Organizers are concerned that snow and rain that closed in on Vancouver 2010 venues Tuesday will force them to once again postpone some events. Games spokeswoman Renee Smith-Valade said officials were monitoring the weather.
She said, “we’re confident of being able to shape the remainder of the competitions through the weather that is forecast, but it will require an ongoing gold medal performance from the team that’s up there”, referring to Cypress Mountain where events like ski cross are being held.
“Our days that we built into the schedule to postpone events are becoming limited, so we will look to find windows where we can stage sport events even if it’s only a couple of hours when we know the weather will clear. We will continue to take every step necessary to protect the snow at Cypress. That venue has put us to the very limits of our creativity”.
But when the weather is poor outdoors, spectators can go indoors to celebrate the Vancouver Games. More than 5,000 fans a day are enjoying traditional German hospitality at the German Fan Fest where Munich is promoting its 2018 Winter Olympic bid. By the end of the Games almost 100,000 visitors – 85 per cent Canadians – will have taken part in a German barbecue and beer while watching the Games in the lively atmosphere of a Fest Zelt (festival tent).
Olympian and Munich 2018 CEO Willy Bogner said, “the German Fan Fest in Vancouver has exceeded all expectations. Its success proves that Olympic fans love to experience the Games amongst friends and potential friends. This is the German and Bavarian way and we can assure the Olympic family that 100,000 here in one small Fest Zelt could become millions of fans in hundreds of tents across Bavaria during a two week celebration of sport in 2018”.
Or spectators can keep dry at Sochi World where they may run into Olympic bronze medallists Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, who were there celebrating their first Olympic medal they won on Monday.
Sochi is hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and Shabalin said he would love to participate in Sochi in four years time.
As Sochi 2014 Ambassadors, Domnina and Shabalin are part of a select group of sporting and cultural icons who are promoting Russia’s first Winter Games.
