Vancouver 2010

A Russian prima ballerina known for portraying the fleeting final moments of a dying swan and an acrobatic New York youth dance troupe that dodges swinging cinder blocks and "flies" through glass like action heroes are adding some muscle to the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad which starts in just 64 days.

Celebrated Canadian authors Douglas Coupland and Roch Carrier are among the major contributors to the Vancouver 2010 Official Souvenir Program, which goes on sale this week across Canada.

Vancouver Olympic mascots Quatchi, Sumi and Miga were a little red-faced this weekend as the final 2010 Olympic ticket sale for Canadian residents never got out of the starting blocks as planned.  Because of the problems ticket purchasers encountered the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) has postponed this final ticket phase until Saturday, November 14th instead.

On Saturday, November 7th, Canadians will have first crack at purchasing Olympic victory ceremony tickets as part of the third and final major release of tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The third and final phase of ticket sales for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games begins Saturday, November 7 at 10:00 am (Pacific Time) with more than 100,000 tickets to all city events including gold medal hockey, curling, opening and closing and nightly victory ceremonies events available to the Canadian public on a first-come, first served basis. Paralympic tickets for high-demand events such as the opening ceremony, ice sledge hockey and alpine skiing will also be available.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay officially got underway this morning with medal-winning Olympians Simon Whitfield and Catriona Le May Doan revealed as the first torchbearers to hold the Olympic Flame aloft on Canadian soil at the start of the historic 106-day journey.

In a ceremony at Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, the venue for the first modern Olympics in 1896, Greek officials entrusted the Olympic Flame to a Canadian delegation for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.  The flame is now on its way to Canada.

The dulcet tones of critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Dallas Green of City and Colour and the thumping mashup rhythms of top club DJs Kid Koala and Mike Relm are coming to Vancouver as part of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

For the first time in Olympic Games history, each medal for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, revealed today, will be one-of-a-kind featuring contemporary Aboriginal art and with an undulating, rather than flat, design.

The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Transportation Team (OPTT) released its transportation plan for the Greater Vancouver area calling for a 30% reduction in vehicle traffic in downtown Vancouver and key corridors which will result in some signficant changes and challenges for residents and businesses.