A number of concerns and controversies at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, surfaced before and during the Games, and which received media coverage.
Safety
Death of Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili
Hours before the opening ceremony, Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia was killed during a training run for the luge after he was thrown from his sled and struck a steel pillar at high speed, near the end of the course. The International Luge Federation called an emergency meeting after the accident, and all other training runs were cancelled for the day.
Vancouver Olympics Organizing Committee (VANOC) was criticized after members of the media assumed that VANOC was the governing body that conducted a prompt 12-hour investigation into the luger's death, which put the blame on the luger. In fact, it was the International Luge Federation (ILF) which conducted the investigation. The ILF had stated that it would investigate the crash and issue a report around the end of March 2010.
Furthermore, the Whistler Sliding Centre, which had recorded some of the fastest speeds in luge history, was the site of several non-fatal accidents during training runs leading up to the start of the games. For more than a year prior to the Olympics, luge competitors had complained that the track was too fast and the turns were too dangerous. Athletes had nicknamed turn 13 the "50-50" turn for their chances of getting through it without crashing. Kumaritashvili was killed on turn 16, the last turn of the course.
As a result, the height of the wall Kumaritashvili surmounted was increased, with added wooden panels and padding. Officials also ordered changes to the layout of the final turn of the Whistler luge track, making it slower and safer, and moved the men's and women's luge starts down the track.
Kumaritashvili's teammate, Levan Gureshidze, did not race. He was on the official start list for the first run but withdrew, telling other racers he could not go on. He instead flew back to Georgia to mourn the loss of his teammate.
After the starting gates were changed, competitors complained that the junior starting position enters the main track with a turn that is too tight, causing sledders problems at the beginning of their runs. Some have also complained that slowing the course has decreased the challenge and forced them to adjust their strategy.
Eleven months before the death of Kumaritashvili, VANOC chief executive officer John Furlong started to be concerned that an athlete could get "badly injured or even worse" on the luge track. Josef Fendt, who was the President of the International Luge Federation, stated in a letter to the designer of the luge track that luge track was recording "historic sled speeds" that the speeds were nearly 20 kilometres an hour faster than the track designer had anticipated. John Furlong received a copy of the letter and asked for the situation to be looked at by the "legal guys". Svein Romstad, general secretary of the International Luge Federation, stated that the International Luge Federation "would have sought major changes to the Whistler track if it had known ahead of time that speeds would be so much higher than calculated." A memo dated January 30, 2006, stated that, in March 2005, the International Luge Federation wanted major changes to six curves on the luge track including curves 15 and 16, where Kumaritashvili's problem began. Kumaritashvili's father became angry after reports showed that VANOC didn't act on their own concerns about the luge track's safety. The family of Kumaritashvili received an insurance payout worth $150,000 from the VANOC.
VANOC broke some rules in regards to the luging and bobsleigh track. International Luge Federation states that "the length for a luge track must not exceed ." G-force was critical in the accident that killed Kumaritashvili. The rules of the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation states that a g-force of 5 is the limit for the track. A g-force of 5.02 is possible for male lugers on the track in Whistler. The rules of the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation also state that "to prevent the deterioration of the ice during warm, sunny periods, the finish straight should be shaded or covered." Part of what was to be considered in the shading of the finish straight was the safety of the athlete. The final straight was where the accident took place. Since the investigation and currently, sliders no longer start at the upper start area, they start downhill at the lower start: C1.
The President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, thanked the hosts for the way that they handled Kumaritashvili's death, which included a moment of silence and a tribute at the opening ceremony.
Other safety concerns
Given Kumaritshvili's death on the 12th, other safety issues on speed for other events were raised at these games, most notably at the Sliding Centre. Another noted injury took place in the women's downhill. The course was labelled as extremely difficult for skiers and most training runs were cancelled due to weather conditions. This resulted in several accidents during the competition event where Sweden's Anja Pärson was badly bruised following a jump prior to the finish line of the event on February 17.
In cross-country skiing, Slovenian skier Petra Majdič was severely injured after a fall during a practice run on the sprint track. The fall led to Majdič sliding off the course and falling down a rocky slope. Despite having broken ribs and a collapsed lung, Majdič completed the women's sprint event and took the bronze medal. Slovenia filed a protest with the IOC about the safety of the course, but it was dismissed.
Safety at LiveCity Vancouver
Dozens were injured and sent to hospital when a barricade erected at LiveCity Yaletown collapsed. Canadian rock band Alexisonfire played a free concert at LiveCity Yaletown on Tuesday, February 16. Ten seconds into the band's first song, the crowd of hundreds surged forward, which caused a section of the barricade to collapse, sending dozens to the ground. The band stopped playing immediately, and asked the crowd to step back. While Vancouver Police and an on-site medical team controlled the situation, the crowd was informed that the show was cancelled, and they dispersed quickly and co-operatively.
Reports indicate at least 20 people were injured with 10 being taken to hospital. On February 17 the band issued the following statement: "We are sincerely sorry that people were injured. We want to thank the security team, paramedics and police for their quick reaction. We especially want to thank our fans for cooperating and not making a bad situation worse." A representative for LiveCity Vancouver added, "When the incident occurred, everyone acted quickly, professionally, and took appropriate action. The security and on-site emergency medical response teams provided immediate assistance and care, the band kept people calm, and the crowd dispersed safely."
Bilingualism
The program of opening ceremony was criticized for a perceived lack of appropriate representation of French-speaking Canadians, in spite of Canada's status as a bilingual country. The Secretary General of La Francophonie, Abdou Diouf raised objections about the lack of bilingualism during the event, as French is alongside English as an International Olympic Committee official language. Quebec Premier Jean Charest said the ceremony failed to respect and reflect the francophone community in Canada. In an interview with CBC, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, James Moore, was "disappointed" by the low representation of French Canada during the ceremony. Canadian Member of Parliament Richard Nadeau of the Bloc Québécois sees rather a lack of political will to promote Canadian bilingualism. Among the 25,000 volunteers, only 15% of them spoke French. The Commissioner of the Official Languages, Graham Fraser, was very disappointed by the lack of presence of French. He also said, "I had the impression of watching a show designed and produced in English with a French song. Even l'Hymne du Nord from the poet François-Xavier Garneau has been translated into English to be read by the actor Donald Sutherland".
VANOC, however, defended the case and said that they had made "a very deliberate focus and effort to ensure a strong celebration of Quebec culture and language." They also said that there was a significant amount of French in the opening ceremony. David Atkins, the artistic director of the opening ceremonies, said that the ceremonies did celebrate francophone Canada. Some examples of French include the speeches, the Olympic Hymn, and the officials' oath. John Furlong, VANOC CEO, IOC President Jacques Rogge, and Governor General Michaëlle Jean all addressed the crowd in English and French. Measha Brueggergosman performed the English version of the Olympic Hymn, but Dave Pierce, the music director for the games, had his associate, Donovan Seidle, compose and arrange it to have some of the stanzas performed in French. Michel Verrault, a speed-skating official, took the officials' oath in French.
In his official report on the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, Graham Fraser identified two causes for the lack of French in it. The first was a lack of understanding. The commissioner said that "it was apparent that, in several areas, the official language requirements in the multi-party agreement signed by the organizing committee and Canadian Heritage were rather vague and unclear". He also stated the secrecy traditionally given to the opening ceremony prevented the commissioner from making sure that Canada's linguistic duality was well-showcased in the show. In order to prevent such mistake for future major events held in Canada, such as the 2015 Panamerican Games, "official language requirements must be specific and clear to ensure that organizing committees grasp the importance of linguistic duality, understand their official languages obligations and plan adequately." In early 2011, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages published guide based on the lessons learned at the Vancouver Games to help federal institutions and organizing committees of future large-scale sporting events to better understand, plan, implement, and monitor their activities toward the full respect and inclusion of English and French.
In February 2011, one year following the Vancouver games, Furlong discussed the language controversy in the Olympics in his book Patriot Hearts: Inside the Olympics that Changed a Country. Furlong said he had received praise from Fraser before the opening ceremony because of his large number of bilingual staff. He added that he had attempted to have the Quebec Anthem Mon Pays sang at the ceremony as well, but was shot down by the song's author. Furlong defended his refusal to apologise for the perceived lack of French in the opening ceremony. He alleged that, when discussing the place of French at the Olympics, "Mr. Fraser pointed fingers from a distance but rarely pitched in with ideas or support." Fraser answered these criticism, saying that his office had given him precise indications and ideas to promote linguistic duality during the games, which were implemented. He said that, overall, the services in the Games were provided in both official languages, and that the absence of French was mostly in the cultural program, and this was the only part he took issue with. Following the release of Furlong's book on the 2010 Games, La Presse editor André Pratte wrote a severe opinion piece on the lack of French in the opening ceremony, noting that "just trying is not good enough."
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