2-year Countdown Begins for Vancouver Olympics

Vanessa Murphy, travel media relations coordinator at the Canadian Tourism Commission in Whistler, says July 2, 2003, was the greatest day of her life.

The memory of that fateful day still excites her. She recalled that when the news came out that Vancouver was selected to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, Whistler residents and tourists gathered in front of a big TV monitor in the city center and burst into cheers.

At the International Olympic Committee’s plenary session in Prague in 2003, Vancouver prevailed over Pyeongchang of Korea by three votes to win the bid.

Five years later, Vancouver and Whistler are full of excitement after a ceremony started the two-year countdown toward the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Just a day before the start of the countdown Monday, posters and banners promoting the event covered downtown Whistler.

Whistler, a two-hour drive from Vancouver, is world famous as a ski resort. During the Olympics, it will host bobsledding and ski jumps.

The city is already in the Olympic mood. Teams of people wearing the 2010 Olympic mascot masks entertained ski tourists from all over the world on the streets.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Olympics has also organized numerous arts, literature and movie events and exhibitions this month as part of the countdown.

When the two-year countdown began Tuesday, a large-scale concert took place in Vancouver and street performances were staged the entire day.

Some 5,000 athletes from 80 countries will compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics, which will be held in cities including Vancouver, Whistler and Richmond Feb. 12-17.

creating@donga.com