Olympic Torch Bearers

Vancouver 2010 – Opening Ceremony

It was an honor to work with the Flag and Torch Bearers on the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies. Hopefully, you have seen the Opening and now know who was involved with this highly guarded secret.

Flag Bearers:

Bobby Orr (Hall of Fame hockey player – known as one of the greatest hockey players of all time), Anne Murray (Grammy Award winning singer), Jacques Villaneuve (race car driver), Betty Fox (mother of beloved humanitarian, athlete, and cancer treatment activist, the late Terry Fox), Barbara Ann Scott (Ice Skater – Olympic Gold Medal Champion and Canada’s first Gold Medalist), Romeo Dallaire (Lieutenant General – Senator, humanitarian, author, and retired general), Julie Payette (Astronaut – flew on Space Shuttle Discovery and Space Shuttle Endeavour), and Donald Sutherland (Actor – appeared in films such as; “Klute”, “Ordinary People”, “Cold Mountain”, ”The Italian Job”, and many more…

Torch Bearers:

Rick Hansen – Canadian paraplegic athlete and activist for people with spinal cord injuries – recognized for his Man In Motion World Tour, Catriona Le May Doan – Speed skater and a double Olympic champion – holds the Olympic record and is known as the fastest woman on ice, Steve Nash – NBA All Star – the first NBA player in Olympic history to carry the torch and light the Olympic Cauldron, Nancy Greene – Canada’s top ski racer – winning Gold and Silver Medals and was named Canada’s female athlete of the 20th Century- and Canadian Senator for British Columbia, and, Wayne Gretzky – Ice Hockey player with multiple accolades - known as “The Great One.”

It took a tremendous amount of planning to collectively keep the names for this segment of the Opening out of the press. There were many polls and conversations about who would eventually light the torch, and for this reason, as well as the excitement of who it would be, things were kept extremely confidential.

Since the event was held indoors, careful planning was also in place to take Wayne Gretzky on a route outside the doors of BC Place riding on a flatbed truck to eventually light the Cauldron at Vancouver’s downtown waterfront area.

As well as having the good fortune of meeting all of these impressive and generous individuals, I am forever grateful for being a part of history and witnessing all of these famous Canadians coming together for this historic event.

Here are a few photos from behind the scenes……….