When the Olympics come to town …

Launch Slideshow

When the Olympics come to town …

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City of Vancouver Engineering Services General Manager Peter Judd (right) with fellow city employees Randy Pecarski (left), then the acting director of planning assistent, and Susan Harvey, “Live site” executive producer. Photo: City of Vancouver
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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Vancouver schoolchildren welcome the Olympic Flame to the Canadian Pavilion. Photo: VANOC
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View of the biathlon course at Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Park. Photo: VANOC
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This map shows Olympic venue locations and planned road closures during the 2010 Winter Vancouver Olympic games in British Columbia, Canada. Photo: City of Vancouver

By Victoria K. Sicaras

We'll have to wait until the 2012 Summer Olympics are over to find out if the City of London made good on its bid promise to host the “first truly sustainable” games.

But we do know that the last Olympic Village to be established on North American soil — at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia — won a gold for sustainability: LEED Gold certification for buildings and LEED Platinum for neighborhood development. The athlete dormitories were converted to mixed-use residential and commercial space. Now known as Millennium Water, the development is one of the, if not the, world's greenest neighborhoods.

We asked City of Vancouver Engineering Services General Manager Peter Judd what's involved in hosting the Olympics. Judd's department oversees more than 1,800 people and five divisions: transportation, solid waste, streets and electrical, sewer and water, and equipment services. His short answer: more than you could ever imagine. The longer answers are on the next page.

THE 21ST WINTER OLYMPICS

WHEN: Feb. 12 – March 21, 2010

WHERE: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

COST: $6.4 billion

PARTNERS/EXPENDITURES*:

VANOC (VANCOUVER ORGANIZING COMMITTEE): $1.88 billion operating budget (included $600 million for Olympic venue construction); International Olympic Committee contributed $480 million

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA: $1.25 billion (included $290 million that went to VANOC for venue construction; $684 million for security and essential federal services; $55 million for a legacy trust fund to keep venues operating post-Olympics; $20 million for celebration sites, $35 million in administrative costs, etc.)

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA: $765 million ($290 million to VANOC for venue construction; $87.5 million for security; $165 million in infrastructure costs related to new security arrangements; $6 million for fire and public safety; $5.6 million for municipal services; $19.6 million for “Live sites”; $55 million endowment to keep venues operating post-Olympics, etc.)

CITY OF VANCOUVER: $554 million ($524 million capital, i.e., venue construction, infrastructure improvements, athlete/residential housing, prepping civic facilities, etc.; $30 million operational, i.e., Olympic legacy reserve initiatives and Olympic support including planning and executing the city's participation during the games, and games-related transportation, sanitation, and snow-removal services.)

RESORT MUNICIPALITY OF WHISTLER: $6 million (included $226,000 for games-related operations, $998,000 for celebration sites, etc.)

CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: n/a

CANADIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE: n/a

TAX REVENUES: Provincial: $99 million to $116 million; Federal: $104 million to $121 million

OLYMPICS-GENERATED GDP: Provincial: $2.1 billion to $2.6 billion; Federal: $2.6 billion to $3.1 billion

*Expenditures will not add up to the total Olympic cost, due to in-kind donations and other funding from third parties. To read full financial reports and learn more about the economic impact of the 2010 Olympic Games on British Columbia and Canada, go to the B.C. Ministry of Finance Olympics page here.