What Will Be Our Olympic Legacy?

The words “Olympic legacy” have a certain glorious ring to them. They conjure up images of gold medals, tears on the cheeks of proud mothers and national anthems playing to stadiums full of patriots.

In reality, however, the process of creating a lasting legacy is long and detailed. Here are the many legacies the government and organizers have promised will be left in the wake of the 2010 Olympic Games, as well as the views of the opposition.

Eco Legacy
Vancouver has worked steadily to become the most eco-friendly Olympic host to date. Special measures include using rainwater for irrigation, ice-making and toilet flushing at the Richmond Oval. The ceiling of the Richmond Oval is constructed of salvaged wood from BC’s pine beetle-ravaged forests and on Cypress Mountain, wetland species were moved from building sites to unaffected areas, where they are now hosts to rare insects and wildlife.

The opposition says:
Despite the measures taken to make this Olympics the greenest to date, large volumes of people will always have a negative impact on the surrounding environment. Furthermore, projects related to the Olympics have impacted precious habitats. Eagleridge Bluffs, a valued nesting ground for bald eagles and other species of animals, was affected during the expansion of the Sea to Sky Highway.

Community Legacy
After their use during the 2010 games, many venues will become recreational facilities for athletes and the public. The Richmond Oval, for example, has the potential to be an important venue in the future as it will become a training facility for many Olympic and Paralympic sports, as well as a public rec centre. VANOC and the Province of BC have also announced their intentions to turn temporary housing units used during the Olympics and Paralympics into permanent affordable homes to solve homelessness issues.

The opposition says:
Despite the promises of new low-income homes, with the debt already accumulated from the Olympics, many doubt that the housing will ever materialize. Others point out that the total money going towards the Olympics would have been better spent eliminating the problem of homelessness permanently.

Cultural Legacy
The official Vancouver 2010 website states that one of the Olympic goals is: “to recognize and celebrate Aboriginal history, arts, culture and languages throughout the Games.” The official emblem of the Olympics is an inukshuk, a traditional Inuit structure. The Olympic medals, each one unique, feature traditional West Coast Aboriginal designs. Even the clothing store features a special section with aboriginal design work. The Olympic mascots were inspired by both mythical First Nations’ creatures, and BC’s strong ties to Asian Pacific countries.

The opposition says:
The accuracy of how Canadian culture has been portrayed for the Olympics has been questioned by the opposition. Many point out that it gives a limited view of stereotypical Canadian culture. In the Territories, it has been stated that, technically, the inukshuk better represents farther north than Vancouver.