04Jacques Rogge, President, International Olympic CommitteeThe Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games provided 16 unforgettable days of sport at the very highest level, with the world's best winter athletes proving to be the living embodiment of the Olympic values. They were excellent Games, held in a wonderful country with a very friendly atmosphere. The Games were also touched by tragedy, and we will never forget Nodar Kumaritashvili, the lugecompetitor from Georgia who died in a training accident. That sad event should not diminish ourgratitude to all of the people who worked so hard on these Games.The host city embraced the Games on a scale I have never seen before, and we must thank the people of Canada for their generous hospitality, their warmth and the joyous celebration of Olympismthat we witnessed in Vancouver. These Games have undoubtedly made a difference not only in the host city, but also to the country as a whole.The Vancouver Games were also important for the Olympic Movement, with more National OlympicCommittees sending athletes to the Winter Games than ever before and six making their first everappearance on this stage, while there were also record numbers of women taking part.The Games would not have been possible without the invaluable contributions made by ourinternational and domestic marketing partners. In particular, the Olympic broadcast partners and theWorldwide Olympic Partners played an integral role in giving the world's best athletes the chance to compete and share their stories with billions of people around the world.We are profoundly grateful to all our partners for their support, and in this report you will see howimportant their contributions were to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and the Olympic Movement as a whole.FOREWORD |