1,170 kilogram Olympic and Paralympic time piece under installation: Free noon hour celebration and unveiling, Vancouver Art Gallery Monday, Feb. 12
February 9, 2007 | VANOC News Release

What’s six metres high, three metres wide, weighs 1,170 kilograms and is wrapped in a 15 metre by 12 metre gift box from Omega on the Vancouver Art Gallery’s northwest corner in downtown Vancouver?

It’s the new Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock, presented by Omega, Official Timekeeper. Preparations are underway to unveil it to the citizens of Vancouver, rain or shine, in a fast-paced noon hour celebration on Monday, February 12 – the three-year anniversary to the start of the 2010 Winter Games.

The Countdown Clock will log the hours, minutes and seconds remaining until the Games begin. An impressive sculpture, it will be permanently located on the Georgia Street Plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery – a fixture that residents of Vancouver and visitors alike will be able to enjoy both before and after the Games.

The site is a hive of activity for the final few days before the celebration and clock unveiling on Monday. Later today the large white box will be removed to reveal a smaller white box that will conceal the countdown clock until it is unveiled. The Countdown Clock will be fully installed and tested this weekend and surrounding landscaping will be completed.

The clock will be unveiled at a lively event featuring the sonorous sounds of one of the world’s leading Alphorn players in honour of Switzerland-based Omega’s visit to Vancouver for the clock unveiling. It will also include a First Nations welcome, remarks from distinguished guests including Olympic and Paralympic athletes and video showcasing great sports finishes in Games history, culminating in the grand finale – the Countdown Clock unveiling.

Distinguished guests and athletes in attendance will include:
Officials:
*
The Honourable David Emerson, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics
*
The Honourable Gordon Campbell, Premier, Province of British Columbia
*
His Worship Sam Sullivan, Mayor, City of Vancouver
*
Stephen Urquhart, President of Omega
*
Jack Poole, Board Chair, VANOC
*
John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer, VANOC
*
Representatives from the Four Host First Nations
Olympic and Paralympic medallists:
*
Jeff Pain, Silver Medallist, Skeleton, Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games
*
Lauren Woolstencroft, gold and silver medallist, Alpine Skiing, Turin 2006 Paralympic Winter Games




Something tells me it's gonna look like Ilanaaq.....or it's gonna be a log cabin......or it's going to be made out of stone. This will also be the first ever Olympic clock to countdown both the Olympics and the Paralympics.

you know.. its vancouver... were not really that creative.. its guna be something like the first nations, orelse theyre guna start yacking off with signs saying we didnt "include" them

http://www.vancouver2010.com/resources/html/invites/omega_countdown/omega_evite.gif

i absolutely love it......one thing i'm worried though is about vandalism. that protester might come back lol. the clock is here to stay after 2010, so i wonder what it'll count down after the Games.


http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/1dff99f0-c739-4556-a982-6d0f865afa05/countown.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/dgallery.upload/upload/2010/006.JPG
http://members.shaw.ca/dgallery.upload/upload/2010/011.JPG
http://members.shaw.ca/dgallery.upload/upload/2010/012.JPG
http://members.shaw.ca/dgallery.upload/upload/2010/002.JPG
http://members.shaw.ca/dgallery.upload/upload/2010/005.JPG



Here's the CTV recording of the live broadcast of the clock unveiling, as well as a feature on who made this clock and its fabrication:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/HTMLTemplate/noc...ed&ads=true (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/HTMLTemplate/nocompress?content_type=video/x-ms-asf&brand=generic&tf=/ctv/generic/video/videoplayer.asx&cf=/ctv/generic/video/player.cfg&url=mms://ctvbroadcast.ctv.ca/video/2007/02/12/ctvvideologger2_500kbps_2007_02_12_1171304724.wmv&start=00:00:00.03&end=00:09:50.59&spd=hi&hub=related&ads=true)






Protesters arrested at 2010 Games ceremony

Updated Mon. Feb. 12 2007 4:03 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Police arrested a handful of people who were part of a small but vocal group demonstrating Monday at the 2010 Games ceremony in Vancouver.

One protester even stormed the stage at the unveiling of a giant countdown clock at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

The man shouted the F word and the date 2010 before being wrestled off the stage by security and taken away by police.

Holding signs saying "Stop the Clock" and "Housing Before Games," protesters were raising their concerns about the problem of homelessness in the Vancouver area.

CTV British Columbia reporter David Kincaid, on board Chopper 9, said many of the protesters are members of anti-poverty groups from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

"They have already unveiled their own clock," said Kincaid, "and what they are counting up to is what they perceive as a threat to the homeless population in the Downtown Eastside and Greater Vancouver. They worry that unless the various levels of government take appropriate action in the next three years, we will triple the City of Vancouver's homeless population."

whats the music called? the music thats playing during the pulling


***some vancouver spirit we got there >.>

Look at Beijings.

http://images.sports.cn/2004/09/22/326030A.jpg
http://images.sports.cn/2004/09/22/326030B.jpg

whats the music called? the music thats playing during the pulling


***some vancouver spirit we got there >.>

That music is VANOC's current trademark music, and it is the soundtrack for their promotional video "Celebrate the Possible". There's a link to the video on the homepage of vancouver2010.com

Beautiful. :)


http://vancouver2010.com/images/Features/countdown_clock_2.jpg
http://vancouver2010.com/images/Features/countdown_clock_3.jpg


Countdown Clock Unveiled: Three years and counting...
February 12, 2007 | VANOC News Release

An excited crowd of approximately 2,000 gathered at the corner of Hornby and Georgia Streets over the noon hour on Monday, February 12 in downtown Vancouver. They celebrated the spirit of the 2010 Winter Games, which will begin on February 12, 2010, while anticipating the launch of the Official Countdown Clock for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

When the moment arrived spectators gasped as the enormous clock – measuring three metres wide, more than six metres high and weighing 1,170 kilograms – was unveiled.

“It’s really big,” said Kassie Kelly Charles, who attended the event with her parents. “It looks like an ice cube.”

The landmark clock was created by Swiss luxury watchmaker Omega, the Official Timekeeper of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, who worked with Vancouver-based Karacters Design Group to produce a design that combines precision timekeeping with public art.

“We now have a call to action in Vancouver,” said John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), “a beacon that shines day and night illuminating what the 2010 Winter Games will represent to the world and the time left until our Opening Ceremonies.”

The clock showcases the contrasting urban and natural settings of the 2010 Winter Games. Steel and glass speak to both the thriving metropolis of Vancouver, Host City of the Games, and also the ice and snow at the heart of winter sport. The clock’s red cedar tower evokes images of Canada’s lush forest landscapes and pay tribute to Aboriginal culture and tradition.

The clock sits atop massive blocks of cast concrete in the heart of bustling downtown Vancouver at the Georgia Street Plaza near the Vancouver Art Gallery. Two electronic displays count down the hours, minutes and seconds remaining until the Opening Ceremonies for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The clock bears the official 2010 Olympic and Paralympic emblems – inviting the world to come together and celebrate in 2010.

Omega is the Official Timekeeper of the Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Beijing’s countdown clock presides over the legendary Tiananmen Square.

As Official Timekeeper, Omega will be responsible for the scoring and competition results during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, delivering results to excited audiences from all corners of the globe.

The time between now and Games time in 2010 will really fly, according to Peter Huerzeler, director of Swiss Timing, sister company of Omega. “Three years may seem like a long time, but believe me, three years go by very quickly!”

good ol' exposed concrete makes an appearance, naturally. Despite this, it makes the beijing one look like a piece of crap, that's for certain.

It's a pretty nice clock. I think that it would look better with a little darker numbers, but otherwise, it's a good job :D