2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are now complete and are considered to be the new standard in terms of energy in the city and of planning. Despite a rough start, the presidents of the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee were very pleased with the results. Issues from past Games, such as transportation and empty seats, were mitigated, with VANOC being congratulated on the successful transportation plan and sold out tickets.
For the 2010 Olympic Games, there were 96,409 people accredited for the Games including 2,632 registered athletes, 50,000 workforce members (includes paid staff, secondees, contractors, and 18,500 volunteers), 10,800 media representatives. Three and a half billion worldwide television viewers tuned in to 50,000 total broadcast hours across the different media platforms (see http://www.vancouver2010.com/paralympic-games/news/the-vancouver-2010-olympic-winter-games-by-the-numbers_301160ld.html). On March 1st, the Vancouver International Airport also processed 39,000 passengers, which was well above its previous record of 26,000; and this record number was processed without any major logistical issues. As of March 1st 2010, there were also 3.3 million pairs of red mittens sold, which is three times the original – and thought to be optimistic – forecast of 1 million pairs.
In Canada, the Post Olympic Games Ipsos Reid poll released on March 1st 2010 indicated that 90% of Canadians were satisfied with the medal count and 81% were proud to be Canadian. The president of Ipsos Reid noted that, in 20 years of polling, he had never seen numbers like these.
It is now the turn for Sochi to host the world in 2014.
