward, as she admitted she shares her children's fascination with trains. "I can fix my skirt, but I was quite excited to be able to have the chance to be on the engine," she said, obviously pleased.

Each train carries the equivalent of materials that would be carried by 280 semi-trailer trucks; CP moves about 500 trains per day, but, of course, a lot of what it carries is unrelated to the 2010 Olympics.

Even though the GE Evolution engine technology was engineered in the late 1990s, and the first of these model diesels was delivered in 2004, CPR mechanical specialist Ken Perry says GE has been constantly improving the engine's machinery and software to achieve even better fuel efficiency with these latest machines, compared with the first in the series. The latest improvements, he says, focused on the fuel-injection system. GE, he maintains, has "found the sweet spot" when it comes to balancing the power demands with fuel-use efficiency with these diesels.

RESOURCES

The story we wrote earlier this month about today's planned ceremony:

'CP Rail engines spotted east of Greater Vancouver with 2010 livery'
[Morgan:News:2010:Number:2514; Published on Monday, September 10, 2007]

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Our main story about CPR becoming a VANOC sponsor:
'Canadian Pacific Railway named as VANOC sponsors to move freight and supplies for 2010 Games'
www.morgan-news.com/2010/archives/2007_01_01_Bronze.htm
(Use your browser's Find function to locate story 2109)

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 24, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2543
WEST VANCOUVER DISTRICT FIRST TO OFFER COMMERCIAL SPACE MATCHING SERVICE FOR 2010-RELATED COMPANIES

West Vancouver, one of the venue communities of the 2010 Winter Games, has launched a District website and database to provide a free commercial-property matching service connected with the Olympics.

West Vancouver District, because its area includes Cypress Bowl, one of the skiing and snowboarding venues of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), is able to offer the service under VANOC's auspices.

"This service offers great possibilities," says the website, "by connecting you directly to the many potential renters, including groups associated with the Games (such as national Olympic committees, international sport federations and sponsors), who have a variety of space needs. Interested organizations and other potential renters seeking space in West Vancouver during the Games period will be provided with leads from the Games Clients whose requirements are similar to your commercial property features."

The site recommends that companies offering space check with West Vancouver City Hall to ensure that their space is zoned for whatever an Olympic-related operation might want to use it for, that owners get the advice of commercial realtors or lawyers for the contract negotiations, and that if a firm is already leasing space, to ensure before registering that there are no restrictions in the head lease about subleasing.

The District of West Vancouver says the matching service is for information exchange only, that it won't get involved in any negotiations between property owners and potential renters.

The database has a number of fields to fill in, including questions about whether the firm offering the space is interested in turning the space over completely to the renting organization for the period before during or after the Games that Olympic-related operations want it.

RESOURCES

Here's the website's address:
www.westvancouver.ca/olympics/games_client_program/register.htm

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 21, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2542

C$25 MILLION PRIVATE INVESTMENT TRIGGERED BY OLYMPICS UNDERWAY AT CYPRESS VENUE

VANOC expects to have completed and opened its 2010 venues at Cypress Bowl in the mountains just north of Vancouver, for freestyle skiing -- aerials, moguls and skier cross -- and snowboarding -- half pipe, parallel giant slalom and snowboard cross -- within the next few weeks, as well as finished the state-of-the-art snowmaking system it's installed. But it's not well known that the decision to do all that, taken some years ago, prompted a C$25-million investment in facilities, and, this year, the area's first significant ski-resort expansion since its first chair-lift opened in 1987. Nine new ski runs on the east-facing slope of Black Mountain represent a 40% expansion to the ski area, and they'll also be ready for operation this winter. Cypress is installing a new quad chair-lift that's much faster than the old one, which took 10 minutes to get to the top of the main ski hill. The Lions Express Quad Chair, as it's being called, will be much better suited to the task. Joffrey Koeman, Cypress's director of Sales & Marketing, says, "This new high-speed lift will wisk our guests up Mt. Strachan in only four minutes, getting them closer to the breathtaking view of The Lions, a Vancouver landmark located within Cypress Provincial Park." Another new project underway is the expanded base-area lodge, scheduled for completion a year from now. The new lodge will house a cafeteria and licensed pub, a corporate meeting area, retail stores, a ski school and a shop for renting skis and snowboards. Cypress is operated by Boyne USA Inc. of Boyne Falls, Michigan. CNL Income Properties, a real-estate investment trust based in Orlando, Florida, acquired the assets of Cypress Bowl Recreations Limited Partnership, a subsidiary of Boyne USA, and is leasing it back to the partnership for operation under two long-term, triple-net leases.

VANOC'S STRUCTURE FOR RUNNING ACCOMMODATIONS BECOMING CLEARER

Some of the way VANOC intends to structure its own Accommodation function that will supervise operations of the thousands of bedroom units it now has under contract in Greater Vancouver and Whistler is becoming clearer. The middle-management portion of the hierarchy starts with a Director of Accommodations, which will then have several managers of accommodation report on aspects within their specific areas. One manager, for example, will look after workforce accommodation and that position, in turn, will supervise a manager dealing with worker housing in Vancouver, and another will do the same thing in the Whistler area. They'll all be dealing with room-usage schedules, allocations among various client groups, payment schedules for those who need to pay, meet with the people who look after the actual lodgings, work with accommodation suppliers and even tourism agencies. It will also be their job to, of course, report any housing issues that are going to raise financial problems for VANOC -- but, we understand, they are also expected to keep watch for any issues that put VANOC's reputation at risk.

CTV DESIGNER SOUGHT TO GIVE NETWORK OLYMPICS MAKEOVER FOR 2010, 2012

CTV, the national Canadian television network that has the rights to broadcast the 2010 Winter Games in Canada, this week began the process of looking for a senior broadcast designer to develop the network's "broadcast identity" for the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, for which it also has the Canadian rights. The designer will be responsible for conceiving and detailing the network's look whenever the network is broadcasting something about the 2010 Games. The person would, for instance, supervise the design and production of animated graphics for packaging shows dealing with the Games, on-air promotional campaigns or special campaigns. The position is based at CTV's Agincourt facilities in the eastern part of Greater Toronto.


RESOURCES:
==========

A Google satellite image of the Cypress Bowl area
tinyurl.com/2gq846

Boyne USA Inc:
www.boyneusaresorts.com

--

CNL Properties:
www.cnl.com

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 21, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2541

DETAILED LOGISITICS FOR 2,200 OBSV PERSONNEL TO BEGING PLANNING SHORTLY

Work is expected to begin in November for Olympic Broadcasting Services Vancouver, the management subsidiary of the IOC that will be the pool broadcaster for the 2010 Winter Games, to begin detailed planning on the logistics involved in housing the more than 2,000 personnel who will be involved in the broadcasting, most of whom don't live in Greater Vancouver or Whistler. The accommodations -- expected to be about 1,600 beds, as not all 2,200 people will need to be directly housed by OBSV--are already under contract, because of the work VANOC has been doing for the last three years in the Greater Vancouver and Whistler areas. But the OBSV's Logistics Department looks after catering, uniforms, accommodations, accreditations, air travel, ground transportation and warehouse operations to support all those people. And OBSV staff have to sign-off on the accommodation VANOC assigns them to ensure they meet the quality and other criteria that OBSV sets. if more accommodation is actually needed, it will be up to OBSV to find it, not necessarily VANOC. Individual rooms also have to be assigned to specific people, and there's quite a bit of management and planning to that. Much like operating a huge hotel, staff reservations need to be tracked, OBSV Logistics managers need to respond to changes in arrivals and departures of personnel, and adjustments need to be made to the housing requirements depending on the needs of the people getting the beds. They also have to manage what needs to be done before check-in for each room prior to a staffer's arrival. OBSV also expects to develop welcome packages for each person, and that means procuring what's going in them, going through all the steps to publish the information in the packages about the locale for the incoming staff. OBSV won't be operating entirely in isolation from VANOC. The 2010 Organizing Committee is expected to provide transportation, among other things. It's the job of OBSV to produce and distribute 24 hours a day of unbiased radio and television coverage for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In conjunction with this coverage, OBSV also provides various facilities and services to international broadcasting companies that have paid the IOC, and through it, VANOC for the rights to broadcast the Games in their countries. You'll hear them referred to as RHBs -- rights-holding broadcasters -- or as accredited broadcasters.

ORIGIN DESIGN HIRED TO MARKET WHISTLER OLYMPIC VILLAGE AS EMPLOYEE HOUSING

Whistler 2020 Development, the subsidiary of Whistler that is responsible for building most of the 2010 Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Athlete Village, has hired Origin Design & Communications of Whistler to help it market the housing after the 2010 Games are finished. Origin's job is to develop and implement a communications plan over the next year to help market the housing, mostly aimed at employees of the area, in the neighbourhood that is officially called Cheakamus South, near Function Junction, south of the resort municipality. Whistler 2020 development manager Craig Marcyniuk says, "The quality and variety of employee-restricted projects coming on stream in Whistler in the next three years will address the needs of a majority of people on the [Whistler Housing Authority] wait list. We recognized early on in this process that we would need to communicate the benefits of resident housing, and this project in particular, if we were to get people excited again about the prospect of living in an employee-restricted neighbhourhood. That's where Origin comes in." Origin's president, Danielle Kristmanson, has her office in Function Junction, not far from the development site.

FASEL TELLS CONFERENCE DELEGATES 2010 MEN'S HOCKEY MOST IN DEMAND AT MOMENT

The head of the IOC's commission that supervises its 2010 Winter Olympic franchise, Rene Fasel, told delegates to the International Ice Hockey Federation's semi-annual conference, held in Vancouver this year, that the most in-demand events for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics currently are men's hockey, the Opening Ceremonies, the Closing Ceremonies and women's hockey, in that order. Fasel is also president of the IIHF. Meanwhile, his vice-president, Kalervo Kummola, confirmed that, starting with the 2008 IIHF World Championship, international ice-hockey playing time will follow the National Hockey League's method of counting down on the timekeeping clock, instead of up, to make it easier to keep track of timekeeping issues, especially with penalties. A VANOC-related medical conference issue also arose: IIFH Medical Committee chairman Murray Costello says that a special conference in conjunction with the Canadian Association for Sports Medicine will be held in Vancouver in June, 2009. He urged the member federations to send their chief medical officers to the conference, which will feature reports from international experts, with a focus on team sports and up to a day and a half dealing with hockey-specific concerns.

RESOURCES

Danielle Kristmanson
President
Origin Design & Communications
201, 1002 Lynham Road
Whistler BC, V0N 1B1
Phone: (1) 604.932.8482
Fax: (1) 604.922.8418
www.origindesign.ca

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 21, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2540
POLL SHOWS CORPORATE SPONSORS WERE THE MOST REMEMBERED BY THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHO HOSTED THE 2007 CANADA WINTER GAMES

A major new poll about the public's response after the 2007 Canada Winter Games in the Yukon last winter shows that 23% of Canadians either watched or listened to the Games, but because they were in Whitehorse, 74% of Yukoners did.

And who they remembered most clearly as being involved in mounting those games were the commercial sponsors, not the government contributors, but, in truth, there were few who remembered any sponsor, government or commercial.

The telephone-based survey of 2,152 Canadian adults by Decima Resarch was commissioned by the Canadian government's Department of Canadian Heritage, which is also the agency that supports the development of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The survey is considered accurate within 2% overall, but the accuracy varies depending on the question. The Canada Winter Games were held from February 23 to March 10; the survey began on March 15 and concluded 10 days later.

The Canada Winter Games is not the same brand as the much better known Winter Olympics, and so general recognition comparisons aren't valid, however:

Only 23% of Canadians watched or listened to the 2007 Winter Canada Games, but that rose to 74% in the Yukon. Almost three quarters -- 74% -- watched them on English-speaking TV, only 12% watched them on Francophone TV. The number of those who listened to them on radio were negligible. What's intriguing about this result is that Rogers-owned radio stations in southern BC are contemplating continuous or major coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games when they begin.

Only one in seven Canadians were able to recall where the Canada Games were held, and only one in 10 knew they were in Whitehorse.

However, according to the report, "Corporate sponsors were the most frequently recalled funding partner for the 2007 Games. Awareness of funding partners, particularly corporate sponsors, was significantly higher among those living in the Yukon compared to other Canadians (60% vs. 10% respectively). Yukon residents are more likely to recall federal (30%) or territorial (32%) government as being funding partners when compared to other Canadians, among whom 7% recall a federal partnership and 3% recall territorial partnership."

While supporters of such enterprises may have to do much more marketing focused on getting themselves remembered, they can skip the part about telling Canadians what a wonderful thing such competitions are overall.

The report says that 88% of Canadians generally feel that the those winter games create positive economic benefits to the community hosting the event. About 42% of them believe that there are both long-term and short-term benefits, while 41% believe the benefits are exclusively short-term.

Virtually all Canadians (94%) also agree that the 2007 Canada Winter Games help Canadian athletes achieve international excellence. Most Canadians (88%) also agree that there are positive cultural benefits for the host community. Among those who do, about half (48%) believe that the benefits are both long-term and short-term.

Interestingly, only 35% of Canadians surveyed said they had been involved in sport in the previous year, according to the survey, which added, "Those more likely to have participated in sports include men (43%), younger Canadians aged 18-24 (58%) and anglophones (36%). Among those who have participated in sports in the past 12 months, most (82%) did so at least once per week. A smaller proportion (16%) indicated that, in the past 12 months, they had been involved in sport in an alternative role, such as being a coach, referee, official, umpire, administrator or helper."

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 21, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2539
VANCOUVER COUNCIL APPROVES CONCEPT OF TWO MAJOR OLYMPIC LIVE SITES IN THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS CORE

Vancouver City Council today unanimously endorsed staff initial concepts for the two 2010 Olympic Live Sites in the city's business core.

The decision authorizes spending C$200,000 on doing more detailed planning on the concepts of using a city-block sized parking lot next to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at the corner of Georgia and Cambie Streets, and David Lam Park, on the north shore of False Creek, which are ultimately expected to have a budget in the neighbourhood of C$23 million.

The two Live Sites, with video links to equivalent sites in Richmond and Whistler, sponsor villages, as well as government and aboriginal pavilions, are expected to be connected by Robson Street to the BC government's 2010 business pavilion at Robson Square, called BC Showcase, which is expected to open next March, and the nightly 2010 Victory celebrations when the medals are awarded and additional entertainment occurs, at BC Place Stadium and the daily Olympic hockey games at GM Place, only a block away from the parking-lot plaza.

City Olympics manager Dave Rudberg says that while there will still be some public consultations on how things will work around the sites, which are surrounded by businesses and residential buildings, and that only VANOC sponsors will be allowed to have business pavilions on the sites, and there will be issues around noise and crowd control.

"It's our intention to mitigate those impacts to the extent possible," he suggests, "but we need to be clear though that it won't be business as usual. These will be celebration sites, areas of high activity; there will be some disruption to people's lives."

He said that he's already had discussions with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) and its Communications department about letting businesses and people know about all the events, and how people can participate in the process leading up to the Games, as well as in the Games themselves.

Rudberg says governments, far more than expected, have expressed interest in having pavilions at the two Live Sites, "There has been considerable interest from provincial governments, territorial governments -- even the national government... it's our intention to charge a rental fee for the opportunity to be a part of the Live Sites."

Rudberg also says that downtown street closures are a potential factor, but no decisions have yet been taken. "Planning is happening at a number of levels. We're trying now to identify the nodes of activity, and the flow of pedestrians between those nodes. That leads to a number of other considerations, such as how we mark them [Robson, Mainland, Hamilton, Beatty and Cambie streets], how we sign them, how we orient people to go from site to site, how they'll experience the various activities. The issue of street closures is one that is being looked at from the transportation perspective. There are a lot of potential needs out there [regarding closures or openings]... we want to see all the requests on the table, so that we can better analyze the needs of pedestrians, but also the needs of vehicles, goods movement and other servicing to residential and business properties. At some point, some decisions will be brought forward to council regarding potential closures, but doing it in a way that considers all of the needs of the downtown community."

Rudberg says that while the current plans involving the Live Sites are in the lead, "We don't want the downtown to become the sole celebration site for the Games. We think there are opportunities out in the communities [that make up Vancouver] and the communities can celebrate the Games without having to go downtown and experience the crowds down there." Rudberg says City representatives are going to malls, community centres and community events asking people how they'd like to celebrate the Games, and the type of activities they'd like to see. Business groups are also being consulted.

He says an ideas fair is scheduled to be held in November as an extension of this work. "We hope to bring to council a parallel program... that will generate an Olympic experience in the community." Rudberg says such a program, however, would not involve expenditures on the order outlined in the pro-forma budget provided for the two official Live Sites.

Rudberg also points out that, because the Live Sites are expected to be open 12 hours a day and, potentially other locations in the City will be involved, "we have a lot of hours to fill" with entertainment; but having schools involved and having Olympic or Paralympic athletes make appearances, "hopefully with gold medals around their necks", will be part of the programming.

RESOURCES:

Our previous feature on the Live Sites:

'Vancouver City staff propose two major Olympic Live Sites in downtown Vancouver'
[Morgan:News:2010:Number:2523; Published on Wednesday, September 12, 2007]

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 20, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2538


VANOC TO HELP VANCOUVER PAY FOR CROWD-CONTROL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

VANOC has agreed to provide C$30,000 toward a budget of C$240,000 to help the City of Vancouver develop a software program called the Downtown Vancouver Transportation and Emergency Management System, to be developed by PTV America, the winner of a formal request for proposals for the project, which submitted a bid of C$172,255, plus taxes. The budget, approved by Vancouver City Council today, also includes a 3.2% contingency. The software, which will have an Internet-based interface, is to help model traffic flows and pedestrian crowding in the downtown business core in the area of BC Place Stadium and GM Place, which are both 2010 Winter Olympic venues, but the various agencies have other reasons to use it before and after the Games. VANOC joins several other agencies in paying for the project: Natural Resources Canada, through its GeoConnections program, which is providing most of the funds -- C$150,000, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority and the BC Provincial Emergency Program, which are each contributing C$15,000, and C$30,000 from the City of Vancouver. It's also supported by the Justice Institute of British Columbia, but through in-kind support. The city's chief engineer notes that, the software, once it's done, will "help plan events in such a way as to improve the quality of the event experience, reduce impacts on the transportation network and improve the planning of emergency services. The DVTEMS will also support transportation and emergency planning efforts for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games which will have multiple event sites (including BC and GM Places) within the Downtown peninsula, generating large volumes of event related pedestrian and vehicle traffic." The new system is to connect into the GeoConnections project.

SIZABLE PORTIONS OF "BELIEVE" DOWNLOAD FEES TO GO TO 2010 OWN THE PODIUM

We now have information on how the Olympic-related portion of the royalties work for Bell Canada's "Believe" program. They involve audio and video downloads of singer Suzie McNeil's video of the song, backed by Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, the production of which was underwritten by Bell. The proceeds we're talking about go to the 2010 Own the Podium program. For audio downloads, which cost C$0.99 cents, more than 60% of the proceeds will be given to Own The Podium. For mobile audio and ringtone downloads, which are approximately C$3, more than 80% will be donated. The Own the Podium program, with a five-year budget of C$110 million is a project that's jointly funded by the Canadian government and private fundraising through VANOC. Bell is a VANOC corporate sponsor.

RESOURCES

The full story we wrote about the "Believe" program:
'Bell Canada "Believe" fundraiser for 2010 Games launches on schedule'
[Morgan:News:2010:Number:2528; Published on Monday, September 17, 2007]

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The GeoConnections Internet portal:
www.geoconnections.org/en/index.html

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 20, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Moguls| #2537

ELECTRICAL SUPPORT WORK FOR VANOC'S COLLISEUM VENUE INCREASING IN COST, COMPLEXITY

The projected work that VANOC needs done to bring additional power supplies to its Hastings Park venue in east Vancouver are proving to be more complicated and expensive than first thought. VANOC is upgrading the power supply between one of the main BC Hydro feeder station and the Pacific Coliseum, the short-track speedskating and figure-skating venue. It's part of the work on the venue that VANOC has been undertaking over the last couple of years, with a total budget before contingency draw-down of C$23.7 million. The existing 12.47kV feeder system to the Pacific Coliseum is underground and it needs a backup feed to meet the IOC's reliability requirements for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, so new underground feeds have to be dug. After reviewing the RFP specifications and holding a site meeting, contractors have been told the trenches will now be deep enough that they'll have to include shoring, and some trees may have to be removed. Contractors are also worrying about running into contaminated soil during the job; VANOC has replied that if it does, it will issue change orders to offset the cost of getting the soil removed safely. In addition, WorkSafeBC, the province's equivalent to a Workers Compensation Board, is now requiring a $20,000 engineering risk-assessment report from the contractor eventually chosen for the job before starting work. Two new 12.47kV underground transmission lines are expected to carry power from the Rupert Substation at the southeast corner of the PNE grounds to new outdoor power switch-gear that is to be located outside the southeast corner of the Pacific Coliseum. New duct banks and manholes, together with the use of existing spare ducts that are currently empty, will be required. Once it's installed, both the Coliseum and an adjacent horse-race track are to get their electrical power from the new switch-gear.

VANCOUVER, COC TO SIGN MOU TOMOROW

The City of Vancouver and the Canadian Olympic Committee are expected to officially sign tomorrow morning the memorandum of agreement they've reached in working cooperatively on projects related to the 2010 Winter Games. Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan; Korina Houghton, the vice-chair of the city's quasi-autonomous Vancouver Park Board; City manager Judy Rogers, who is a member of VANOC's Board of Directors, and Canadian Olympic Committee president Michael Chambers will be taking part in the small ceremony. The City approved the MOU on Tuesday.

ADIDAS TO BE REPRESENTED THROUGH BRITISH OLYMPIC WINTER TEAM AT 2010

Adidas AG today became an official national corporate sponsor of Britain's 2012 Summer Olympics for about C$200 million (£100 million), but as a part of the deal it will also provide the British Winter Olympic team uniforms when the team travels to Canada for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Adidas, known for its three-stripes logo, is the world's second-biggest sporting-goods company after Nike. Adidas will have British marketing and licensing rights for the 2010 and 2012 events, as well as rights to sell branded and unbranded sportswear at British-related Olympic and Paralympic pavilions.

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 20, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |Government| #2536
VANCOUVER'S ROBSON SQUARE, VANCOUVER ART GALLERY AND ROBSON STREET ENVISIONED TO BE MAJOR PUBLIC, BUSINESS AREAS DURING 2010 GAMES

The director of the BC government's 2010 Commerce Centre, which has primarily been a web presence, says its new office and pavilion BC Showcase space in downtown Vancouver's Robson Square will become one of the city's main Olympic anchor points by the time the 2010 Winter Games begin, and Robson Street will become the city core's major Games-related thoroughfares for the public.

Brian Kreiger told business people at a meeting to discuss renovating several thousand square metres of space at Robson Square by next March 31 for BC Showcase that, "Down at one end of Robson Street you have the BC Place Stadium, where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies [of the Olympic Games] will take place, where the medal ceremonies will take place every night, of 16 nights. You have right next to it GM Place, where the Olympic hockey games will take place... Across Georgia Street at the old bus depot, by the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, will be an Olympic Live Site. And then people will come this way [toward Robson Square], because this is where the hotels are, this is where the restaurants are. And Robson Square is really the only other public plaza [in the area] that the city of Vancouver has. There's no other place, really, for people to gather." The interior design concept for the BC Showcase location was developed by Orca Creative Group.

Kreiger says he expects the front of the neighbouring Vancouver Art Gallery, which will be hosting major parts of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad at the time, is expected to be an area for event program and perhaps the location of some large TV screens that will be rebroadcasting 2010 Olympic events. "We're looking at NBC with their Today Show booth being in this vicinity," he said. "We're talking to a sponsor about putting [the Robson Square] ice rink back together so we have a public venue. There's a whole revitalization going on down here at Robson Square to re-do all of the paving stones and -- there's a lot more going on down here. The face of the landscaping will change down here. This is going to become a really, really, popular and strong public place, especially during the Olympic Games. And while the official broadcasters and accredited media will be down at the Trade and Convention Centre in Vancouver, the unaccredited media, especially the broadcasters, will be here and [University of British Columbia's rooms at] Robson Square. We're leasing this space, this entire space from UBC, downstairs and upstairs here. And that's where the unaccredited media are going to be."

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) estimates about 10,000 unaccredited media are expected to arrive in Vancouver to cover the Games, along with about that many accredited media. Kreiger explains the difference, "There's only one broadcaster in each country that pays for the rights. So in the US it's NBC. They own the rights to broadcast the Games inside the venues. But CBS will be in town, FOX will be in town, CNN will be in town. It's the same story for Canadian media and 78 other countries. Their broadcasters won't really have a place, they'll be roaming around. We're going to give them a home, right here, to work out of. And interestingly enough, it's going to be right across from our B.C. Showcase. And so our goal here for the BC Showcase is to use it for business to business, to use it for events, use it for inbound delegations to come and learn about British Columbia, but largely to use it for the media and to tell people the story about British Columbia. And not just British Columbia as a great place to get wood and minerals, but as an innovative place, as a creative place, as a place that's Canada's Pacific gateway, and that it has incredibly creative people that can do a lot of amazing things."

Kreiger says that because of the way the events surrounding an Olympics works, BC only has 2010 and the time leading up to it to attact the attention of the growing number of people that will become interested in Vancouver because of the attraction of the Games. "We have people coming from all over the world who are interested in doing 2010 business, and we want to partner our companies with great companies from all over the world using 2010 as the hook. We're very interesting to the rest of the world because we're hosting an Olympic Games. In 2011, we're not going to be so interesting. So we want to use that time between now and 2010, when we're still interesting, to show the world what we can do here, and to host the world and to build partnerships for our businesses and to create more business opportunities for our companies. So that's what the hosting space is largely all about. From time to time, we envision this space being open to the public to walk through but, most of the time, it's a business-to-business space. One area can flex out; we can have mini-trade shows for agriculture folks, and our communities up north can come down and show what they do and what they have. And there's an opportunity for us to throw the doors open here and maybe cover the space in the middle, and run programs back and forth that use the plaza outside."

Initial design concepts for the BC Showcase pavilion involves quite a bit of wall, ceiling, window and floor displays using flat-screen and flat projection technology, but officials are hoping for some of them to have a three-dimensional effect. Kreiger, however, says he's not interested in simply showing industrial videos; what will appeal to the broadcasters, which will have a world-wide audience, he says, are things that British Columbian businesses do that amaze. "We're presenting British Columbia through multimedia. We may have temporary exhibits. If our wireless sector, for example, wants to do a week in that space, then they may want to bring some things in. Our goal is to incorporate as many innovative companies into this space as possible. We have an opportunity here."

Kreiger notes, however, that even though the Robson Square plaza is related to the Olympic Games, the spaces are not going to be branded as Olympics. "There's no rings on them, they're not going to be associated with the 2010 Commerce Centre or the B.C. Olympic Games Secretariat specifically. They're going to be branded Ministry of Economic Development."

BC Showcase project manager Colin Grady says that even once the space is set to open in March, it may not be the same thing a year later or by the time the 2010 Games are underway. "If we get this thing walking, and almost running in February, March, that's a year before 2009, and we have a year to sort of move it up. Because we expect, by the time 2010 rolls around, to be current with the latest technology; so if things change between now and then, we're going to have to upgrade." But, he adds, there's an expectation the display space will still be available for some time after the 2010 Games have gone. "Our hope is that this operation stays until 2012."

Kreiger also notes that because the BC government's Olympic Secretariat is in charge of developing the 2008 Summer Olympics pavilion in Beijing, it has commissioned camera crews who are now touring British Columbia to shoot film footage in high-definition television format, which will be the standard for the 2010 Winter Games in BC, and that some of that footage could be reused in the 2010 BC Showcase space.

Although the opening ceremony of the space is projected for the end of next March, the BC Secretariat wants all the work and machinery installed and working by February 11.

BACKGROUND
Here's a list of some of the firms interested in working on helping to develop the space for the BC government, in alphabetical order. The RFP for work on the space closes on September 27:

• Commercial Electronics
• Conti Electronics
• CPS Electronics
• CTM Exhibits
• Digit Multi Media
• Geo Discovery Interactive
• Orca Creative
• Seascape Multi Media

RESOURCES

Robert Boyd
President
Orca Creative Group
211-2323 Quebec St.
Vancouver, BC
Canada V5T 4S7
Phone; 604.675.9030
Fax: 604-675-9032
www.orcacreative.com

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Originally published to Morgan:News:2010:Gold subscribers on September 20, 2007

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Morgan:News:2010 |VANOC| #2535
AUSTRALIAN FIRM CHOSEN TO PRODUCE 2010'S MAJOR CEREMONIES

David Atkins Enterprises of Australia, which produced the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Sydney 2000 Summer Games and the 15th Asian Games in the middle-east city of Doha, Qatar, last year has been chosen as executive producer for the major Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games ceremonies.

Terry Wright, the executive vice-president of Ceremonies and Services for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) says: "Beyond the sports competitions, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies are among the most memorable events of the Games and are some of the most complex events to create and deliver. They typically set the scene and offer the first 'wow' moments of the Games. Historic ceremony protocols must be integrated into unforgettable shows that translate well to live audiences -- both in the stadium and watching on television around the world."

Wright and his staff spent quite a bit of time over the summer assembling the group from various applicants and industry knowledge. VANOC estimates three billion people will be watching the Opening Olympic Ceremonies, and about a quarter of that for the Closing Ceremonines.

The company's founder, David Atkins, 51, and two others from his firm, Catherine Ugwu and Ignatius Jones, will work with a group of Canadians to produce VANOC's Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as the nightly medal ceremonies.

The team includes people who are well-known in Canada's cultural industry for music, producing, creativew work and events production:

Music impresario and agent Sam Feldman of SLFeldman & Associates, with "access" to about 200 artists;

Bruce Allen of Vancouver's Bruce Allen Talent;

Dan Fraser of Nettwerk Records;

The cofounder of the Canadian College of Performing Arts, Jacques Lemay -- he was one of the team who produced VANOC's controversial eight-minute segment in the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy;

Montreal director Érick Villeneuve of Voltige Inc.; and,

Two of the main members of VANOC's Ceremonies' staff, technical director & production manager Ian Pool; and program director, Ceremonies & Production Services, Marti Kulich.

Kulich supervised the 90-minute ceremony that launched VANOC's logo. The group's members, separately, have been involved in some of Canada's largest concerts and touring music shows, major games ceremonies.

A year ago, VANOC's Culture & Celebrations division and the BC government, invited the cultural ministries of the federal, provincial and territorial governments in Canada