At the Closing Ceremony of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games when Turin 2006 hands over the Olympic flag to Vancouver 2010 it will be history in the making.
Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan who is Canada’s first quadriplegic mayor will accept the flag on behalf of all Canadians, symbolizing the countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
According to IOC tradition the mayor is then required to wave the flag back and forth eight times, but because of the physical challenges the Mayor has, CP reports that Vancouver city engineers, working with engineers from two local disability organizations, have designed a special stainless steel holster to fit on Sullivan ‘s motorized wheelchair so he’ll be able to receive the flag, and the Turin organizing committee has installed a customized elevator on the stage.
The Mayor jokingly told CP, “I have had certain people in Vancouver question the wisdom of sending Vancouver’s worst skier to the Olympics”, adding that “there was a suggestion that maybe somebody else could do it for me. I said that’s not the way I’ve ever dealt with things in my life. I will do it myself.
“Since my skiing accident I’ve had to always improvise and find ways around my disability and figuring out how I can succeed in the world. This is just another example of how I’m going to improvise”.
The flag is six square metres and is attached to a five-metre long pole. Besides attaching the device to hold the flagpole the engineers had to make sure Sullivan’s wheelchair would remain stable in case of wind or blowing snow. Sullivan said, “my first worry was what if there’s a big gust of wind. I don’t want to end up on my face in front of the world”.
Upon the Mayor’s return to Vancouver the flag will be put on public display in Vancouver city hall and a replica flag will be raised outside city hall on February 28.
