Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
The 2010 Winter Olympics began on Friday evening with the opening ceremony, The Parade of Nations from Vancouver. Athletes and fans from all over the world came in to witness the great event and watch the start to the twenty-first winter Olympics.
The ceremony was in honor of Nodar Kumaritashvili, a 21-year-old Olympic luger from the Republic of Georgia. Kumaritashvili died early on Friday after losing control and crashing into a wall while finishing up his training run. Kumaritashvili is the fourth competitor to die at the winter games.
The evening began with a snowboarder leaping through supersized Olympic rings into the center of BC Place. There were many special effects during the three hour performance, but one that stood out the most was the giant polar bear that came up from the floor, suspended over performers below.
Twelve thousand torchbearers held an Olympic torch while on route through over 1,000 communities in the country of Canada, starting off in Victoria and ending in Vancouver 105 days later. The Olympic cauldron was lit by four Canadian athletes, hockey great Wayne Gretzky, skier Nancy Greene, speed skater Katrina LeMay Doan and basketball star Steve Nash.
This year 82 countries are participating in the winter games and over 2,000 athletes are trying to bring medals back to their country. Germany and the United States are the favorites this year, after being ranked numbers 1 and 2 in the 2006 winter games in Turin.
During the opening ceremony a music video of the song “We Are the World” was played. The song featured artists such as Justin Beiber, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Nettles, Josh Groban, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Lionel Richie and Wyclef Jean. The song was made to benefit the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquake that struck last month.
Be the first to comment on this article!