Whistler Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

Several venues will also be built in Richmond, Callaghan Valley, West Vancouver, and in the resort community of Whistler. The games, the first in North America since Salt Lake City hosted the games in 2002, are expected to be officially opened by either the Governor General of Canada or the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia on behalf of the Monarch of Canada, or by the Monarch in person, on February 12 and will be declared closed on February 28 by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge.

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada. Previously, it was home to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The villages of Whistler and Garibaldi bid for the games in 1976 before and failed to win.

The Canadian Olympic Committee, as the host country, has pledged to obtain the most gold medal standings at the 2010 Winter Olympics, due to its failures to obtain a gold at both the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
 

Vancouver won the bidding process to host the Olympics by a vote of the International Olympic Committee on July 2, 2003 at the 115th IOC Session held in Prague, Czech Republic. [1] Earlier in February, Vancouver's residents were subjected to a referendum accepting the responsibilities of the host city should it win its bid. Sixty-four percent of residents accepted the challenge. Vancouver faced two other finalists shortlisted that same February: Salzburg, Austria and Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Construction
The initial challenge Vancouver faced in winning the bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics was fundraising for construction of venues. The committee charged with planning the games received commitments of investment by the federal and provincial governments as well as donations from private corporations and institutions. Such commitments were made enthusiastically as a chance to build on the world prestige Vancouver already gained as host of the 1986 World's Fair and to improve on the technological advances made during that event, like the expansion of the SkyTrain transit system.

As of 2004, the cost of the 2010 Winter Olympics is estimated to be in the range of C$1.4 billion. C$620 million is the approximate cost to construct venues throughout Vancouver and Whistler, C$200 million is expected to be spent for security, and C$600 million will be used to refit the Sea-to-Sky Highway to accommodate increased traffic between Vancouver and Whistler, although this highway upgrade has been over due for more than a decade and will still not meet the basic needs of the corridor. Vancouver and Whistler will maintain an operating budget of about C$2 billion from the provincial and federal governments.

Events
Fifteen winter sports events were announced as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Eight events categorized as Ice Sports were included: bobsled, luge, skeleton, ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating, curling. Three sports were categorized as Alpine, Skiing and Snowboarding events: alpine, freestyle and snowboarding. Four sports categorized as Nordic Events were included: biathlon, cross country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined.

The opening and closing ceremonies and the events categorized as "Ice Sports" will be held in Vancouver, while the sports categorized as either "Alpine, Skiing, and Snowboarding" or "Nordic Events" will be held in Whistler, Callaghan Valley near Whistler, or at Cypress Mountain. Cypress (located in Cypress Provincial park in West Vancouver) will host the 2010 Freestyle Skiing (Aerials and Moguls), and all 2010 Snowboard Events (Half-Pipe, Parallel Giant Slalom, Snowboard Cross)[