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Press Release Mayor welcomes start of Winter Games with Vancouver in the Square
Trafalgar Square hosts its very own sporting extravaganza tomorrow (Saturday 13 February) to mark the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver. Mayor of London Boris Johnson is inviting Londoners and visitors to watch the stunning opening ceremony of the Games on a giant outdoor screen provided by the Worldwide Olympic Games Partner Panasonic and try their hand at a range of 'virtual' winter sports in the iconic square. A four-metre high ice sculpture of the five Olympic rings will complete the sporting celebration, providing a backdrop as members of the public experience the exhilaration of downhill slalom skiing, snowboarding, bobsleighing and a range of other interactive winter sports games, courtesy of SEGA. Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 games consoles will be located in 10 pods on the square and those demonstrating interactive sporting prowess will be picked to compete against each other in front of thousands as their virtual skills are relayed on to the outdoor screen. Great prizes will be awarded to the winners. Following two weeks of the Winter Games in Vancouver, Richmond and Whistler, the spotlight and focus of the world turns to London for the 2012 Summer Games. Already our preparations are on budget, on time and in some cases ahead of schedule. Over the next two years, in addition to the huge economic and regeneration benefits for the capital, the Mayor will use the 2012 Games to promote London around the world as the best place to live, visit, work and invest. The Mayor said: 'Vancouver 2010 is at the end of its long and exciting journey to stage the greatest winter sporting event on the planet. On behalf of London I wish our Canadian friends a fantastic Winter Games. With a huge sense of excitement, tinged with some trepidation, I also welcome the fact that the world is now turning its attention to our capital, as the most amazing sports extravaganza on the planet will soon be upon us. 'This weekend, Trafalgar Square will be bursting with excitement as we watch the world's elite winter sports athletes proudly represent their countries ahead of the biggest physical and mental challenge of their lives. Whilst we can not bring the snowy slopes of Whistler to London, we are offering a fantastic day of interactive fun and competition to the heart of the host city for the next summer games.' The Mayor added his support to Team GB: 'We are right behind our athletes competing in some of the Winter Games and hope their achievements will inspire other young people to take up sport - for pleasure as well as for competition. Go Team GB!'
You can also catch the Vancouver Games on London 2012 ‘Live Sites’ From Dover to Edinburgh, people across the UK are set to celebrate the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games at City centre Big Screens ‘Live Sites’ at 18 UK cities will show live coverage, highlight packages, exclusive athlete interviews and cultural films throughout Winter Games. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is set to excite the nation during the forthcoming Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games by using the UK Big Screen Network to screen live coverage, highlights, exclusive athlete interviews & video diaries and special cultural films throughout the Games at 18 London 2012 ‘Live Site’ locations across the UK. London 2012 Live Sites: In London Woolwich, London Borough of Greenwich; General Gordon Place, Woolwich Arsenal Waltham Forest; Town Square, Walthamstow, London Around the UK Bristol; Millennium Square, Waterfront, Bristol Cardiff; The Hayes, Cardiff Middlesbrough; Centre Square, Middlesbrough Norwich; Chapelfield Shopping Centre, Norwich Plymouth; Armada Way, Plymouth Portsmouth; Guildhall Square, Portsmouth Swansea; Castle Square, Swansea Bradford; Centenary Square, Bradford Derby; Market Place, Derby Manchester; Exchange Square, Manchester Leeds; Millennium Square, Leeds Liverpool; Clayton Square, Liverpool Swindon; Wharf Green, Swindon Edinburgh; Festival Square, Edinburgh Leicester; Humberstone Gate, Leicester Dover; Market Square, Dover For more information:
Notes to Editors Vancouver in the Square is presented in association with Worldwide Olympic Games Partner Panasonic. EVENT: Vancouver 2010 in the Square
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