South Africa 2010 and Vancouver 2010: Similar pre-event lead-ins, divergent post-event legacies

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Beginning with the familiar slogan used by some of the official corporate partners of the 2010 FIFA World Cup -- as in the welcome display used by First National Bank (FNB) at Tambo International Airport -- there are many common storylines between South Africa 2010 and Vancouver 2010, global sports events held four months apart after close to a decade of bidding and development.

At first glance, the South Africa World Cup and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are similarly-sized ventures, at least in terms of operating budgets. Vancouver 2010's operating budget stands at around $1.8 billion. When you add the South Africa local organizing committee's budget of $532 million to FIFA's tournament budget of $1.2 billion, you're pretty close at $1.7 B and change.

They're both huge ticketing machines of similar magnitude, at least when pro-rated. Vancouver 2010 sold about 1.5 million tickets over a two-week Olympic period of events and the month-long South Africa 2010 tournament has surpassed three million spectators at 10 soccer venues with an average capacity of 48,500.

Most important, they're both similarly associated with more than $5 billion in venues and infrastructure.
 
In the case of South Africa, hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup involved construction or renovation of the 10 stadiums, about half of which were built from scratch. That generated 66,000 construction jobs according to the South African government. Also required were significant airport renewal and expansion (especially in Cape Town, Durban and here in Johannesburg) and massive transportation upgrades, including highways and rail.
 
Sound familiar? Vancouver 2010 saw the provincial and federal governments partner on about $600 M of Olympic venues; including the Richmond Oval, Hillcrest Curling Centre, UBC Thunderbird Arena, Whistler Sliding Centre and upgrades to the Pacific Coliseum and what is now Rogers Arena. In terms of infrastructure, Vancouver 2010 helped generate construction of the Canada Line, Sea-to-Sky Highway upgrades and the new Vancouver Convention Centre.   
 
The largely comparable storylines don't end with the economic costs themselves. In the lead-up to both events, critics and doomsayers dominated the news coverage and spin. Skeptics in both countries questioned why monies were being spent on sports toys instead of providing for the homeless, hungry and ill. There was considerable angst over venue construction in both countries, with shared concern over timelines, costs and overruns.
 
In both cases, the years of severe anxiety and negativity turned into palpable pride and positivity by the time both events were a week old.

Of course, we all know both Vancouver 2010's venues and South Africa 2010's stadiums cost much more than originally forecast and both required additional government support to get the jobs done (the full measure of which is still being tallied by the BC government, especially in what it spent off-line). 

Despite all of the similarities, there are differences and the biggest is in what the countries got for their money. While the spend was indeed similar, the return on investment is clearly higher in South Africa than it was in Vancouver.

South Africa 2010's $5 B in venues and infrastructure went a lot further than Vancouver 2010's $5 B. The stadium legacies alone are awe-inspiring and would make any fully-developed country in Europe, Asia and North America proud, including Canada. That, of course, has everything to do with access to and cost of labour in South Africa.
 
Arguably the most glaring difference between the World Cup and the Winter Olympics is the return on monies spent on security. The federal government of Canada rented close to $1 B worth of it at Vancouver 2010. South Africa, meanwhile, invested in the creation of 44,000 new police jobs. They'll stay in place permanently and, according to many South Africans, will serve as the most important legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
 
The ROI advantage to South Africa on venues, infrastructure and security will also likely be joined by a big differential in long-term tourism impact. The impact of Vancouver 2010 on tourism in Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada simply cannot be compared to the impact of the World Cup on tourism for South Africa.
 
In the case of Vancouver, it was already playing from a position of strength as a popular Pacific Gateway city which hosted the world's fair in Expo 86. In the case of South Africa, it was truly a coming out party and hence a much bigger deal in terms of what it means for the country over the next generation.
 
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Vancouver 2010 a factor in strong television ratings for Stanley Cup playoffs

The parity that drove strong television ratings throughout the 2009-'10 National Hockey League regular season has found expression in the post-season, which included 49 games in the first round (with seven of eight series going at least six games).

Twelve overtime games helped produce great ratings for Versus and NBC south of the border and for TSN, RDS and CBC here in Canada.

The NHL numbers for round one of the 2010 Stanley Cup tournament still pale in comparison with those for the NBA on ESPN/ABC and TNT (about a third to a fifth of the size of the ratings sparked by Kobe and Lebron). Nonetheless, they represent solid growth for the NHL and give it much to crow about, especially with its U.S. broadcast partners and league-wide corporate sponsors.

NBC is up 18 per cent over 2009, to an average first-round viewership of 1.430 million and a rating of 1.1. Versus has seen a 35% spike in viewers, with a first-round average of 595,000. That's the most the NHL has gleaned on U.S. cable television since ESPN/ESPN2 drove 608,000 in 2001. The combined average of 742,000 is the most since ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 scored 750,000 in 2000. In addition, the various U.S. regional rights holders who simulcast alongside the national carriers have hit record numbers in 2010.

In Canada, where hockey and hockey television are kings, the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada is up 49% over last year and is riding its highest numbers since 2004, when a Vancouver-Calgary first-round seven-game series caused a television buzz. TSN is up 89% (growing from 567K in 2009 to 1.07 M in 2010). RDS is going wild on the wave of the Montreal Canadiens.

The numbers are up in part because of the parity and the overall strength of the markets involved in the first and second rounds. They are also higher because of the new Personal People Meter (PPM) measurement system deployed for the first time last fall (which most analysts suggest is responsible for a bump of up to 20%).

Yet make no mistake about another big factor in these terrific television ratings for the NHL: Vancouver 2010.

In Canada in particular, the Olympic Winter Games were a storyline for NHL fans since the Canadian team's training camp last fall. There was massive media and fan interest in the unveiling of the Team Canada jersey in October and in the announcement of the roster over Christmas. It just built from there and created the largest television numbers -- for sports and overall -- during Vancouver 2010.

Featuring the best players in the world on their respective national teams, the Olympics engaged NHL aficionados, brought back some old fans and attracted new viewers. That's true in both Canada and the United States, the two countries which squared off in a memorable overtime finale won by Sidney Crosby February 28th.

More than two months later, the afterglow of Vancouver 2010 is a contributing factor in this great TV run the NHL is enjoying in both Canada and the U.S. during its Stanley Cup showcase. And that is something NHL commissioner Gary Bettman should consider as he ponders Sochi 2014.

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Vancouver 2010's greatest gift: the lesson of inspiring by overcoming adversity

Event management is a case study in multi-tasking. Event management for an international competition -- particularly at the level of the Olympic Winter Games -- is the most complex beast of all. There are many things event organizers can control....and many they cannot.

Weather conditions cannot be controlled. How event organizers react to it can be.

That's why the greatest gift that VANOC, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, gave the city of Vancouver, the province of British Columbia and all of Canada is how they responded to a rough start to Vancouver 2010.

It is a case study in pursuing excellence even in the face of adversity.

After four days marred by logistical problems exacerbated by the weather, mechanical failures and the tragic death of Nodar Kumaritashvilli, the Games could have slid the slippery slope of continued problems and spiraled into disaster. Failure can become defeat if individuals, teams or entire organizing committees comprised of thousands of people, stop trying in the face of mistakes, criticism or plain bad luck.

Instead, the leadership of VANOC, its management and volunteers made the adjustments needed to turn Vancouver 2010 into one of the best Winter Games in history.

To rally from the tough opening weekend of Vancouver 2010, the people behind VANOC did not have to look far for inspiration.

They needed only to witness the courage of the Georgian Olympic team which walked into the Opening Ceremonies February 12th, only hours after the training run death of their teammate Kumaritashvilli. Their body language did not hide their heavy hearts. It only reflected the sadness shared by all.

They needed only to look at Slovenian cross-country skier Petra Majdic, who picked herself up from several broken ribs suffered in a training run to win a bronze medal for her country.

They needed only to see Joannie Rochette's steely determination to persevere in the days after the death of her mother. Persevere she did, in bronze.

Jeff Lee of The Vancouver Sun (http://www.vancouversun.com/) said it best when he wrote today that the true spirit of Olympism is the ability to overcome and to inspire.

The teammates of Kumaritashvilli did. So did Majdic and Rochette. So did countless other athletes who battled adversity at lesser but still challenging levels, bouncing back from falls, injuries and poor first runs to come from behind to win Olympic gold.

Those individual case studies of the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity and inspire serve as a fitting metaphor for how VANOC responded to the obstacles of event management to deliver an excellent Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

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Wayne Gretzky is the natural choice to light Canada's Games

Tonight's full dress rehearsal of the official opening ceremonies for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will demonstrate the great degree to which public and spectator participation will be part of the real deal Friday night at BC Place.

It will showcase a major aboriginal dance and music element. Video images telling the story of Canada and Canada's Games will be prominent. The rehearsal will showcase many of the acts and performers who will be featured Friday at 6 p.m. PT before a global television audience the likes and size of which has never had its collective eye on Vancouver, British Columbia or Canada at any time in our history.

The Olympic Cauldron, although it might not be fully "uncovered", will be ready to go in its central location in the middle of the 60,000-seat stadium.

Who lights the highly-symbolic cauldron for its 17-day burn in Vancouver will not, however, be revealed (or at least confirmed) until that very moment the well-known Canadian with Olympic credentials will actually pull the trigger in whatever technically-brilliant way it is done as the defining moment of the ceremonies Friday night.

That the actual lighting will be cleverly engineered is to be expected given the role of Bombardier of Canada as Vancouver 2010 official suppliers and designers of the Olympic Cauldron and the individual torches carried by the 12,000 Canadians and international guests who made up the 106-day Olympic Torch Relay presented by RBC and Coca-Cola (the longest domestic relay in both days spanned and kilometres traveled).

In fact, VANOC and the Canadian Olympic Committee will likely do everything they can to delay revealing the list of the special torchbearers slated to carry the Olympic flame from City Live Yaletown -- where it will rest in an official Olympic lantern for a few hours Friday afternoon -- into BC Place.

Canadians would be proud to have any one of a group of famous Olympians and other famous Canadians light the torch Friday night. Nancy Green Raine, Cindy Klassen, Catriona Lemay Doan and Gaetan Boucher are among the obvious high-profile, medal-winning Canadian Olympians, while Rick Hansen and Gordie Howe would not disappoint, nor would the memory of Terry Fox.

Yet there is only one obvious answer to the question of who is the best and natural choice to light the Olympic Cauldron Friday night. It's been stated elsewhere this week in print by columnist Gary Mason of the Globe and Mail and on air by Vancouver sports radio host David Pratt of TEAM 1040, among others, but the answer is Wayne Gretzky.

The selection of Gretzky makes sense at several levels, whether he does the final act solo or in concert with a high-profile female Olympian of medal-winning pedigree (keeping in mind that the Olympic Torch Relay began in Victoria October 30th under the auspices of male summer Olympian Simon Whitfield and female winter Olympian Lemay Doan, who were in turn followed by male summer Olympian Alexandre Despatie and female summer Olympian Silken Laumann).

From a sport business perspective, it is the right choice for a few reasons.

First, the official opening ceremonies are one of VANOC's two greatest opportunities -- with the closing ceremonies February 28th the other -- to tell the story of these Olympic Winter Games and sell the Vancouver 2010 brand to the country and the world. That story and brand is based on the vision of Vancouver 2010 as "Canada's Games". Born and bred in Brantford, Ont., a junior player in Toronto and Sault Ste-Marie and a treasure in Edmonton in four Stanley Cup wins for the Oilers of the 1980s, Gretzky fits that bill.

Second, the official opening ceremonies are the single greatest global branding opportunity that the host city, province and country will have ever had in our lifetimes. Neither Calgary 1988 or even the larger Montreal 1976 Summer Games -- which were both pre-digital and essentially single television platform events -- enjoyed anywhere near the international access that will be afforded Vancouver 2010 in this increasingly global Internet era.

The event will be produced across all three screens of television, computer and mobile platforms. The dynamic at play is Canada to the world, not Vancouver to Canada or even Vancouver to North America. Gretzky works in that respect as well as one of few Canadian athletes who transcends hockey to the point where he is recognized across our country, throughout the United States and in much of Europe. In other words, the red-blooded Canadian of eastern European ancestry has name recognition in virtually all of the winter sports countries serving as the core of the global audience for Vancouver 2010.

Third, the final torchbearer often sets the tone for the Games that follow. Placing the accent on hockey before the greatest hockeyfest the world has ever seen plays well for the tournament's single-biggest ticket seller and overwhelmingly-dominant television draw. That's true for the event, broadcast rightsholders such as CTV and NBC and for the corporate partners of Vancouver 2010.

Yet more than anything, the official opening ceremonies are the number one vehicle to convey the defining characteristics of a country such as Canada. The game of hockey is one of our signatures on the global stage. Vancouver 2010 could help create a winter sports culture in this country, but Gretzky epitomizes what Canada has: our hockey culture.

Gretzky does that on the strength of his childhood playing on an outdoor rink built by his father Walter. He does that as a multiple winner of the Stanley Cup, which is for Canadians the most prized trophy in sports. Yet he also does that as an Olympian, both as a player in a disappointing team performance in Nagano 1998 and as the team executive director in an inspiring, glorious and historic gold medal win in Salt Lake 2002.

Gretzky is the right choice because as hockey icon he will appeal to Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast. More important to the larger audience, he is the right choice because he will make sense to Americans, Europeans and many others as the Canadian picked to light the Olympic Cauldron at these Winter Games.

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