Spotlight

As the 2010 Winter Olympics, being held in
Vancouver, British Columbia, nears its midway point, here are some facts about the competition:

1.) Its torch relay is the longest in Olympic history.

2.) The security budget for the Winter Olympics will be five times higher than normal, topping out at $900 million.

3.) It will be the first time Ghana, The Bahamas, Gabon and the Cayman Islands will participate in the Winter Olympics.

4.) Over 3 billion people will watch the Winter Olympics.

5.) The Whistler Sliding Center has the fastest luge, skeleton and bobsled track in the world.

6.) This year’s competition was the first during which the Olympic torch was lit indoors.

7.) A mythical sea bear called Miga, and a Sasquatch called Quatchi are the mascots for this year’s Winter Olympics.

8.) The Winter Olympics logo is Ilanaaq, based on the stone landmark Cairn on Whistler Peak.

9.) “Ilanaaq” means friendship in the Inuit language Inukitut.

10.) Roughly 250,000 people will visit British
Columbia for the Winter Olympics.

Posted by Stephanie Sorensen on Feb 19 2010. Filed under Spotlight. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry