Roundhouse, Vancouver’s community centre is a historical monument, its 374 steam engine being the one that pulled the first transcontinental train into Vancouver. Ten of the Roundhouse staff had to be laid off a week before the Olympics started due to money diverted to finance the Games.

Artist Ken Wesman, who has been drawing inspiration from the Olympics since the 1988 Games of Calgary, is raising money for the YWCA in Vancouver, a non-profit organisation working mainly with children and women who have suffered from domestic abuse, by auctioning his Olympic themed paintings.

Following the model of BCMC the village of Whistler, one of the main hosts of the Olympic outdoor competitions, has put together a similar centre catering for the media in town interested in following stories out the beaten Olympic track: the Whistler Media House. This article also features a list of digital resources for the Winter Games.

On the 26th of February, the International Olympic Academy Participants Association (IOAPA) are holding a reunion in Vancouver for all past participants who are in the city for the Games.  The event will be held between 5pm-7pm within the Reception of 1090 Boulevard, followed by a further chance to connect at Subeez Restaurant, on the corner of Homer and Smithe, from 7pm until late.
Please RSVP to Katherine Ringrose if you wish to attend.

Atos Origin, the Olympic’s IT partner since Beijing and suppliers since Barcelona, do not want to grab the limelight during this, or indeed, any games. In fact, they actively seek out to be as invisible as they can, knowing that the entire technical infrastructure; from press releases to results, to venue computer terminals and international media coverage depends on their ability to remain ubiquitous, a silent but incredibly important factor of mega events facilitation. A error in the delivery, a server crash or a system failure, could spell disaster for the whole operation.