Canada Comes To Atlanta!

I miss Canada something awful!

It's been six weeks since the flight home from Vancouver, and often I find myself jonesing for some late night pizza on Granville Street (complete with toasted sesame seed crust), Yaletown sushi, a glass of ice wine and on-the-street chatter about Olympic tickets.

So it was a great surprise to confirm recently that the iconic Canadian brand Cirque du Soleil soon will return to Georgia, bringing their new insect-themed tour "OVO" to Midtown Atlanta in November.

Edelman, where I work, is again partnering with Cirque du Soleil for "OVO" on the heels of last year's "KOOZA" tour and the 2006 Atlanta stop for "Corteo." The video for "OVO" looks great -- hoping to catch a live show preview in one of their summer tour stops.

Several times since returning to Georgia, fellow Olympic enthusiasts shared feedback and impressions from the Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremony at B.C. Place, and more than a few folks also expressed their take on why Cirque du Soleil was not part of the big event -- "where the heck were they?" some inquired (the answer is in this Sept. 2008 news article regarding a joint statement by VANOC and Cirque du Soleil).

One senior, local P.R. veteran is convinced that Cirque du Soleil produced the Opening Ceremony of Albertville in 1992 (from what I can tell, it was in fact a French producer -- anyone know the answer?).

No matter the status of Cirque's five-ringed work, it will be cool to again see the Maple Leaf/l'Unifolié unfurled with Atlanta's skyline on the horizon.

Photos via Cirque du Soleil

Don't Fence Me In

David Byrne (who celebrates his birthday on May 14, like yours truly) recorded my favorite version of the Cole Porter tune "Don't Fence Me In," and apt melody for news coverage of VANOC's ludicrous decision to place the 2010 Olympic Cauldron in a location "off limits" to the masses in the Olympic City.

I'm sorry, but for all their successes, VANOC's and the RCMP's decisions on this topic remain just plain stupid.

Their explanation of the decision (I suspect infused with messaging from the feds) perhaps takes things to the "galactically stupid" level.

We need SNL's Seth Meyers and Amy Pohler incredulously asking "Really!?!" at VANOC's next press conference on the Cauldron/fence topic.

Fortunately, some sensible passersby or helpful security guards near the International Broadcast Center in Vancouver took it upon themselves to "tear down this [fabric bunting-covered] wall [chain-link fence]" to provide some visual access of the cauldron from a distance. At least one may now place their camera lens up to the fence to get a shot of the VANOC staff hanging out under their cauldron.

The cauldron, in my opinion, is interesting and beautiful. When they fired it up in the Opening Ceremony, the building was warm and spirits were aglow. One can feel the same heat outdoors at the "public" location.

The design reminds me of the "Fortress of Solitude" that grew out of the Arctic ice when Clark Kent tossed the green crystal in "Superman: The Movie," the film that had the great John Williams-composition "Can You Read My Mind."

VANOC and RCMP, can you please re-read the minds of tens of thousands of your customers (the world, which you are hosting)?

Take down that fence!

Frustrated Francophones, and a Closing Ceremony Prediction

Yesterday it was vandals posing as protesters who grabbed a few headlines from Olympic media in town.

The Olympic media bandwagon today jumped on word that some French Canadian officials politely griped that there was, in their view, not enough French in Friday's Opening Ceremonies.

C'est la vie.

One report on this topic brought up Celine Dion's absence from the Opening Ceremony as an example of "could've provided more French feeling" performer, but also mentioned that Dion's manager/spouse reported it was a problème discutable (moot issue) since the award-winning (and 1996 Atlanta Opening Ceremonies "Power of the Dream") singer is apparently in hôpital for assistance to conceive a child.

I'm going to go out on a limb, er, hors sur une branche (or "hors sur un membre") and state here that there's something fishy about Dion's alleged "unavailability" -- I think it is a ruse (much like VANOC's John Furlong stating Wayne Gretzky would not ignite the cauldron), and she will in fact appear in the Vancouver Olympic Closing Ceremony to sing the duet "Immortality" with one of several male Canadian stars (a la Bryan Adams' duet with Nelly Furtado in the Opening Ceremony).

You might recall, Dion recorded "Immortality" (infused with the theme/words "we don't say goodbye") with the Bee Gees a few years back (for an all-Canada extravaganza, perhaps Leonard Cohen or Michael Bublé would stand in for Gibb two weeks from tonight).

"Immortality" provides appropriate "farewell" lyrics to send-off the athletes of the world, much like "Amigos Para Siempre" at Barcelona's spectacular Ceremony in 1992 (Sarah Brightman's first Olympic appearance).

So, you read it here first: Closing Ceremony including Celine Dion and the lyrics "We Don't Say Goodbye" two weeks from tonight.

For this evening, au revoir!

Photo of Celine Dion performing in Atlanta's Opening Ceremony via this site.

Gov. Arnold and the Olympics: Together Again!

I heard from several sources today that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to be a 2010 Olympic torchbearer on Friday, Feb. 12, in Vancouver's famed Stanley Park.

This is a curious selection on a number of fronts, but I have to wonder if Schwarzenegger is getting some overdue payback for his past connection to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Village.

If you read VANOC's "defense" of selecting Schwarzenegger, it does not appear VANOC CEO John Furlong has any idea about Arnold Schwarzenegger's Olympic connections from 13 years ago.

During the summer of 1996, Atlanta's Olympic Village was the site of the world premiere of Arnold's film "Eraser" -- as an Olympic Village employee that summer, it was my understanding that Olympian Willie Banks, the entertainment manager for the Village, secured this entertainment offering that was screened with thousands of athletes viewing a big screen on the field at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium.

As a witness to Arnold's arrival and speech to the athletes (with "Eraser" co-star Vanessa Williams), it was surprising to learn (and I am certain those in attendance on Friday in Vancouver will concur) that Schwarzenegger is shorter than he appears in most of his films (at the moment, I don't believe sources that report Arnold at more than six feet tall). But he did share some inspiring remarks with the Olympians, who were thrilled to see him in person (it was pretty darn cool that he made time to meet the athletes that summer). Of course,

Schwarzenegger stated at the event, "I'll be back" -- maybe even then he knew something regarding planned or offered torchbearer activation?

"Eraser" turned out to be an utterly forgettable film, but it is remotely possible the IOC or other Olympic Torch Relay officials recalled Arnold's past Olympic ties and presented the honor of torchbearer duties to Mr. Olympia (oh, yeah, there's that Olympic connection, too).

Hopefully the only "juice" Schwarzenegger will take (for carrying the torch) will be some product from Atlanta's hometown beverage bottler (which happens to be a co-presenter of the Olympic Torch Relay).

See you at Stanley Park!

Photo via the Globe And Mail and Associated Press

Back to Blogging

The last few weeks were a bit insane.

Holiday treks to Oklahoma and Milwaukee, and some post-holiday catch-up work at the office kept me away from blogging, but with only a few weeks to go before the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremony, I'll endeavor to post daily or near-daily for the weeks to come.

Here's a random hodgepodge of Olympic topics, story suggestions and general stuff that piqued my interest in recent correspondence or trolling online:

• Thanks to a colleague and fellow blogger for pointing me to the SI.com Olympic galleries for Vancouver 2010 Olympic hopefuls


• Good traffic of Olympic news and views on the New York Times' Rings blog
  
• Adecco is still looking for a silver and bronze medal "Office Champion" via a video contest.


• MediaDailyNews reports on social media and the Olympics


• Stephen Colbert first took U.S. Speedskating to new heights, and last night's show featured Colbert Report on thin ice with the USA Curling team for Vancouver 2010


• One family's quest to get Vancouver 2010 Olympic tickets hit a snag, according to the Vancouver Sun
  
• The LA Times reported on Canada's Olympic hockey team selection, and more than 4 million Canadians took time to care about this news, says the National Post blog


• Lots of people went to see the new film "Up In The Air" during the last few weeks, and it really impressed me for its "real-ness" and story (compared to the digital-ness of the also-popular release "Avatar"). I now have a huge crush on Anna Kendrick, thanks in part to one of her talk show TV appearances


• ESPN and ABC noted some changes to anticipate for locals and tourists in Vancouver


• SafeGames2010 will apparently distribute more than 250,000 Olympic condoms during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games
  
• The Vancouver Sun's Olympic reporter Jeff Lee took on P.R.-types at VANOC on December 21, and I have to agree with just about everything he wrote. Lee also peeked at Olympic pins on deck for next month in a post dated December 3, which took me to a blog post about the Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centre that opened last weekend.

See you in Vancouver! Only 37 days to go!

Better Know An N.O.C. -- Zimbabwe

As noted last week, some Olympic wit is inspired by Stephen Colbert's outstanding "Better Know A District" series.

So with the One Happy Island of Aruba and its national Olympic committee (NOC) as the premiere NOC featured, I kicked of this blog's "Better Know An N.O.C."

Today's B.K.A.N.O.C." (from the other end of the English alphabet spectrum): Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is situated in the southern part of Africa, and via the International Olympic Committee's recently upgraded website, I just learned that Zimbabwe has numerous gold, silver and bronze medal winners spanning three Olympiads.

At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Zimbabwe fielded a team of women's hockey players who took home the gold (who knew?! -- apparently the IOC, and some tough women in Zimbabwe!).

More recently, in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics, Zimbabwe's "national treasure" Kirsty Coventry swam for no fewer than 11 (!!!) medals, including four gold, six silver and one bronze medal in the pool. This lady could be a perfect date for Michael Phelps!

OK, I admit now to being under a rock -- seriously, until tonight I had no clue about Ms. Coventry's feats, which are World Class.

Now one must also wonder, were the members of the 1980 gold medal field hockey team the previous "national treasure(s)" until Ms. Coventry dove into Olympic competition?

Zimbabwe did not yet enter any winter Olympiads, but their summer Games attendance is consistent since 1980. The NOC office is in the capital city Harare.

Interesting to note that resemblance of Zimbabwe's iconic balancing rocks to the VANOC logo for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games (the Inukshuk).

Photos via Kirsty Coventry's Facebook profile and via Samwise Gamgee via Wikipedia. Additional sources include NBCOlympics.com (a past client of Edelman, the P.R. firm where I work), as well as Olympics.org and Wikipedia.

Beautiful Winners

Now back in Atlanta from the Chicago volunteer gig and weekend in arctic Milwaukee, I've been busy in training classes while defrosting.

Perhaps it is just quirky Canadian coincidence, but within a couple of hours today at least three references to the Great White North arrived via e-mail or NPR broadcasts.

First, one of our recent Edelman client contacts at the Province of British Columbia sent a couple of fun updates on how things are going in Vancouver. Then there was an update on the U.S. curling team in the Rocky Mountain News (OK, technically this was not Canadian, but the sport of curling always will remind me first of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics).

And tonight, driving to dinner, Terry Gross of NPR's "Fresh Air" was talking with someone (I did not catch the name) about an article in this week's New Yorker, so upon arriving home and turning the pages of the magazine I found some words scribed by Canadian poet Leonard Cohen.

Man, I think it would be really cool (though unlikely) for Cohen to pop up in Olympic circles in Vancouver next February. A brief Internet search yielded only one Cohen and Olympic connection (a brief reference to the Los Angeles street, Olympic Blvd., which apparently was near his home/studio during the 1990s).

I thought for sure Leonard the Great must have been engaged somehow with the 1976 Summer Olympic Games of Montreal, Cohen's home town -- VANOC has a golden opportunity to bring this Grammy winner to the Olympic stage this time next year.

If the 2010 Cultural Olympiad folks are reading, consider this my vote for Cohen to do a dramatic oratory from "Beautiful Losers" or to sing us a song at the Opening Ceremony -- or better yet, he could sing "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" at the Closing Ceremony, methinks. A duet with fellow Canadian crooner Joni Mitchell would be tops, too (imagine Cohen and Mitchell remarking on how they've "Seen the Olympics ... from Both Sides Now ...").

Until then, here's another link to one of my favorite Leonard Cohen tunes. And one from Joni for good measure (this tune could be the most appropriate for a five-ringed festival).

One Year To Vancouver

It sort of snuck up on me -- only one year to go until the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony!

This morning The TODAY Show had some live segments from Whistler in British Columbia, and it is definitely Canada's spotlight for the next 365 days.

My colleagues at Edelman's Vancouver office have been dripping news and stories from the day, which included the Hudson's Bay Company (Hbc) unveiling of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay uniforms, in conjunction with the newly unveiled 2010 Vancouver Olympic Torch! (disclosure: Hbc is a client of Edelman, the firm where I work).

First impressions of the torch: I love it! Within seconds of seeing the design, it first reminded me of a fiberglass competition bow (as in Robin Hood) minus the string, matching quiver and arrows. Then it sort of invoked memories of the Kryptonite crystal that Kal-El tossed into the Canadian waterways, building his arctic Fortress of Solitude in Richard Donner's version of "Superman: The Movie."

According to reports, the torch is three feet, er, one metre long, and the more I look at it the more I can't wait to see it crossing Canada. VANOC's online animation of the ignited torch is pretty sweet. What do you think?

The uniforms by Hbc are pretty snazzy, too. The striking "look of the Games" colors are going to really warm up the scene when the torchbearers are surrounded by snow-covered Canadian landscapes.

There are some good "one year to go" reports in the news, starting with the Associated Press' travel feature on Vancouver, which paints an accurate picture of the city and the Olympic host region. Jeff Lee at the Vancouver Sun did a great summary of the day's events (we worked with him in Beijing last summer and his coverage of the Games is very good).

British Columbia will be a magnificent backdrop -- have visited the city twice so far, and flying in to the airport there is similar to landing at Colorado Springs (those mountains and the downtown skyline are really something).

The countdown continues. Vancouver, see you soon!

Feeling Very Olympic Today

Games Day One. Spectacular!

Started the day at 7 a.m. with a taxi ride for first visit to the Olympic Green, which is grand central Olympic station north of the city. My colleague Paul and client Julie shared a cab to just east of the Bird's Nest, scene of the greatest Olympic Opening Ceremony of all time just eight hours prior.

Our mission: Find the McDonald's pavilion, host of the Around The Rings breakfast press event slated to include World Olympians Association President Richard Fosbury. Though this high jumping gold medalist had to jump to another event, the breakfast was no "flop." But before I get to why ...

The taxi driver tried his best, but just could not get us to the right stadium. I think we visited two other massive stadiums in Beijing before we spotted the Bird's Nest on the horizon. Then there were the races from security gate to gate, in search of "the other one" to provide access onto the Green. Where are those padded insoles when you need them most?

Turned out we were about a mile south of our destination by the time we got on the Green. Which brought the question: Hike? Or risk another cab ride into infinity?

We walked. Well, we sort of race-walked, past some of the largest Olympic venues and other buildings I have ever seen. And everything -- EVERYTHING -- is covered with the gorgeous "look of the Games" colors, flags and emblems.

After three screening areas, 45 minutes, litres of perspiration and a few choice words, we at last arrived at what had become to us "Xanadu" with Golden Arches. But no Fosbury!

But also, no worries. His replacements turned out to be very cool and very experienced in the WOA and the Olympic scene.

IOC Member Anita DeFrantz and Olympian (and former Atlanta Olympic Village Colleague) Willie Banks, now president of U.S. Olympians, were the guests of honor, and we noshed on McMuffins while they answered questions from Around The Rings and other attendees.

For Mr. Banks, I posed a question about the WOA's challenges to track down Olympians in remote nations. He answered with great information about the WOA's mission and how the organization is establishing chapters in National Olympic Committee affiliates.

For Ms. DeFrantz, my question related back to discussion of the previous evening: How is the IOC going to tackle the challenge of the time it takes more than 200 participating NOCs to enter the stadium (my suggestion, for anyone interested, is to keep the tradition of letting every participant encircle the stadium behind their flag, but to have two, three or even four simultaneous entry points so there are up to four NOCs announced at once). DeFrantz responded that the IOC has looked at the challenge and considered options, but it is a fine balance to switch traditions entrenched in the Olympic lexicon.

We had barely finished our last round of hash browns when we trekked to the Main Press Center (MPC), the left ventricle of the media heart of the Games (the right ventricle being the next door neighbor International Broadcast Center (IBC). With thanks to the Vancouver 2010 media relations team, our MPC Day Pass and tour helped me reconnect with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Social Butterfly reporter/blogger Jennifer Brett to compare notes on our Games experiences thus far (I suspect you can read about her afternoon cooking adventure in her blog).

The MPC is only steps from the Olympic Sponsor Village on the Green, but there is a Great Wall of China security fence between the two. So to solve the challenge: MORE walking! My girlfriend would be proud of all these hikes! For me, I just get tired!

We needed to check out a few of the sponsor pavilions that British Columbia's Premier will visit next week, and we were greeted by a smiling Edelman colleague and our client, GE, at GE's Imagination Center, which is absolutely fabulous (I'll write more on their pavilion in future entry when we return next week). We were hosted for a quick tour, then our walking adventure resumed to find the Olympic Green's newly opened train station to get us back home to City Center to prepare for our evening event at B.C. Canada Pavilion.

I've not written much yet on our media mission for the pavilion. In addition to working with all of Canada's media deployed for the Games, Edelman Beijing and yours truly have been busy inviting media to experience all that B.C. Canada Pavilion offers as a destination in the Olympic City. Tonight, the pavilion hosted its third consecutive VIP evening, and media were on site in droves, including new friends from the Vancouver Sun, The Province, Global TV, CTV, Associated Press TV and the Reuters IOC Writer, who mentioned he'd seen this blog and gave me one of the best pins of Beijing (the coveted Reuters China pin -- thanks, Karolos!).

So tonight I'm blogging with some post-media event bliss, and some Games euphoria setting in for a fortnight. Can only guess what tomorrow's adventures will bring, and can hardly wait!

Ronnie At The Games

Though I'm a huge fan of the big documentary film that took on the Golden Arches, I also am a lifelong fan of McDonald's continued support of the Olympic Movement.

According to information sent from the Help A Reporter Out call for Olympic suggestions, Ronald & Co. started supporting the Olympic Family as early as 1968 when athletes in Grenoble, France, were homesick for burgers, fries and the like (the Illinois-based company reportedly answered the call by airlifting food to the Games).

My earliest McD & Games memories take me back to 1984 and commercials involving Sam The Olympic Eagle mascot and Ronald thick as thieves (and perhaps as thick as Grimace -- the purple and possible inspiration behind 1996 Olympic mascot, Izzy). And speaking of the 1996 Games, as a staff member in the Olympic Village my colleagues and I supped daily on McNuggets and sauce (action repeated in Sydney's Olympic Village during volunteer gig -- they had exotic curry and spice sauce for dipping down under - OY!).

In Beijing, I've visited one 24-hour Mickey D and did my best to order a happy meal ('smile meal' in Mandarin, from what I can tell) to receive a mascot Fu-Wa as the "prize" inside. Not sure whether I'll be back to collect all five mascots, but will visit the Olympic Green McDonald's pavilion opening (as work schedule permits) at which the likes of Carl Lewis and other Olympians are slated to attend.

We also scheduled our client, British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, to share the stage at the Around The Rings/McDonald's Newsmaker Media Breakfast on August 13 (he will join VANOC to discuss the status of preparations for the 2010 Winter Games). If you're an Olympic nut like me, you need to be reading Around The Rings and the great daily content by Ed and Sheila Hula and their Atlanta-based (yet on the ground in China) team. Thanks to McD's for a great central location for their events!

Wondering whether Morgan Spurlock will attend.

Be sure to check out the website for this sponsor, on which they have an Olympic video contest (deadline to vote is August 7, so hurry up and cast your ballot).