VANCOUVER - Expect to see gigantic Games-related signs on the sides of skyscrapers starting as early as October.
“At the most, the signs could be as large as a full face of a building,” general manager of Olympic and Paralympic operations Paul Henderson told the Tyee.
Last week, city council passed a bylaw package allowing owners to begin installing large-scale celebratory signage Oct. 1. The special technology used to cover a building face relies on warm, dry temperatures, weather not found in Vancouver’s winter months.
Only 10 to 15 downtown towers will be plastered with images greater than 10 per cent of their surface area, but thousands of banners and smaller signs will cover the city, Henderson said.
“Definitely we expect the images to build excitement,” he said.
What constitutes “celebratory” is open to interpretation. It could include images of skiers shooting down mountainous slopes or speed skaters rounding a curve – anything that creates enthusiasm for the Games. But it doesn’t mean free advertising.
Any sign design has to be vetted by the city’s permit office, which is tasked with limiting commercial content. Companies can put their brand on the signage, but only if they’re the primary occupier of a building, and even then they’ll face size restrictions.
Still, it means official Olympics sponsor RBC could plaster its downtown tower with the company logo, as long it doesn’t exceed 20 square metres.
Los Angeles pioneered the idea of a unified Olympics “look” at its 1984 Summer Olympics. Organizers covered 86 kilometres of chainlink fence in Games-branded murals, creating a uniform image broadcast around the world.
Geoff Dembicki reports for The Tyee.
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freebear
2 years ago
Unless its a Squamish Billboard eh?
The enviros going to be upset at this?
The giant banners should be giant I.O.Us for the debt that will have to be paid off.
I've have lived in 4 provinces and 3 of which hosted owelimpdics!
DPL
2 years ago
At the same time folks are
At the same time folks are complaining because a Indian Band are about to put up a sign not far from the Squamish Chief rock outcrop. Heck if VANOC had wanted to put up the same sign, it would be up by now and just after they decide that they should declare the present name of the rocks as an Olympic item so don't use the name without VANOC allowing it, or they will sue. Lets get this circus over with.
alive
2 years ago
money money money
Anything for a buck!
why not make a big sign saying " We are for sale!"
just in case someone has not figured that out already
The Blackbird
2 years ago
Why not make a big sign saing "We are for Sale!"
Because we've already been sold, alive.
dorothy
2 years ago
Can we get them mapped
before they go up, so we know where not to go during those months?? Big glaring stuff like that makes my eyes and head hurt. Just like loud music, scremaing voices, music of the kind that is just a lot of obnoxious noise, etc.
Too bad that excitement has to be 'built', when there is so much to really be excited about in the World! A lot of it cannot be fenced in and made subject to an entry fee, though. But they do keep trying.
The bottom line is this is B.S. Those already 'excited' will not get noticeably more so, and those who aren't will cringe just a bit more. One wonders who these people think they will be addressing...
There are three groups in this town: the ivory tower people, who think this is hateful, the pragmatists, who think this is hateful, but who realize we must cater to the complete idiots sometime, and the complete idiots. No signs will move the boundaries between these groups one iota. You could question where those who put them up are standing, but what's the point?