Following Canadian Women Athletes to Vancouver

By Stephanie Levitz
The Canadian Press
March 11, 2010

Opening ceremony to inspire both athletes and fans

VANCOUVER -- Welcome back, world.

Friday's opening ceremony for the 2010 Paralympic Games will once again put Canada on the international stage, but the producer of the show said he hopes the athletes are the true stars.

"We want to inspire the world Canadian-style but we also want to inspire the Paralympians," said Patrick Roberge in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"We hope that the celebratory tone of our ceremony will send them out of here incredibly enthusiastic."

How will he do that? He isn't telling.

The on-demand culture of the Internet has meant there are few surprises left in the world, said Roberge, and he wants the Paralympic ceremonies to be one of them.

"I look at it as if your kids knew every present they were going to get on Christmas morning it wouldn't be any fun," he said.

"That's where the secrecy comes into play."

While the budget for both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics was $38 million, the total budget for all Paralympic ceremonies is just under $6 million.

Roberge, who is based in Vancouver, will also produce the closing ceremonies, which will be held outdoors in Whistler, B.C.

The cast of 5,000 for Friday's show includes performers with disabilities, wearing specially-modified costumes that take into account the equipment they use to get around.

"You will see people in the show that do amazing things, amazing acts of ability and that is going to be part of the inspiration of the show," he said.

The biggest challenge hasn't been working around their needs or those of athletes, he said, though some changes have been made to B.C. Place stadium to accommodate them, such as getting rid of the stairs leading to their seats.

What Roberge had to deal with was a stadium off limits for the last couple of months and being able to hold no rehearsals at all during the Olympics themselves.

It's meant 17-hour days for him since the Olympics ended Feb. 28, and jamming two months of rehearsals into the last seven days.

The second of two full dress rehearsal is being held Thursday night.

The show will involve some big-name Canadian artists that people will recognize, said Roberge, and there will also be familiar elements like the flag raising and the athletes' parade.

"That moment that they arrive in the stadium is the moment of truth," he said, adding that he's consulted Paralympians about what elements of the show are important to them.

"It is the moment that these Paralympians went 'yes, I've made it I've done it, I'm here' and that connection with the audience is so critical."

The flap over a perceived lack of French in the Olympic ceremonies didn't change anything on his program, said Roberge.

"We are a blend of not only two languages but a whole raft of different cultures and backgrounds," he said.

"Our show captures the contemporary vibrancy of the city of Vancouver as well as B.C., but we also have performers from across the country and we sort of celebrate the general Canadian pride that we have from coast to coast."

There will also be multiple cauldrons lit, including an outdoor one on the Vancouver waterfront and in Whistler, B.C.

As for the cauldron inside B.C. Place, it will use the same mechanism as the one from the Olympics, which malfunctioned during the opening ceremonies.

But "we're going to be doing it a little bit differently," said Roberge.

Roberge adds the ceremony will be all about the collective experience.

"We want our audience to be on their feet cheering or waving their arms, we want to pick up where the Olympics left off and catch that Canadian pride once again because I believe that Canada is a country that is more prepared to welcome the Paralympians than any other country of the world."