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Vancouver Ecstatic Over Winning Olympic Bid
Aired July 02, 2003 - 14:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Some huge smiles in Canada today. Vancouver, British Columbia has crowned host city for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. And there was wild cheering, as you can see, hugging, flag waving after the announcement was made by the International Olympic Committee in Prague. The other finalist were Salzburg, Austria and Pyeongchang, South Korea.
And now for more on the celebrations and the preparations already underway, let's get straight to Vancouver where BCCTV reporter Janet Dirks standing by with all the reaction. This is huge news for you guys, Janet.
JANET DIRKS, BCCTV CORRESPONDENT: It really is. This headline says it all. Vancouver, yes. It was like Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic in terms of the euphoria and the joy, hugging and crying and jumping up and down at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for about 15,000 people gathered this morning. People are absolutely ecstatic that Vancouver will be hosting the Winter Olympics in the year 2010 beating out Salzburg and Pyeongchang, South Korea.
PHILLIPS: Well, Janet, let's talk about the preparations already under way. What is taking place there?
DIRKS: They are certainly preparing to party here in Vancouver this evening. Yesterday was Canada Day, our national holiday. But it feels more like Canada Day today. We're going to have lots of spontaneous parades happening on the street.
People thought the bid was pretty good and that Vancouver had a very good chance. But after we got the results of the first ballot where Salzburg was knocked out and people thought Salzburg was our sort of biggest competition, people were beginning to get a little worried about Pyeongchang and Vancouver. And it was a bit of a squeaker. We won by three votes. Pyeongchang 53 and Vancouver 56 votes from the IOC.
PHILLIPS: Wow, the voting was so close. Well, now, what to do with Wayne Gretzky, that was sort of the ace in the hole for you?
DIRKS: He really was. Wayne Gretzky, the Great One, is Canada's probably most beloved sports ambassador. He put the Olympic Gold- winning men's hockey team together at Salt Lake city. And he went over to Prague with his family and was part of the presentation team. I think people were pretty proud of him.
PHILLIPS: Wow, this is going to be incredible for your economy. I can imagine everybody talking about it. yes?
DIRKS: Oh, everyone is talking about it. People have been talking about it certainly for months now. And in the last week things have been really heating up here and this is a very happy time for this city. "V" stands for Vancouver and victory today.
PHILLIPS: Janet Dirks, BCCTV, thanks so much for brings us the latest scoop right there.
DIRKS: You're welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 2, 2003 - 14:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Some huge smiles in Canada today. Vancouver, British Columbia has crowned host city for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. And there was wild cheering, as you can see, hugging, flag waving after the announcement was made by the International Olympic Committee in Prague. The other finalist were Salzburg, Austria and Pyeongchang, South Korea.
And now for more on the celebrations and the preparations already underway, let's get straight to Vancouver where BCCTV reporter Janet Dirks standing by with all the reaction. This is huge news for you guys, Janet.
JANET DIRKS, BCCTV CORRESPONDENT: It really is. This headline says it all. Vancouver, yes. It was like Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic in terms of the euphoria and the joy, hugging and crying and jumping up and down at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for about 15,000 people gathered this morning. People are absolutely ecstatic that Vancouver will be hosting the Winter Olympics in the year 2010 beating out Salzburg and Pyeongchang, South Korea.
PHILLIPS: Well, Janet, let's talk about the preparations already under way. What is taking place there?
DIRKS: They are certainly preparing to party here in Vancouver this evening. Yesterday was Canada Day, our national holiday. But it feels more like Canada Day today. We're going to have lots of spontaneous parades happening on the street.
People thought the bid was pretty good and that Vancouver had a very good chance. But after we got the results of the first ballot where Salzburg was knocked out and people thought Salzburg was our sort of biggest competition, people were beginning to get a little worried about Pyeongchang and Vancouver. And it was a bit of a squeaker. We won by three votes. Pyeongchang 53 and Vancouver 56 votes from the IOC.
PHILLIPS: Wow, the voting was so close. Well, now, what to do with Wayne Gretzky, that was sort of the ace in the hole for you?
DIRKS: He really was. Wayne Gretzky, the Great One, is Canada's probably most beloved sports ambassador. He put the Olympic Gold- winning men's hockey team together at Salt Lake city. And he went over to Prague with his family and was part of the presentation team. I think people were pretty proud of him.
PHILLIPS: Wow, this is going to be incredible for your economy. I can imagine everybody talking about it. yes?
DIRKS: Oh, everyone is talking about it. People have been talking about it certainly for months now. And in the last week things have been really heating up here and this is a very happy time for this city. "V" stands for Vancouver and victory today.
PHILLIPS: Janet Dirks, BCCTV, thanks so much for brings us the latest scoop right there.
DIRKS: You're welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
