Vancouver 2010 Kicks Off

Vancouver’s  XXI Winter Olympic Games began Saturday with a sad loss and an intense opening ceremony  with hockey “Great One” Wayne Gretzky finally leading a group of Canadian sports stars to light the torch.

The torch on its way to its final destination this week.

Many of the athletes marched with black armbands and the Olympic flag stood at half-mast in honor of luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. He died Saturday morning after flipping off of the ice and over the wall into a metal pole. He was transported to a local trauma center but could not be revived. The Georgian team decided that they would continue to compete in all sports in honor of Kumaritashvil, and participated in the opening ceremony that included a moment of silence for their teammate.

The evening’s opening ceremony contained music and dancing from across Canada, featuring pop stars like Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan and Bryan Adams. Dancers and musicians represented Canada’s diversity of cultural backgrounds, and members of the country’s First Nation tribes were the primary greeters for the athletes as they entered. More than 2,600 athletes are expected to compete in the Games, that will last until Feb. 28.

Vancouver 2010′s official Web site offers a daily schedule of competitions, but friend of Draft Day Suit Melissa Ford has compiled a television broadcast schedule that is easier to read.

We will check in each day with medal reports and other news from Vancouver 2010.

[Photo: Used under Creative Commons from kk+ on Flickr.]

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