Talk:2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony

Details of production company, budget etc
This article should probably not have been drafted as such a raw stub; there's plenty of information on the number of performers, as well as who key ones will be (though not all are known) and also who the production company hired to put it together is (and why a Canadian company wans't chosen over the Canadian one). I'm not the person to work on it, nor do I have the time; it just seems a little odd that something so bare-bones has been allowed to continue as an article without the event even happening yet. This isn't "WikiFuture", it's Wikipedia....Skookum1 (talk) 03:48, 23 January 2010 (UTC)

Black Worn in Memorial
Does anyone know if the black *shoes* worn by the Georgian team were actually in memorial and not just the shoes they were wearing as part of they're uniforms?
 * The black arm bands were worn in mourning, i didn't notice the shoes personally. --Kvasir (talk) 16:33, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Order of Dignitaries
Is there a proper order for the dignitaries that are listed in attendance? Lordandrei (talk) 05:11, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
 * There is, at least, the Canadian order of precedence. As Jean opened the games, and per IOC protocol the games are always opened by the head of state or a representative thereof, she tops the list. Those that follow in the Canadian precedence can be organised according to that list, and I think the First Nations chiefs follow that, as they're not on the Canadian precedence list at all, yet aren't foreign guests. As for the foreign dignitaries, I'm unsure what the order should be; it's right now heads of state, vice-presidents, royalty, and then ministers/secretaries, each subdivision organised alphabetically. -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  16:09, 8 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Campbell and Harper aren't heads of state, they're heads of government. And to repeat what I said on your talkpage, the Four Host First Nations hold pre-eminent domain in their unsurrendered traditional territories and the whole point of the head of state treatment is state-to-state equality.  Meaning that they are equal in rank to the G-G, and in their custom she is a guest; how that would parlay in tribal gatherings among these peoples I'm not sure, but I know in St'at'imc tradition (of which Lil'wat is a part), elders of the tribe are acknowledged before honoured guests.  There are probably some protocols for the G=G's dealings with tribal custom, and there may even be specifications in the protocol these four signed re their head of state status (which is unique in Canadian aboriginal law, by the way. as it implies a recognition of "state"); but p.r. wise I would suspect the G-G's office would defer to local custom/protocol, and normally (from what little I know as a mere hwelitum - non-native, "hungry person") putting the G-G ahead of their own chiefs in precedence would imply they ahd surrendered soveriegnty, which is explicitly not hte case (if you're familiar at all with BC land claims et al.).  they belong at least above Harper, but IMO they belong above the G-G as well; and Anne was not there in official capacity of any kind SFAIK, nor her hubby; as noted there were other Premiers there, I think, but not in the VIP box apparently.  The late seating of the chiefs I still haven't heard a reason for; it sounds like a bumble, but it may have been intentional so they weren't in attendance for t he Royal Salute....Skookum1 (talk) 00:07, 10 March 2010 (UTC)
 * No, Campbell and Harper are not heads of state. I'm unsure, though, who said they are.
 * There's nothing to indicate the First Nations chiefs are above or even equal in rank to the Governor General - the official order of precedence certainly says they're not - or whether the Governor General was their guest - the IOC having her open the games would indicate the opposite. I hesitate to delve into the realms of OR, but my reading of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 tells me that BC FNs are under the sovereignty of the Crown; that the games were held in Canada, and not in Lil'wat, Musqueam, Squamish, or Tsleil-Waututh, would seem to support my position.
 * I'm unsure what to do with the Princess Royal. She was present at the games as President of the British Olympic Committee, but she's not a foreigner... -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  05:55, 10 March 2010 (UTC)
 * re the Campbell/Harper thing, whether it was you or someone else, the revised order placed the FN heads of state beneath them
 * You misunderstand the application of the Royal Proc re BC; the Royal Proc calls for imperial officials to make treaties with local governments/chieftaincies so as to avoid any confusion over sovereignty; other than with the Douglas Treaties and Treaty Eight, this was never done in BC. Some colonial-era chiefs were appointed magistrates outside of those areas, acting with the authority of the Crown, but none of those appointments have seen as recognizing Crown sovereignty; in teh native view it's a government-to-government relationship; if there's any relationship with the Crown it's with teh person of the Monarch, not their representative (e.g. the Squamish chiefs with others went to see Edward VII as supplicants, but they recognized him personally (if they did) and not either the Canadian state or the British Empire; the G-G is an arm of the proxy nature of the regime of Canada in that view, not the monarch; even so I"m pretty sure that none of the bands in question explicitly recognize British/Canadian sovereignty, the Lil'wat definitely not (as I know from living up there); while it's true that the "heads of state" in attendance were selected according to a mechanism of the Indian Act and are not (necessarily) the heads of "traditional government" (except in their own minds), the niceties of the treaty debate in British Columbia mean that, no, the Royal Proc does not mean that they are under crown sovereignty; it means that they should be brought into it, but that hasn't taken place yet...
 * yeah the Princess Anne thing is a conundrum; best I think to put in parentheses the capacity she was there in, i.e. rep of the British Olympic Committee, not of the royal household (either of Canada or the UK....); Mark Phillips shoudl be mentioned alongside her, since Jill Biden and other spouses also were.....certain events had a lot of royalty in attendance (e.g. long-track speedskating, the men's x-country etc) but I'm not sure if it's called for that they're listed on any events page....Skookum1 (talk) 17:50, 11 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Thinking of that Prez of the British OC, wouldn't the same be true of Prince Haakon of Norway (I think he's their OC head, if only titular)....Skookum1 (talk) 17:51, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Corrections needed

 * Spring Section was not the name from the program. Lordandrei (talk) 05:13, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Quotations from each section should be added. Lordandrei (talk) 05:13, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Three billion???
The program was watched by an estimated three billion people worldwide. I understand the source says that, but, no, that must be a mistake. There is simply no way. That's 45% of all people on Earth. I'm not even sure that many people have access to televisions, let alone were awake (in Africa, Europe and the Middle East) watching it. --  tariq abjotu  05:36, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

i agree, the miami herald can NOT be trusted —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.64.121.71 (talk) 06:57, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Some sources say the 3 billion figure is the potential audience for the entire Games. Here's on from The Tyee. 75.156.35.100 (talk) 07:27, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

The presenters said three billion during the pre-show. Lotiel (talk) 07:47, 13 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I've added a dubious tag. It does say 3 billion in the cite, but there has been debate over these numbers in the past. For example see 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony where the estimates for summer games ranged from 1 to 4 billion, depending on who you asked. Given that the Summer games are often more popular, and involve many more countries, in my mind the 3 billion number seems high. Perhaps there will be some press coverage on the point in the next few days that we can provide a fuller picture of the range of estimates. Shadowjams (talk) 10:32, 13 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I highly doubt most of europe stayed up to 2,3, (or got up at 4) in the morning to watch the games. Id wait on a more reliable source before adding the information to the article.Ottawa4ever (talk) 14:32, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Indoor - not the first ceremony indoors (see Sarajevo, Lake Placid, etc)
The statement "first Olympic ceremony to be held indoors" is factually incorrect, even if it was sourced. Traditionnally (before the XVth Winter Games in Calgary), the Closing Ceremony was held in the figure skating venue, i.e. indoors. For instance I have a book about Sarajevo 1984, the Closing Ceremony was in the Olympic Hall Zetra, indoors. Same in Lake Placid if I remember well. Hektor (talk) 11:10, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Should be stated as "first OPENING ceremonies held indoors". --Kvasir (talk) 16:36, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Half-mast
I have a feeling this is the 1st time in the opening ceremonies when flags were flown in half-mast. Is there any source for this so we can add this statement? It's pretty significant. --Kvasir (talk) 16:35, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Also Nodar Kumaritashvili maybe the first person to have the whole Olympic ceremonies being dedicated to him. Just like a single athlete (Eddie the Eagle) was mentioned for the first time in the closing ceremonies in the 1988 Winter Games. --Kvasir (talk) 18:08, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Fiddling
The final fiddler during the tap dancing was Ashley MacIssac. . Kmusser (talk) 17:59, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

More description of the event needed.
It's not very clear from the article where two of the highlights of the show were, namely the whale and wheatfield sequences. These were particularly stunning and could do with being described in detail. Anybody?--1812ahill (talk) 21:05, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I fully agree. As one of the three primary people transcribing (Wikifying?) the event from the television while watching it live; I think we did a pretty good first pass. There is a section above that lists things that need to be corrected or added. I suggest moving this topic up there. Lordandrei (talk) 21:30, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I think a list of the ads that ran during the broadcast would be useful. As this was “the most-watched broadcast event in the nation's [Canada's] history" (http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/newsid=40407.html) it is worth having a record of. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tangy taste (talk • contribs) 01:15, 19 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I'd have to disagree here. Since the event was watched in different countries by different national broadcasters you would have many disparate lists of advertisers. This is further complicated by some nations having regional differences for local or regional commercials. I would also hazard that different broadcast nations broke from the event at different times. Lordandrei (talk) 05:20, 19 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes, please look wider than a narrow Canadian perspective. This is a global event, watched (allegedly - see above) by 3 billion people. You really don't want to know about the toilet paper and sanitary product ads shown during the coverage in Melbourne, Australia where I live. HiLo48 (talk) 07:37, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

How many opening ceremonies can there be?
The topic is "...opening ceremony" (singular) yet many times during the article, starting in the second paragraph, we have "ceremonies", with no explanation of the plural. What's going on? HiLo48 (talk) 22:34, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
 * This is a valid question. I think that when you capitalise the event "Opening Ceremony" you are talking about the event as a whole. By not capitalising "opening ceremonies" you are referring to the multiple components of the event. Just an opinion. But agreed. One definition should be determined and then applied to the document as a whole. Lordandrei (talk) 22:42, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

A snowboader skiing?
It says "Giant screens showed Canadian snowboarder Johnny Lyall skiing down a slope". Shouldn't that say "sliding" rather than "skiing"? HiLo48 (talk) 22:48, 13 February 2010 (UTC)


 * It's been fixed by Dl2000. Thanks. HiLo48 (talk) 23:08, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

NHL
The NHL played games during the opening ceremony. However, not many players took part in the opening ceremony. Should we add that in the reception section, or should we just keep details about the Vancouver Canucks playing that day? I'm just wondering, as they added cheer to the opening ceremony. -- SNIyer12, (talk), 05:18, 17 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Can you please explain to an Australian what a local ice hocky team has to do with the Olympic Games? I cannot see any relevance.
 * I also note that you have added the Canucks material to the article without waiting for comment by anybody else. Discussion means that more than one person contributes and you wait to see what sort of consensus arises. HiLo48 (talk) 05:44, 17 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Not very notable. Many more 2010 athletes did not participate in the opening ceremonies for one reason or another. --Kvasir (talk) 06:30, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

indigenous language programme
I just happened to flip by APTN's coverage (that's the Aboriginal Peoples' Television Network for you non-Canadians) and it was mentioned that the ceremonies were broadcast in Cree, Mohawk and Inuktitut. I'd add that but I'm not clear if it's among the eleven languages mentioned in this line:
 * ''Airing on 11 networks and in 11 languages,

As that sounds like it's "national languages" that are meant, e.g. English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Australian....(that's a joke, people, a joke...)Skookum1 (talk) 21:20, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

I'm still aware of only one ceremony!
I raised this above, to little effect. Maybe there is something about Canadian English that differs from Australian English, but I saw only one ceremony. The article title is about the ceremony (singular). Why is the plural used by so many editors? Serious question. If there was more than one, can somebody please list them. I am quite confused, and no doubt so would other readers be. HiLo48 (talk) 19:32, 18 February 2010 (UTC)
 * "Opening ceremonies" is indeed a common Canadian idiom for what can be strictly defined a one ceremony. Actually there were several ceremonies in the course of the proceedings, e.g. the First Nations welcome, the flag-raising, the Olympic oath, the Vice-Regal Salute....but the usual Canadina usage is "opening ceremonies" even when there's only one strictly-defined ceremony-singular.  If you want take it up at WP:CANSTYLESkookum1 (talk) 22:52, 19 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks for that clarification. The English language is indeed a wondrous thing, or things. HiLo48 (talk) 04:20, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

I.D. of First Nation in image
I'm not totally certain but I think the particular First Nation in is the Lil'wat Nation...maybe Musqueam, I'd have to look at the ceremony again but by the costume I'm pretty sure it's Lil'wat. Also, the introduction of the Peoples of the Northwest, the Peoples of the Plains, the Peoples of the East, and the Peoples of the Arctic/Inuit were distinct in the proceedings and should be accounted for here; and as in an online comment it's quite probable that many of those dancing from other First Nations were also chiefs (albeit without head of state status officially).Skookum1 (talk) 22:52, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Neilson Ratings
For those who would like to implement the ratings (Im not aware that there discussed in the article; the ratings for the week of Feb 8th are posted; The opening ceremonies had a rating of 17.3 with a viewership of 32.641 million; (Source seems to work week by week) Ottawa4ever (talk) 11:48, 20 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Even though the Games are being hosted in Canada, I don't think local TV ratings are all that notable. The TV audience is a global phenomenon. Wikipedia is a global encyclopedia. If there was a reliable source for ratings around the world (and I mean really reliable - some people get a bit "excited" when documenting such figures), then that would be more significant. HiLo48 (talk) 17:36, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

First Nations
Someone had added the Canadian national flag icon to the listings for the Four Host First Nations chiefs, which is so wrong it's embarrassing and if it had stood was offensive; I've since removed them. If they are heads of state, it's not Canada they're heads of state OF, huh? I'm not sure about Musqueam and Tsleil-waututh, but I think the Squamish Nationa has its own flag, and I think the Lil'wat Nation has its own also; it may use the flag of the Lillooet Tribal Council of which it is a part, but I think it does have its own. Also, someone had used the ethno article Skwxwu7mesh as the pipe behind "Squamish" but this is incorrect and misleading because Chief Williams is not a traditional chief, but the elected chief only of the Squamish Nation, which is constituted under the Indian Act and is not traditional governance; he may be a hereditary chief also, but that is independent of his role in the Squamish Nation government, and he is not the only hereditary chief of the Skwxwu7mesh, and certainly not the "head of state" of the Skwxwu7mesh. I haven't changed the other FN links, which redirect to government articles anyway, or rather as yet to articles where government and ethno articles have not been split appropriately.Skookum1 (talk) 14:15, 20 February 2010 (UTC)
 * The flag of the Lillooet Tribal Council is at upper right on this page; I haven't found a page yet where it's a standalone graphic and I don't think it's copyrighted....but it wouldn't do to have only one flag and none for the other three, if they don't have their own....and again, as in the following section, I think all flags in this section should be removed as clutter anyway.Skookum1 (talk) 14:28, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Nobility
I'm a bit concerned about the use of national flags on each of the nobility in attendance, all of whom have their own standards/flags. I think all the flags in this section are visual clutter anyway and constitute unneeded/unsightly "decorative use", but in the case of the nobility it's protocolically incorrect to use national flags - unless they are there, perhaps, in an official capacity as national representatives rather than attending personally. Anne, Princess Royal was not attending as her mother's representatives (that's Michaelle Jean's job), nor as an official representative of the UK; AFAIK she was attending as a private individual. She has her own flag and if anything that should be used. Similarly the standard of the House of Orange or their own personal standards should be used for the Dutch prince and princess.....but again, I don't think national flags are appropriate in this section at all and violate WP:FLAGCRUFT.....Skookum1 (talk) 14:15, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

I agree that the flags are overdone. They don't add any information to the article, and really just look "pretty". Not encyclopedic. HiLo48 (talk) 17:38, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

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Michaelle Jean first Black Head of State to Open Olympics
Shouldn't it be included that Michaelle John was the 1st Black Head of State to Declare the Winter Olympics Open? That's really something special. 69.73.249.31 (talk) 15:43, 14 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I wish it wasn't special. Sorry, but that's my reaction when I see racial labelling being used to describe someone. In fact, since she was Governor-General at the time, it was inevitable that she would open the Games unless something especially odd or negative occured in the planning for them. Was Jean opening the Games seen as something special at the time BECAUSE of her skin colour? HiLo48 (talk) 23:54, 14 September 2023 (UTC)