Didn’t have a chance to make it to the Olympics in Vancouver? Nick Vivion, my new favorite Seattle based freelance videographer and journalist, captured the intensity and excitement of the Olympics games in a series of videos.
I wasn’t sure what to expect as we drove across Granville bridge into Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Last minute, we packed up the car on a Friday night, and headed north for the weekend. I hadn’t really given it much thought. I was just ready to get out of Seattle and after watching the Olympics on the television for a week I thought it was cool that we were going to be there, live. I am a video journalist, so the prospect of making some films from the Olympics definitely got me excited.
We got into Vancouver around 11pm, and we went straight into town. We found parking easily enough, and wandered down into the thick of things on Robson Street. There were people everywhere. Streets were closed, people were singing, and flags were waving. I had no idea that there were going to be so many people here! It was one big street party that seemed to go on for miles in every direction. Streams of heads bobbed all around me, and the atmosphere was charged with an intoxicating edge of possibility. Or maybe just an atmosphere of general intoxication!
Things were quite different the next day. There were families strolling, lots of laughter and the vibe was much calmer. It was yet another beautifully sunny day, to which some people remarked, “Welcome to the 2010 Summer Olympics!” Indeed, it was balmy, and people were happy. There was hockey being played on the streets, buskers playing guitars, bongos, and violins, magicians doing tricks and a couple of guys giving free hugs to passer-by. It was a wholly collegial experience, and it made me happy to be at the Olympics. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dLO8YvJR14]
After absorbing Granville Street, we wandered down to the waterfront to check out the Olympic Cauldron. I had been reading about the Free the Flame movement, a Facebook group outraged that the Flame was surrounded by a fence. At first, I was also outraged because the chain link fence they chose is down-right institutional and ugly. However, if you chose to wait in line for about an hour, you got to see the Cauldron from a balcony overhang – the closest spectators have ever been able to get to an Olympic Cauldron. And boy was it worth the wait! You could hear the soft whoosh of the gas, and the reflections of the flames on the buildings was stunning. We timed it just right to be there as the sun was setting – it was magical. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSAnZH-FVt0]
On Sunday, I discovered the Olympic Tent Village, a temporary tent city put up in protest by dozens of the city’s charitable and activist organizations. Billions of dollars had been spent on the Olympics, but nothing had been earmarked to help the city’s most destitute. In fact, I was told that people were actually made homeless by the Olympics, as they were evicted from their long-term hotels in order to renovate the area for Olympic visitors. Throughout the weekend, I had noticed how much money was spent to beautify the city. And when you consider how much companies pay for Olympics rights, the organization is pulling in billions of dollars. It mystifies me when politicians don’t consider the rights of the most vulnerable before jumping into shiny large-scale projects like the Olympics. How can you choose sports over people? I do not think they have to be mutually exclusive, and it’s a shame that such a venerable tradition like the Olympics cannot coexist with the people of the host city. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw_UfpnuDKk]
Before we left back to Seattle on Sunday evening, we had to watch the Canada vs USA hockey game. The city was at its most electric right before the game started that afternoon – people were chanting, singing and generally running amok on their way to Hockey Place. I was surprised that there weren’t more American flags, since Vancouver is so close to the US border. It was mostly Canadians – in fact there were white and red maple leafs as far as I could see! I decided to capitalize on the salacious rivalry between the US and Canada, and interviewed random people on the street about why Canada was better than America. There were some pretty hilarious answers, and it became apparent that, as the afternoon went on, people were getting a little tipsy…[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Pg-FCk25I]
I had a great time at the Winter Olympics. I am not sure that I would go to another Olympics, mostly because it seemed like a misuse of money to me. It was hard to stomach the inequalities of tourists in $100 Olympic jackets walking past homeless people that have probably been in those neighborhood for years. It gnawed at me that we could build billion dollar stadiums and not spend a couple of million on affordable housing. The contrast was stark, and is what sticks with me the most.
Nick Vivion is a freelance filmmaker and journalist based in Seattle. He can be found at www.worldlifilm.com. Check out his entire Vancouver playlist on YouTube.
Interested in guest writing for The Flying Salmon? Email Andrea.