Viewpoint

Sam Corea

What place or role will our Canadian culture have in the Vancouver Olympics?

Well, there are three pillars to the Olympic Games: it's sport, culture, and the environment. So primarily, we are putting on a sporting event for the athletes of the world in various sports, whether it's skiing or snowboarding or figure skating or hockey, so of course, that'll be the primary activity that people come to Vancouver and Whistler to see in 2010.

But in addition to that, we want to do things in an environmentally sensitive manner, so we want to make sure that we have a very light footprint on the environment. The Games will come and the Games will go, but we want to make sure that we leave lasting legacies and not anything that is a detriment to the environment.

But then, the other part is the cultural aspect, in that, yes, you will see what's on the field of play, whether it's the sport action, the spectators, the crowds, but in addition to that, it's a really cultural celebration that we have available to us.

From the Opening Ceremonies right through to the Closing Ceremonies, all the various activities that happen between the Games, off the field of play, all involve some component of culture: whether it's performance, whether it's art, whether it's the look of the Games, which has the whole banner program, the whole look of the Games, the cornerstone, all the various colours and the pageantry that we have.

So, yes, the culture components of the Games are very strong, and some people say that culture provides about 50 percent of the memories for the Games. Yes, you'll remember all the great performances that are on the field of play, in terms of the sporting performances, but in terms of the Opening Ceremonies or the Closing Ceremonies, that is the time when we actually have a chance to show Canadian culture to the rest of the world.

Sam Corea is on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Committee.

Interview conducted in March 2005