The 2010 Games may be about sports foremost. But schmoozing isn’t far behind.
Council today gave the go-ahead to a $1.8 million plan to ingratiate Vancouver to thousands of dignitaries, while making sure staff don’t commit any gaffes that could embarrass the city.
Come Games-time, visitors will include sports and IOC bigwigs, international mayors, 25 heads of government and state and 10 royalty.
Playing host to so many guests “offers the City of Vancouver a unique opportunity to enhance and strengthen the City’s global reputation,” according to a report from outgoing Olympic services general manager Dave Rudberg.
No doubt, local elected representatives will have their hands full. Each day of the Olympics, Vancouver’s mayor and council could host or attend as many as two luncheons, fourteen courtesy calls, five evening receptions, six competitions and three after-dinner events such as visits to medal ceremonies.
“The Games period will be an extraordinarily busy time,” reads the report.
All that wining and dining won’t come cheap. Funding for the plan will come out of the city’s $20 million Olympic Legacy Reserve Fund. Of that, $341,000 will go towards an operations centre at Coal Harbour Community Centre while $610,500 is budgeted for a program that aims in part to woo domestic and international mayors.
“Official visits by strategically selected Mayors would provide the City with the opportunity to build city-to-city relationships,” reads the report.
Another $264,500 will make sure visiting dignitaries are handled as smoothly as possible. With so many itineraries and invitations to coordinate, the funding will create an information system to manage visits and events.
Without it, “the City is at risk of making errors that could be embarrassing and damaging to our reputation,” reads the report.
Funding will also go towards a training program for reception staff, who will be in constant contact with dignitaries from all over the world. The program will arm them with “key messages about Vancouver” to pass on to visitors and prepare them for “sensitive and complex situations.”
“Should proper training not occur, there is a risk that City staff could offend visitors and damage Vancouver’s reputation,” according to the report.
Geoff Dembicki is a staff reporter for The Hook.
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RickW
2 years ago
I am sure that many good citizens.....
.....are pissed off enough, that they will more than make up for the muzzling of city staff:
morechatter
2 years ago
The Olympics is an Embarrassment
As it is an affront to Humanity.
As it boasts of its Greatness.
Yet it exists its cold and callous thirst for blood and money as they go hand in hand when doing the Olympics, just think of it as doing humanity. And they are handing out medals for the event.
morechatter
2 years ago
The Players have Changed
Its no longer the Lion and the Peasant.
Its now the Hobo and the Cop.
North of Hope
2 years ago
If you dine with the rich
I came across this quote from a book by Len Deighton, "If you dine with the rich, you wind up paying the bill." I believe he caught the spirit of the bill for the games.
morechatter
2 years ago
How about the Hobo Cop?
Jesus, Buddha, Chief Rain-In-The-Sky, and W.C. Fields all famous Hobos of the world so why not go one step further and have the Hobo Cop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k0k17AMcbU
As eastside streets are filled with wardens as Hobos hide behind garbage cans as cruiser cars jump out like they were leaving the scene of a crime more secret more cold, more callous than words can express.
Fiat lux
2 years ago
To hell with dignitaries.
To hell with dignitaries. The world has too many of them already, overpaid, overpraised and overvalued, turning the whole world into a colonized dump and enslaved humanity.
Give them brooms to clean up the mess they cause all over the globe.
Ed Deak.
G West
2 years ago
Global Reputation
Vancouver HAS a 'global' reputation?
What a pile of baloney!
Seems to me I remember Smilin' Sammy had a 20 million dollar fund for parties during the Olympics.
What do you suppose has happened to that little nest egg?
sunshine coast girl
2 years ago
Jeez, if our "global reputation"
comes down to whether we throw a good party or not, then heaven help us all!!
morechatter
2 years ago
A Civil City
President of the IOC, Jacques Rogge furious
“Violence for whatever reason is not compatible with the values of the torch relay or the Olympic Games,” he said. Someone should have told Adolf Hitler.
http://tjcoop3.wordpress.com/2008/04/13/provoking-olympic-torch-history-or-evil-rootsevil-fruit/
"Violence is compatible with the lack of values of the Olympic Games" as Investors go for the gold and no one has to tell Gordon Campbell as he already knows.