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What Toronto can learn from the Olympics
Feb. 26, 2010
Siri Agrell
Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...o-can-learn-from-the-olympics/article1483438/
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Hey Toronto, want to host a spectacular, smoothly run, controversy-free international sporting event? Time to start planning for the Pan American Games, which we will welcome from July 10 to 26, 2015. Too soon? Not if you want rocking opening ceremonies, a cool 3-D logo and a chance to effectively showcase the city without having to barricade it behind a chain-link fence. If Vancouver has taught us anything, it's that problems can arise even after years of careful prep work.
And so as our West Coast friends prepare to pass the torch, a variety of experts offer advice to Toronto gleaned from the last two weeks of Olympic gaffes and glory.
Opening Ceremonies No one will disagree that k.d. lang's performance at Vancouver's opening ceremonies was one of the highlights of the Olympics, but when it comes to showcasing Canadian talent, Toronto might want to renew the brand a little. “We're not a nation of white Céline Dion crooners,†said Steve Jordan of the Polaris Music Prize. What about Arcade Fire, an internationally revered band that can perform rocking anthems in both official languages? “I don't think it's really their thing,†Mr. Jordan said. “But it could be pretty spectacular.â€
Don't fence me in Symbols are important to international events, and restricting access to obvious tourist traps is not a good idea. A chain-link fence erected around the Olympic cauldron in Vancouver became an early symbol of official mismanagement. A similarly negative visual must be avoided in Toronto, said Mat Wilcox, chief executive officer of Wilcox Group, a Vancouver communications and crisis-management firm. “It completely took them by surprise, which it shouldn't have,†she said. Anticipating protests, VANOC blocked off access to the flame. But the angry crowds failed to materialize, and tourists who arrived at the flame hoping to snap a picture were punished instead. “They didn't think of the tourism value,†said Ms. Wilcox. “It was awful. Even when they fixed it, it wasn't great. They put a gap in the fence and opened a viewing platform, but they didn't do that until the sixth and seventh day of the Games.â€[/QUOTE]
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Feb. 26, 2010
Siri Agrell
![gam_flag.png](http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/images/gam/gam_flag.png)
Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...o-can-learn-from-the-olympics/article1483438/
###########################################################################
Hey Toronto, want to host a spectacular, smoothly run, controversy-free international sporting event? Time to start planning for the Pan American Games, which we will welcome from July 10 to 26, 2015. Too soon? Not if you want rocking opening ceremonies, a cool 3-D logo and a chance to effectively showcase the city without having to barricade it behind a chain-link fence. If Vancouver has taught us anything, it's that problems can arise even after years of careful prep work.
And so as our West Coast friends prepare to pass the torch, a variety of experts offer advice to Toronto gleaned from the last two weeks of Olympic gaffes and glory.
Opening Ceremonies No one will disagree that k.d. lang's performance at Vancouver's opening ceremonies was one of the highlights of the Olympics, but when it comes to showcasing Canadian talent, Toronto might want to renew the brand a little. “We're not a nation of white Céline Dion crooners,†said Steve Jordan of the Polaris Music Prize. What about Arcade Fire, an internationally revered band that can perform rocking anthems in both official languages? “I don't think it's really their thing,†Mr. Jordan said. “But it could be pretty spectacular.â€
Don't fence me in Symbols are important to international events, and restricting access to obvious tourist traps is not a good idea. A chain-link fence erected around the Olympic cauldron in Vancouver became an early symbol of official mismanagement. A similarly negative visual must be avoided in Toronto, said Mat Wilcox, chief executive officer of Wilcox Group, a Vancouver communications and crisis-management firm. “It completely took them by surprise, which it shouldn't have,†she said. Anticipating protests, VANOC blocked off access to the flame. But the angry crowds failed to materialize, and tourists who arrived at the flame hoping to snap a picture were punished instead. “They didn't think of the tourism value,†said Ms. Wilcox. “It was awful. Even when they fixed it, it wasn't great. They put a gap in the fence and opened a viewing platform, but they didn't do that until the sixth and seventh day of the Games.â€[/QUOTE]
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