Ten years after the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, the city, its residents and the international sports community continue to benefit from the event.
With mild winter temperatures and barren slopes, many doubted that Vancouver could host a successful Olympic Games.
But the city and the Olympic Movement both overcame the difficulties. The athletes have been so successful that some people say that the celebrations that followed made the city shake!
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But in addition to sporting success, the Games set new standards in terms of educational, environmental and social inclusion legacy. As Vancouver 2010 celebrates its tenth anniversary, these Games continue to be a benchmark in sustainability today.
“Vancouver 2010 has delivered much more than an unforgettable Games,” said IOC member and President of the Canadian Olympic Committee Tricia Smith. “The city has also set new standards for sporting, environmental and social legacies. Ten years later, these legacies continue to benefit the people of Vancouver and even beyond. ”
A step ahead of the climate
Like previous editions of the Olympic Games, Vancouver 2010 has quickly made significant improvements in transportation, infrastructure and accommodation in and around the city. The construction works were carried out with the aim of sustainably benefiting society and the environment, while minimizing costs through the reuse of existing infrastructure.
Built in time for the Games, the “Canada Line” continues to transport travelers between the airport and the city center. In addition, the SeaBus ferry with a capacity of 400 passengers, the SkyTrain’s highly efficient trains and hybrid buses have considerably increased the use of public transport and thus helped to reduce emissions. Finally, renovations to the remarkable Sea-to-Sky highway have made this vital artery faster and safer.
The Olympic Games benefited Vancouver in many other ways. Various sports facilities, whether it is the Richmond Ring, the Pacific Coliseum or the Whistler Olympic Park, continue to offer an impressive range of equipment for both amateur and professional athletes.
And when the world was only aware of the dangers of climate change ten years ago, the Vancouver Games already offered an ambitious carbon offset program and demonstration projects. For example, the Olympic Village was heated to 70% with energy from waste heat recovery systems, including wastewater.
Social inclusion
Numerous comments have highlighted Vancouver for the city’s new focus on social inclusion, including youth, at-risk populations and Aboriginal communities. Vancouver was, for example, the very first host city to create a non-profit organization to leave a community legacy.
To date, the organization – originally named 2010 Legacies Now and later renamed LIFT Philanthropy Partners – has worked with more than 4,000 partners on 1,250 initiatives that have benefited more than 400 communities across British Columbia. She now cooperates with social organizations across Canada.
“We knew that people wanted the Games to leave a legacy beyond construction,” said Bruce Dewar, President and CEO of LIFT Philanthropy Partners. “So, we focused on programs that we could strengthen and we created new initiatives to meet the demands.”
Action Schools! BC is one of these programs created by 2010 Legacies Now and its partners. Between 2002 and 2010, he helped half a million students get active daily.
Inclusion of Aboriginal communities
The Vancouver Games’ emphasis on inclusion also, of course, affected Aboriginal communities. A second 2010 Legacies Now program, the Aboriginal Youth Sport Legacy Fund, provided financial support to amateur athletes of Aboriginal descent, including the First Nations Snowboard Team (FNST), who use snowboard to improve quality of young indigenous people and empower them.
“FNST helps me keep my kids healthy,” says mom Rilla Sampson. “They work hard to meet the expectations of the team: healthy eating, good grades in school and teamwork.”
Tewanee Joseph, former president and CEO of the Four Host First Nations Society, a nonprofit organization that promotes inclusion, says the Vancouver Olympics completely changed social and community relationships in Vancouver.
“Thanks to the Games, and to their reach, the nations began to work together and they continued thereafter,” he explained in an interview granted in 2019 to the IOC. “The Olympic event is the greatest relationship accelerator I have ever known.”
As the first Olympic Games to place heritage at the heart of their strategy, the Vancouver Games are expected to inspire many generations to come.
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