Friday morning started off like a typical day... other than the fact that it was "Day 1" of the Olympic Games, it was business as usual. My cameraman, Ken, and I spent the majority of the day at Pacific Coliseum, following a story on a former Canadian Olympic Figure Skater who won the gold in 1948. At age 82, Barbara Ann Scott was elegant, well-spoken and extremely enthusiastic about the upcoming Figure Skating competitions. Little did I know that our interview would not be the last time I saw her that day...Upon returning to the IBC, Ken and I got to work editing our piece and having a light dinner (the food provided at the IBC beats the food at PAC, so we tend to "wind up" there at the end of the night). Around 5pm, my boss, Roger, summoned me to his office and told me to speak to Luis - the head of operations for OBS's headquarters in Madrid. Worried, at first, I had a slight inkling of what was to come when I saw Roger's smile. Within the hour - I was handed a VIP ticket to the Olympic Opening Ceremonies - or rather one was "slipped" into my bag by Luis and I was heading towards BC Place - the coliseum housing the ceremonies. My cameraman, Roger and another cameraman, Thomas, guided the way.
Not only was the ceremony the most amazing live performance I have ever seen in my entire life, but I also had spectacular seats... just feet away from the box holding Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Premier Gordon Brown and several other dignitaries that I couldn't even identify. To the right of Ken was one of six of the figure skating judges - an extremely honourable position. Our seats were approximately 50 up from the front row and just about 10 up from the floor. The performance was the most spectacular thing I have ever seen... here are just a few pictures and videos, Thomas has better ones which I intend on posting later from his fancier camera....
Everything in the arena was white - including us with our paper towel caps on! They were so that the lights would reflect the world's flags off of the audience!
There was lots of Tribal influence as the native tribes had to agree to allow the Games because several events are being held on their land.
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