Canadian Stars Usher in Winter Olympic Games

By Bryan Alexander Posted Feb 13th 2010 12:41AM

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.

Comments

(23)

Saturday 13 February

By Diane P

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To Calgary Bear....Yes I know the name of the song was - Hallelujah by one of the greatest song/writer poets Leonard Cohen...I was around in the sixties and remember alot of other great songs he wrote..ie Suzanne So Long Marianne and one of my all time favorites Beautiful Losers....

By Shmuly Mremmerman

At first glance, "She tied you to a kitchen chair, she broke your throne and cut your hair" is not an appropriate lyric to sing at the Olympics, but after taking a look at the motley crew of Americans representing this country, Leonard Cohen might be on to something.

By scozzy

what about rush at least 1 of should have been there when i think canada i think of geddy alex and neil

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