Since July 2, 2003, the day that Vancouver found out it had been successful in its bid for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, I have had a lump in my chest regarding the fact that the opening ceremonies would be held in…BC Place.
Ugh.
For a football game? Sure, the 27-year old stadium works well enough, I suppose. The cavernous hallways of the venue sports fans like myself often refer to as “the mausoleum” are perfectly suited to buy disgusting hot dogs and watered down beer. The lighting that makes you squint at times is great if you are trying to stay awake during a particularly uninspired performance by the BC Lions. The sound that reverberates around the stadium like a second rate ventriloquist is most often irrelevant with the advent of a scoreboard telling you what down it is and where the ball is on the field. And the smoke that hangs around for a good 10-15 minutes after any kind of pyrotechnics is quite pleasant for those with heart conditions.
But for the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympic games, where 2 billion people will be watching?
