/>Since I am a mix of Danish and Canadian, it is an obvious choice to write about the upcoming Winter Olympics that happen to be hosted by my hometown of Vancouver. Vancouver is Canada’s third-largest city and is located on Canada’s west coast, in the southwest corner of British Columbia. It is a city surrounded by natural beauty, with water and mountains dominating the scenery. Although the city itself has 600,000 inhabitants, we call it a big town, small city. Many of the events will be held in Whistler, a world-class ski resort located north of Vancouver, also known as Canada’s Aspen.
Denmark has only ever won one Olympic-Winter-Games medal in its history. Nonetheless, Team Denmark and the Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF) have decided on the goals for the Danish Olympic Team in Vancouver: One medal and three other top placements. The Danish Women’s Curling Team has proven that they can perform consistently at a high international level and has won medals at both the European and World Championships. Thus, Team Denmark and DIF are optimistic that the Women’s Curling Team has a chance at a medal.
Furthermore, they expect that three other athletes will get high placements in their respective sports. It is expected that the Men’s Curling Team will place among the top six teams, and that Sophie Fjellvang-Soelling will finish in the top eight in ladies’ ski cross, and the same applies for Julie Lundholdt in snowboard cross.
According to Michael Anderson, Managing Director of Team Denmark, the goals are ambitious but also extremely realistic. However, this demands that the athletes perform at their personal best.
You can follow the Danish Olympic Team, their competition schedule, video diaries and more on their official website: www.OL.dk
The 21st Winter Olympics will commence with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron at BC Place Stadium on Friday, Feb. 12th with the opening ceremony starting at 18:00 (Vancouver time). Don’t forget the time difference – we are nine hours ahead here in Spain. The closing ceremony on Feb. 28th starts at 17:30. The Winter Olympics are followed by the Paralympic Games, which run from March 12th to 21st. The motto for this year’s Olympic Games is: With Glowing Hearts.
The competitions will take place in Vancouver (curling, figure skating, ice hockey, short-track speed skating, snowboard and freestyle skiing), the city of Richmond (speed skating) and Whistler (bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping).
To read all about the host city, venues, sports, schedules, athletes, celebrations and ceremonies, visit the official website for the games: www.vancouver2010.com. Here you will also be able to watch live Olympic coverage online. Links to local broadcasters will be available on Feb. 12th.