Canadian Stars Usher in Winter Olympic Games
Dealing with the tragic death of one athlete, the Vancouver Olympics managed a stunning visual and star-studded opening on Friday.
Canadians Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado led a rousing tribute to all the athletes before the ceremony turned into a technological spectacle celebrating Canada's diversity and natural beauty. More than 100 screens around the stadium projected video and images to turn the venue into a re-creation of Canada's constellations, oceans, rivers and forests,
according to CNN.com.
Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, a British Columbia resident, sang as members of the Alberta Ballet danced among holographic images of the huge trees of an old growth forest.
Hours before the Winter Olympics were set to open in Vancouver, a Georgian luge competitor died after a horrific accident during training.
Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, was training at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, B.C., when his sled veered off the Olympic track and crashed into a steel pole at 90 mph.
The seven-athlete Georgian delegation, wearing black armbands in tribute to Kumaritashvili, entered the opening ceremony to a standing ovation from the more than 60,000 spectators in attendance. A black ribbon was tied atop the Georgian flag.
The creators of the 25th anniversary "We Are the World" took advantage of the audience to show three minutes of the upcoming reboot which will air in its entirety on Saturday.
The new "We Are the World" opens with teen heartthrob Justin Bieber and the star power skyrockets from there, according to E!Online.
Also featured in Friday's snippet were Barbra Streisand, Miley Cyrus, Fergie, Jennifer Hudson, Nicole Scherzinger, Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, Céline Dion, Josh Groban, LL Cool J, Nick Jonas, Lil Wayne, Jeff Bridges, Kanye West and Vince Vaughn.
Michael Jackson was featured in a clip from the original version.
Add a comment
USA, USA
Reply
The 4 Canadian Olympic Torch Relayers lit only three towers instead of four due to a malfunctioning tower they had no luck in erecting or "getting it up." Now I know why their population is only 1/10th of the USA.
kdlang was unbelievable. What a voice.
Reply
I agree. What an incredible voice! I got goosebumps! The highlight of the ceremony.
Was that KD Lang..... I thought it was Wayne Newton......????
Actually I wonder why they bothered to have any of the "STARS" Even show up to perform . It was so very obvious that they were all lip-syncing. I always look forward to the opening ceremonies but I was not Impressed..... Oh ... and not to mention Mechanical Failures and putting Wayne Gretzky in the back of a freakin pick up truck to transport him to the outside cauldron lighting....... A pick up truck???.....Really???
I love that Vince Vauhn was mentioned!!
I love that he's even in the video!
Reply
Why was there a time delay for the West coast? They said 7:30 pm
but the show wasn't on until 9:00 pm.
We always get stuff time delayed. But this was stupid. To late for my
children to stay up and watch.
Will there be a replay of the opening show?
Reply
A beautiful ceremony, and Canada is truly a beautiful country, my favorite place to vacation.
I agree with a previous poster regarding kd lang's performance. Stirring and heartstopping.
Reply
What a waste of tv. Put it on at 4 in the morning so we don't have to miss good shows.
Reply
Is your favorite show "Biggest Loser"? This was nothing less than a stunning show full of world class entertainment. You can see that other crap anytime.
dvd is such a wanker - obviously knows nothing - typical ignorance. Think you are so clever with your little puns? try again, people who try to be funny tend to fail miserably- stick to what you know (which is probably not much)
Not a fan of the Olympics but was very proud of the ceremony and hopefully we can bring home lots of medals, it is just too bad that the tragedy of the Georgian athlete had to happen
Reply
The lobe snowboarder who skied down from the top of a mountain missing huge rocks and executing tremendous jumps got my vote. Anaybody know who he is?
Reply
What is the name of the Canadian singer (looked indian), who sang a song with the word "Alleluia" in it alot. I thought his voice was outstanding and would like to know more about him, even buy a CD if he has one out. Thank you.
Reply
Hi Jean,
That singer who sang the Alleluia song, it K.D.Lang. She is a gay woman who has the most incredible voice ever. I have not seen her on anything in a long time, and I was sad that they did not show a close up of her during her performance. She was unbelievable last night. Moved me to tears.
Your male singer is in fact a female
KD Lang was great...I loved that song...I have visted Vancouver several times ...what a beautiful city and the people are so friendly...
Reply
Firts off it's "HALLELUJAH" The ceremonies were horrible. It looked like a 5th grade production od a school musical. The Canadian anthem is a beautiful song, but they managed to butcher it. What a waste of Television.
kd lang in a white 3-piece men's suit singing an endless version of Leonard Cohen's dirge was the single worst moment in the history of man...whomever is responsible for the travesty of the opening ceremony should be stoned to death.
Reply
bravo, Al! Telling it like it is. I don't know what's with these other rave reviews of lang--probably from the gay audience no doubt--but anyone who listens to the lyrics has got to shake their head in wonder at the appropriateness of this song in an Olympic opening ceremony. That they couldn't get the cauldron to work properly was the highlight of the evening, and I just can't wait for South Park to unload on this nightmare.
FINALLY!!!.. a voice of reason... i really like that song. .but she murdered it.. then beat it's corpse to a pulp!!!
i'm so glad i'm not a lone voice here. .i was beginning to feel like i was in an alternate universe of tone deaf people!!!