November 6, 2009
MANITOBA PLANS TO WIN AT OLYMPIC GAMES: ROBINSON
– – –Olympic Flame Arrives in Manitoba Tomorrow
Manitoba will proudly showcase the province at the Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic games and related Olympic activities in Manitoba, Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson, minister responsible for sport, announced today.
“The 2010 Winter Games are a unique opportunity for Manitoba to show the world the advantages we offer in our amazing province,” said Robinson. “We will promote our trade opportunities, business and cultural industries, and welcome newcomers to help grow our province’s economy and tourism activity.”
During the Olympic and Paralympic games, Manitoba will have a pavilion in Vancouver. CentrePlace Manitoba will be a 2,560-square-foot, prefabricated, sustainable building featuring Manitoba products and technology. The multimedia exhibits were developed in Manitoba and will promote tourism, economic development, trade and immigration. Located at the Live City Vancouver downtown site, the pavilion is adjacent to the Four Host First Nations pavilion and the Government of Canada pavilion. Construction of the pavilion in Vancouver is scheduled to begin next month. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights will have a feature exhibit in the Manitoba pavilion. The architect’s rendering of the CentrePlace Manitoba building is available online at www.manitoba.ca/centreplace.
Manitoba’s Aboriginal community will have a unique role at the winter games, the minister said. Last March in B.C., Robinson and the Four Host First Nations Society, representing Lil'wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations in B.C., signed a historic agreement related to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter games. They agreed to support and respect each other and work together to develop opportunities and legacies for First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, particularly youth.
The Four Host First Nations were honoured in Manitoba this week at two special, traditional ceremonies: a witness ceremony and a transfer ceremony. During the transfer ceremony, the minister presented an eagle staff that will be hung in the Four Host First Nations pavilion in Vancouver.
“The presentation of an eagle staff is one of the highest honours within the cultural traditions of Manitoba’s First Nations,” said Robinson.
At the 2010 Indigenous Youth Gathering, 31 Aboriginal youth from Manitoba will join over 320 First Nations, Métis and Inuit young people for a two‑week celebration. The event will be managed by the Four Host First Nations and the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee.
Manitoba’s diverse cultural scene will also be well represented in B.C., said Culture, Heritage and Tourism Minister Flor Marcelino, minister responsible for multiculturalism.
“Virtually every culture in the world is represented among Manitoba’s rich cultural mosaic,” said Marcelino. “I look forward to seeing our outstanding artistic, cultural and tourism opportunities front and centre on the world stage.”
The province supported a partnership with Place de la Francophonie that will provide a broad French language cultural experience and transform a portion of Granville Island into the French Quarter during the Olympic Games. Manitoba francophone art and cultural content will be featured and a special Manitoba showcase will also be held on the site’s main stage on Manitoba Day.
Culture has been an important part of the games since they began, Robinson noted. During the 2010 Cultural Olympiad, to be held Jan. 22 until March 21, 30 Manitoba artists and arts groups will perform at numerous venues in B.C. The province is collaborating with the Manitoba Arts Council to support the artists and groups that will perform. Many Manitoba Aboriginal artists will also be featured in performances at the Four Host First Nations pavilion.
Manitoba’s Olympic and Paralympic activities are budgeted at $6.4 million.
In addition, the Olympic torch relay makes its first Manitoba stop in Thompson tomorrow and then travels to Churchill on Sunday. The flame will return to Manitoba on Jan. 5 and travel for four days across the southern part of the province.
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