Written by Elizabeth McLeod

The Olympic flame may have been extinguished this past Sunday, but the memory and legacy of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada will certainly remain.
While national unity is always one of the aims of the Olympic dream, never before has it been as formidably accomplished as in Vancouver over the 17 days of the Winter Games. The combination of the hometown spirit, amazing talent and a record-smashing number of gold medals won by Canadians seemed to work its magic on the Canadian population.
However, the Olympics were far from being merely ‘fun and games,’ and it took an extraordinary amount of planning, work and volunteer effort for Vancouver to pull off the spectacle.
A series of negative public relations events including violent protests, the tragic death Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, inclement weather, ticket cancellations, and technical malfunctions during the opening ceremonies set the scene for what could have been a disastrous 17 days. While the situation was portrayed as bleak, and the attitude of the nation began to slip, spirits remained high in Vancouver, in part due to the overwhelming help of the volunteer presence.
Meryl MacDonald, a University of Guelph student, resident of Vancouver, and volunteer at the Olympic Games was highly involved in Olympic effort and recounted the experience of the city.
“I participated in the Olympics every way that I could,” she began. “From volunteering and taking part in the free exhibits downtown, to being a spectator.”
The immense commitment and involvement of the 70,000 volunteers who participated in the games cannot be overlooked by the country when celebrating the success of the games.
“I applied to be a volunteer two years ago through the VANOC volunteer site,” said MacDonald. “I had two phone interviews and one in-person interview before being accepted.
“In 2003 I went to Prague as a ‘Bid Booster’ with several other Vancouverites that had an interest in winning the bid, so this whole experience has really come full circle for me.”
The city of Vancouver opened their doors to the world, but many residents were initially skeptical of how this would affect themselves and their hometown.
Preparations for the Olympics were a monumental challenge for all stakeholders in Vancouver, including businesses, residents and the government. Since the bid was won in 2003, the construction the city undertook to improve the transit system (mainly the RAV line – an extension of the sky train from the airport to downtown Vancouver) and construction to the Sea to Sky highway had been a huge inconvenience for the majority of residents. Residents were concerned with the inconvenience and financial strain, as well as issues such as the growing homeless population in the downtown eastside of the city. MacDonald recognized the growing number of homeless as a definite challenge for the city.
“Maybe, while the city is still in a position to spend, it will make more challenging but necessary upgrades,” she suggested. “Work needs to continue in the downtown eastside, addressing the increasing number of homeless, the growing drug problem and the need for social housing developments.”
The severity of the issues were the source of a number of protests and the skeptical opinions about to whether the Olympics were what Vancouver really needed. However, many argue that the new spotlight on the city and increased tourism can be seen as positive results from the Olympic investment, which will continue to give back to Vancouver residents.
“The majority of people were able to set the issues aside for the duration of the Games,” said MacDonald. “From volunteering to party-going and witnessing an immense amount of pride and patriotism never before seen, I’d say paying this party off for the next 50 years is definitely worth it.”
MacDonald has high hopes for the city and it’s post-Olympic legacy.
“Over the last couple of years, Vancouver had gotten a reputation of the ‘no-fun city,’ and that reputation is certainly no more,” she continued. “The new developments – both residential and sport venues – will also be part of the legacy that the Olympics have left.”
The Olympics were a success, not only for Vancouver, its volunteers, and those directly involved in the games, but also for the nation as a whole. According to TSN, an astounding 26.5 million, or 80 per cent of Canadians, tuned in on Sunday to watch Sidney Crosby score the gold medal-winning goal and the nation’s cheers were heard from coast to coast.