Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Canada's message to the games: We're Canadian, dammit
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (0)
Slideshow
Save
Email
Print
Reprints
Most Popular
Most Shared
Luge crash death darkens Games mood
| Video
12 Feb 2010
Luge death darkens mood as Winter Games open
| Video
2:15am EST
U.S. successfully tests airborne laser on missile
12 Feb 2010
UPDATE 3-Toyota sets US recall of 8,000 Tacoma pickups
12 Feb 2010
Toyota to recall 8,000 Tacomas in U.S.: document
12 Feb 2010
U.S. successfully tests airborne laser on missile
12 Feb 2010
"Khan" uses melodrama to tackle tough issues
12 Feb 2010
Dow, S&P 500 dip on China lending curb; Nasdaq up
| Video
12 Feb 2010
Architect reinvents apartment to solve space crunch
08 Feb 2010
Men risk anticlimax with anatomy-boosting pants
12 Feb 2010
Canada's message to the games: We're Canadian, dammit
Janet Guttsman
VANCOUVER
Sat Feb 13, 2010 1:47am EST
Related News
Games open in Canada's wintry indoor paradise
1:02am EST
UPDATE 1-Olympics-Games open in Canada's wintry indoor paradise
12:49am EST
One day to go, Games shrouded in skiing star suspense
Thu, Feb 11 2010
One day to go, Games shrouded in Vonn suspense
Thu, Feb 11 2010
Canada holding breath for that golden moment
Tue, Feb 9 2010
<
1 / 10
>
View Full Size
VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada, politely annoyed when confused with its powerful neighbor to the south, laid claim to a distinct identity as its Olympic Games opened on Friday and asked the world to indulge its uncharacteristic patriotism.
World | Lifestyle
In a colorful and at times moving opening ceremony to the Vancouver Games, Canada rolled out a line-up that read like a Who's Who of the country, including some that an international television audience may have assumed were American anyway.
There were singers Nelly Furtado and k.d. lang, along with cameo performances from racing driver Jacques Villeneuve and actor Donald Sutherland.
"We invite people everywhere to share and experience, even if it's just for a few moments, what it feels like to be a proud Canadian," John Furlong, the Irish-born chief executive of the Vancouver Organizing Committee said toward the end of a ceremony that was both high-tech and surprisingly intimate.
In a nod to the vastness of Canada, the world's second largest country, the show depicted the Arctic, the old growth forests of Pacific British Columbia and the endless prairies, as well as exuberant fiddle music from Atlantic regions and a parade of skaters lit in the red and white of Canada's Maple Leaf flag.
TRADITIONAL MODESTY
The Olympic movement's first indoor opening ceremony also managed to bring in images of snow, sun, moon and even rain, an apt reminder of the grim weather outside the stadium.
This is Canada's third Olympic Games, after Montreal in 1976 and Calgary in 1988, and leading Canadians spent part of the last few days apologizing for the fact that traditional modesty would be replaced by pride in the country.
"We will ask the world to forgive us this uncharacteristic outburst of patriotism," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday.
But it is not always easy being Canadian.
A more controversial element of the opening centered on symbols of Canada's Inuit and Aboriginal communities, including giant totem poles. Native dancers performed as the athletes marched in and native leaders were prominent on the podium.
The so-called Host Nations, the bands on whose territories the Olympic venues lie, have worked closely with organizers, but not all native communities are as welcoming.
"The Olympics are not welcome on our land," Kanahus Pelkey, an activist with the Secwepemc and Ktunaxa First Nations in the interior of Vancouver's province of British Columbia, told a news conference of protest groups earlier this week.
But the overall message from the ceremony was that the crowd was proud of Canada and proud to be Canadian.
"We are cultures strung together then woven into a tapestry," Canadian poet Shane Koyczan said. "We are an experiment going right for a change, with influences that range from a to zed. And yes we say zed instead of zee."
(Editing by Jon Bramley)
World
Lifestyle
Add a Comment
More from Reuters
NATO launches major Afghanistan offensive
MARJAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S.-led NATO troops launched a crucial offensive on Saturday against the Taliban's last big stronghold in Afghanistan's most violent province and were quickly thrown into a firefight with the militants.
Three killed in University of Alabama shooting
| Video
Luge death darkens mood as Winter Games open
| Video
Luge competition to resume on Saturday
Toyota emphasizes U.S. presence to Congress
Microsoft to announce new phone software: sources
» More Top News
Travel & Leisure:
Top 10 romantic hotel rooms
Romantics looking for more than chocolates on their pillows might find what they're looking for in these sexy hotel rooms. Full Article
48 hours in Dublin
Appealing designs on the road
Lifestyle
2010 Olympic Games:
Let the Games begin
Get all the latest news and videos as the world competes in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Full Coverage
Life in the Olympic Village
The road to Vancouver
Olympic Notebook: Vancouver 2010
2010 Winter Olympics
© Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Analyst Research
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Labs
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts.com
Buyouts Europe:
Buyouts Conferences:
Venture Capital Journal
EVCJ
International Financing Review
International Securitisation Report
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Saturday, 13 February 2010 Retail Sales Jump Half Percent In January
Sonia Rykiel's H&M Knitwear Collection Arrives In Stores February 20
Demi Lovato, Joe Jonas "Make A Wave" For Disney's Friends For Change
Centric To Premiere "Becoming Barack" Documentary On President's Day
Preval asks Haitians to dry their eyes and rebuild
|
Army Discharges Single Mother For Refusing Deployment
Schwarzenegger To Swear In Lt. Gov. Nominee Despite Contested Vote
Three Teens Charged With Identity Theft, Cyber-Bullying
Obama Administration Announces $1 Billion In Funding For Modernization Of Health Sector With IT Jobs
Study Finds College Males Victims Of Violence At hands Of Their Girlfriends
Israel moves West Bank barrier at flashpoint village
|
Researchers Uncover Clue To Autism Related Tactile Defensiveness
Nobel laureate Ebadi calls for sanctions on Iran
|
War crimes court rejects Karadzic appeal on lawyer
|
Microsoft to announce new phone software: sources
|
Web video service Veoh to liquidate, founder says
|
Justice Department appeals court ban on cell-phone tracking
|
New De Niro? DiCaprio steps up as Scorsese's star
|
Brosnan asks why now? of Polanski's arrest
|
Indian star Khan scared by militant Hindu outcry
|
NATO launches major Afghanistan offensive
|
Ke$ha Keeps Black Eyed Peas From The Top Of The Billboard Hot 100
One month after quake, Haitians join to mourn dead
|
Philippine Comelec Prepares To Implement Fair Election Act
Wen warns of challenges as China readies for new year
|
Philippine Election Watchdog Asks Comelec To Enact Fair Election Act
Ivory Coast's president dissolves government
|
Lady Antebellum Spend Second Week Atop Billboard Albums Chart With "Need You Now"
Costa Rica finds ton of cocaine, arrests Mexicans
|
Al-Jazeera-says Yemen rebels deny assassination bid
|
China says most melamine-tainted milk destroyed
|
Nobel laureate Ebadi calls for sanctions on Iran
|
Canada's message to the games: We're Canadian, dammit
|
Google mulls stand-alone version of Buzz
|
Pay-As-You-Go Becomes Law, President Obama Reiterates Moves To Cut Deficit
Shooting At University Of Alabama Huntsville Leaves 3 Dead, Female Suspect In Custody
Health Insurance Companies Increased Profits By 56% In 2009
Senate Ponders New Jobs Creation Bill
U.S. Markets Close Down Friday; Investors Eye Global Markets
Regina King Talks Second Season Of "Southland" On TNT
Games open in Canada's wintry indoor paradise
|
Winter Storm Causes Major Disruptions, Delays In Southern States
Olivia Newton-John's Physical sexiest song ever
|
Madonna transforms into Marriage Ref for TV
|
Naomi Campbell hosts Haiti show that mourns McQueen
|
Project Runway hopefuls show at NY Fashion Week
|
Guns N' Roses plays surprise New York show
|
Eight killed in suspected bomb blast in India: police
|
Critics of Jordan's U.S. ties charged with sedition
|
Iraq election officials confirm Sunni candidate ban
|
Somali minister dies of wounds after suicide bomb
|
Ivory Coast opposition calls for massive protests
|
Suu Kyi official freed from house arrest in Myanmar
|
German neo-Nazis mark WWII raid in Dresden
|
California County Jails Release 1,500 Inmates
Defense Agency Successfully Tests Boeing 747 Laser On In-Flight Missile
'Mediterranean Diet' Decreases Brain Damage Risk
Transgender Thomas Beatie Expecting A Third Child
Transgender Thomas Beatie Expecting A Third Child
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights