Vancouver 2010 launched Cultural Olympiad 2008 February 1 to March 21, 2008 which has more than 79 events to choose from in more than 40 venues throughout Metro Vancouver and British Columbia’s Sea-to-Sky corridor, co-presented in partnership with 60 arts and culture organizations. It’s a multi-year celebration of arts, culture and creativity staged as part of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
More than 300 free and ticketed performances and exhibitions will be presented spanning music, dance, visual arts, literary arts, theatre, film and new media. It’s the first time a Winter Games has hosted a Cultural Olympiad two years before the Games begin.
David Guscott, VANOC executive vice president said, “Cultural Olympiad 2008 marks the start of a remarkable three-year cultural program, culminating in the 2010 Olympic Arts Festival and 2010 Paralympic Arts Festival. Canada’s rich cultural heritage and dynamic arts community serve as exceptional vehicles to capture the soul of our nation, both within our own borders and around the globe”.
Cultural Olympiad 2008 is making use of many well-known cultural venues as well as non-traditional spaces, from city streets and parks to snow-covered fields. There will be performances suspended from buildings, an aerial dance performance balanced on the ledges and colonnades of Vancouver’s public library, or in historic mines where “movement and instruments crafted from scrap metal create powerful percussive performances”, according to a Vancouver 2010 media release.
Robert Kerr, VANOC program director, Cultural Olympiad said, “from 2008 through 2010, we have an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate the state of the art of Canada’s creative community, to reveal its innovative spirit, diverse character and global connections. With something for everyone, Cultural Olympiad 2008 presents an eclectic cross-section of our vibrant cultural scene that can be explored and enjoyed in a wide variety of public spaces”.
