BC, it really didn't begin to sink in until the last couple of weeks before the Olympics began. We all knew it was coming but the hype was actually kept down a bit, because as it is always the case, hosting the Olympics is a very divisive issue for people.
Things began to quietly go up, like the giant Olympic Rings near the airport, and construction of some of the venues, but it wasn't without problems, like the financial backer for the construction of the athletes village 'suddenly' going belly up and the city having to step in to cover the remaining cost (read: ta xp ayer money.) There were also other cost overruns, but amazingly enough, this whole two-week party (plus the Paralympics in a week from now,) still came in under budget, with the contingency untouched.
Then the Olympic torch arrived back in British Columbia after having gone through all of Canada, and the fever-pitch began to happen. The morning of the opening day, a host of celebrities and athletes ran the torch around the city, including Arnie the Terminator. I actually went to see the torch pass through, and it was something else. Once the games opened, the party was 100% on. I can't fully describe the controlled chaos that gripped the downtown core for two weeks solid, the hundreds of thousands of people, locals and tourists alike, that flooded the streets everyday. The events, free concerts, national and international pavillions, beerhouses, street entertainment, etc. Think of the best party possible, only stretched out over 20x20 city blocks. People were lining up as early as 6:30 AM to get into bars, pubs, pavillions, concert areas, game venues, you name it. Come 5 AM the next morning, there was still partying going on in the streets. Many of the main arteries of the downtown core were closed to traffic throughout, and it was pedestrian paradise, with tons of people carrying flags from all over the world. For Canada gear alone (shirts, jerseys, mittens, hoodies, etc,) the lineups were hours long (good thing I got my hockey jersey early,) and the final sales are reportedly at around $500 million, with over one million Visa transactions alone coming from cards issued outside of Canada.
I personally spent two entire days down there and saw only a fraction of everything there was to see, but just to highlight my e xp erience: saw the majestic Olympic Flame in its cauldron in Vancouver harbour, handled and took photos with the Olympic Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals (allowed for the first time ever for the public in Olympic history,) and attended one of the hockey games (Slovakia vs. Czech Republic.) On tv, everyday and every hour I could, I watched coverage of the games, and networks around the world are remarking on the outstanding viewership numbers that these games brought in. Just as an example, the final game between Canada and the USA drew in over 16 million viewers, the most ever for an event.
There were, of course issues: we had the warmest February on record ever, and snow had to be flown in to some of the venues as the rain and heat began to melt what was there. The games began on a tragic note with the unfortunate accident that claimed the life of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, and there were anti-Olympic prostesters that attempted to disrupt the torch relay and the opening ceremonies.
Yet, as the days wore on and Canada suddenly took off on the medals, the party just got louder, crazier, and more patriotic. Working in a bar, I can only tell you how insane things got when we won, and how much cheering there was even when another country took the podium. Then came the perfect ending, with that heart-stopping overtime win for Canada over the USA in hockey, which is our dearest sport, and the only gold medal that mattered to most that we win. As our third time hosting the Olympics, Canada had never before won gold on home soil, but when Alexandre Bilodeau won first gold in Men's Freestyle, the floodgates opened. In the end, we won the most gold medals of the games, the most gold medals ever by a host country, and the most gold medals ever won by a country at the Winter Games. It was a fairytale ending that completely surpassed our e xp ectations, and even some of the naysayers got caught up in the great feeling that these games brought to us as a city, and as a nation.
And now it has ended. I look back with a great sense of pride and joy, and more than a little sadness that it is over, but happy that we hosted the world, and that everyone that I met and read about from a foreign country that was here was more than happy to e xp ress how kind, polite, and friendly we had been as hosts, how much they loved being here, and how much fun they had.
Sochi, we pass the torch to you. See you in 2014.
:th