Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies Dress Rehearsal – So inspiring

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Luck was smiling on me yesterday. I was gifted two tickets to see the dress rehearsal of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies!

Now don’t get all excited I’m not going to spill the beans about what I saw or who performed. I respect the producers wish to keep it a surprise. What I will do is tell you how I felt and the challenges and success of actually getting in to BC Place to see the dress rehearsal.

To start with the the line ups of people were amazing. We started at Robson and Beatty at 3:40pm and we didn’t get into BC Place until 5:05pm. Now luckily the dress rehearsal only had about a 1/3 capacity inside so if you are seeing the Official Opening Ceremonies I highly recommend giving yourself plenty of time to get inside so you don’t miss a thing.

The actual entrance into BC Place was at the corner of Nelson and Pacific and it was a bit of a zoo. Not much if any signage and no crowd fencing so it was almost a bit like a mosh pit. The Energy was electric, I saw many people I knew in the crowd and all faces were smiling and full of anticipation. I was already starting to feel my Canadian pride seeing how well mannered we all were + the huge volunteer force in their Olympic outfits.

So after getting through the airport like security we are now inside BC Place. Another line up at the concession stand. This was actually slower and more painful than security. Staff are really unsure and they actually ran out of the veggie dog my friend ordered so we had to wait 10 minutes on the side. Ok now we are in our seats, we enjoyed the remaining moments of the preshow. the sound was a bit echoed but that is what a dress rehearsal is for. To fix technical difficulties.

6pm sharp the dress rehearsal begins and my heart filled with pride. Multiple times during the show I had tears of joy in my eyes. The show was magnificent and even though most of the big performers weren’t there I was uplifted and truly awed. I think the world will really understand what it means to be Canadian. More importantly I think this will help Canadians remember what it means to be Canadian.

My only disappointment from the night is the realization that I won’t get to see in live on opening night. If you are going be loud, be proud, be Canadian!

Marc Smith www.twitter.com@amuseconsulting