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Matt McKayMatt McKay
Basically, I'm a little league reporter trying to make it into the big leagues...

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, Burrard Inlet, Canada Place, Downtown Vancouver, , Main Media Centre

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Right off the bat I want to apologize for going AWOL on everyone. I’m sorry to all of those who have been waiting for another tidbit of what I’ve been experiencing on the west coast since my first post over a week ago.

I hope it’ll be worth the wait.

For the past week and a half I’ve been busy compiling videos and photos of downtown Vancouver and its surrounding area to share with the world. I think it’s an understatement when I say there hasn’t been a dull moment.

Because I have so many videos to show and have plans to capture many more events in the last couple of days leading up to Friday’s Opening Ceremonies at B.C. Place in downtown Vancouver, I thought it would be best to have my videos tell most of the story of what’s going on and I’ll fill in the blanks so that nobody gets lost.

So here goes:

After arriving on Jan. 27 and checking into work I decided to make my first video of the Main Media Centre, which is located to the northwest of downtown Vancouver, adjacent to the Burrard Inlet of the city’s downtown waterfront.

The International Broadcast Centre (IBC) - the building with the giant globe in it - is located inside the Vancouver Convention Centre. Inside, this building is HUGE (over 500,000 square feet!) with wide floors and ceilings that basically go on forever and windows in every place imaginable to allow the viewer a full 360 degree panoramic look outside.

For the media, it will provide workspace for the approximately 7,000 accredited broadcasters and technicians producing live television and radio coverage of the 2010 Winter Games.

For those of you who have been already watching CTV with Lloyd Robertson you’ve probably noticed his unbelievable backdrop of Vancouver’s waterfront and northern mountains. The overall effect of it all actually looks like Lloyd is floating high in the air over the Burrard Inlet.

I’ve shrewdly made two videos of this backdrop: one from the day and one from the night.

DAY

And NIGHT

So a very calming, majestic view no matter the time of day you get to see it. My only wish is that I could get a better shot of that barge carrying the Olympic rings on it. It’s really, really cool to look at. Also, I will definitely fill you all in on what that open space is next to the west side of the IBC. My best guess is it’s simply just extra broadcast space (again there’s like 7,000 people running around here).

As for Canada Place, the building just east of the IBC, I’ve not yet had the chance to have a look around inside. I’ll be sure to make it one of my mandates to check it out. I’d be crazy not to, considering its history. Originally established as the site for the Canadian Pavilion at the Expo 86 World’s Fair (a fair that all the locals who I’ve met that got to experience it just rave about), it’s a national landmark welcoming residents, visitors and ships to the West Coast of Canada.

And as you probably noticed from the video, the roof at Canada Place has an unusual shape: that’s because it was designed to resemble an ocean liner under full sail.

This is unfortunately all I’m able to post today, but I promise that I still have a ton to catch up. Before I leave, I wanted to post one more video, which is probably my favourite of all the videos I’ve taken thus far.

Til next time…