The City
Vancouver is located in southwestern British Columbia. It is Canada’s third largest city with more than 2.1 million inhabitants. To the west only Vancouver Island sits between the city and the North Pacific Ocean to the east are the famous Rocky mountains.
Vancouver is regularly voted amongst the world’s most livable cities and tourism is a major industry. Vancouver is the only city in the world where it is possible to ski /snowboard, hike and golf on the same day.
This will be by far the biggest event that Vancouver has hosted although it regularly hosts major international conferences and events dating back to the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements in 1976 and the 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication.
Sporting Culture
Vancouver residents are always outdoors exercising no matter what the weather. They are blessed with the beautiful Stanley Park in the heart of the city and ski resorts within 30 minutes drive of the city. It is not unusual for residents to go mountain biking or snowboarding after work and then watch the sun set over the city from above.
Vancouver residents also love to watch sport and what would a major Canadian city be without its famous hockey team? The Vancouver Canucks is one of the best hockey teams in North America. When there is a Canucks game on the city stops. But their passion is not limited to Ice Hockey. The Vancouver Whitecaps (Soccer), BC Lions (American Football), Vancouver Canadians (Baseball) and BC Rugby Union all have a big following.
The Vancouver area has also produced a number of athletes, including: Joe Sakic, Cliff Ronning, and Paul Kariya (hockey), Larry Walker, Justin Morneau, and Jeff Francis (baseball), Bob Lenarduzzi, Domenic Mobilio, and Christine Sinclair (soccer), Lui Passaglia, Paris Jackson, and Adam Braidwood (American football). Our own Olympic moguls champion Dale Begg-Smith grew up and spends much of his time in Vancouver.
History of the City
For thousands of years, the Vancouver area was home to native people but in 1792, British Naval Captain, George Vancouver explored the area and in 1806, American explorers camped near the Vancouver waterfront on the return leg of their famed western expedition. One of them characterized the area as “the only desired situation for settlement west of the Rocky Mountains.”
In the 1870s the area was founded as a sawmill settlement and given the name Granville. In 1886, the city was renamed after Captain Vancouver.
During World War I, the site later named Pearson Field was the location of the world's largest spruce cut-up mill. During World War II, Vancouver’s Kaiser Shipyard built a variety of craft that contributed greatly to America’s war effort. The population of Vancouver grew from 21000 in 1891 to 2.1 million in 2006 and 52% of the inhabitants have another first language than English.
Activities around the Games
The Olympic and Paralympic competition isn’t the only thing that will be taking place in Vancouver between January and March 2010. Have a look at these Culrural Events and Festivals - http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/cultural-festivals-and-events/event-listings/
