VANCOUVER HOSTS THE OLYMPICS
Vancouver did its best to welcome the 2010 Olympic Winter Games! The atmosphere this February was thrilling and the changes in town remarkable.
Many winter sporting events were put in the spotlight, from much-loved hockey to snowboarding, skiing and skating. All sorts of lesser-known outdoor activities were promoted: luge, skeleton, ski jumping, and curling. Even the most celebrated couple of Springfield –Homer and Marge Simpson– learned to curl in a special episode of The Simpsons.
Contributed by Miriam Bontorin. Thanks for reading.
SUMMER OLYMPICS?
In Vancouver and Whistler, the weather was warmer than usual, with the unhappy consequence of irregular snowfalls up in the mountains. This attracted a lot of criticism from the international media, to the extent that some referred to it as the “Summer Olympics”. But the efforts put forth by VANOC to ensure that there was the required amount of snow on the mountains was extraordinary, and few events needed to be postponed or cancelled.
ATTRACTIONS IN TOWN
The Vancouver Olympic committee also organised a great number of cultural events spread out around the lower mainland and many local celebrities performed: Nelly Furtado, Bryan Adams, Nickelback and Feist to name a few. Music was not the only form of entertainment, though.
For example, at Robson Square, one could fly over everyone’s head thanks to the exciting zip line, as well as go skating at the public skating ring, all for free. Many pavilions and International houses were a great success with tourists, who didn’t mind waiting for a couple of hours just to get in: the Sochi (Russian), Heineken (Holland) and Saxony (German) Houses having the longest line-ups!
CURIOUS MELTING POT
As predicted, Vancouver saw a major increase in visitors during the Olympic weeks. The city swarmed with foreign people from all over the world. It became a melting pot where many languages were heard and spoken all at once. Such a huge cross-culture of people in Vancouver was extraordinary. To think that over eighty countries and more than 5500 athletes and coaches took part; how did they communicate?
As an expert translation agency based in Vancouver, LingoStar was repeatedly chosen during the Olympics to provide many services around Vancouver and Whistler, including tour guiding in multiple languages, and consecutive and simultaneous interpretation.
In the future, you can easily forget about language misunderstandings by letting LingoStar handle them. Unpleasant and embarrassing situations arising from language barriers can be avoided just by calling LingoStar. With a vast array of language experts on hand, you are assured quality and professionalism.
In case you need any assistance with language matters, Lingo Star is your solution. For any further information, do not hesitate to contact us, we look forward to hearing from you!
