Planning Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies

Years of planning with one event to showcase Vancouver to the world. By Allan Lynch, March/April 2009

The Olympic opening and closing ceremonies is the biggest gig in the world. They’re the grandest spectacle and, for the planner, the greatest nightmare, where every aspect of years of work is scrutinized by a live audience of 55,000 that includes heads of state, royalty, celebrities, an army of media and an at-home audience of three-billion-plus people. On top of that, you carry the expectations of a nation to present its best image to the world. So it’s not like there’s any pressure.

Two men who have accepted the pressure are David Atkins and Patrick Roberge.

Atkins is the Australian-born producer for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. Roberge is the Canadian-born producer of the Paralympic Games. Their resumes are impressive. Atkins, a skier and hiker who is discovering the joy of working on the West Coast, has produced everything from Royal Command Performances, rugby half-time shows and the Australian Bicentennial celebration, to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, and 2006 Asian Games, as well as Broadway musicals.

Vancouverite Roberge, who says his only chance at competition is if bocce is recognized as an Olympic sport, has 20 years experience working on events as large and diverse as Expo ’86, Ameriflora ’92, the APEC Summit, the Queen’s Jubilee visit to Vancouver, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano and the 2007 Canada Winter Games.

Atkins was hired in 2007 to begin planning the games ceremonies. Roberge got his commission for the lower-profile Paralympic Games in January, 2009, so has a catch-up job, which he assures will be done in time.

Both planners are extremely guarded in describing either their process or the elements they’ll use in the ceremonies. So, for a more behind-the-scenes look, M&IT spoke with Hugh Dunne, the producer and director of the 1988 Calgary Games.

The good news is they’re used to handling crowds and VIPs. The bad news is that they are following the unbelievable scale of the ceremonies for the Beijing Games, and the elegance and élan of Turin which presented iconic Italian images like Ferrrai burning rubber to form the Olympic Rings, and Luciano Pavarotti making what would become one of his last public singing appearances.

So where do you start and what do you do?

Atkins says, “People will generally remember the last Olympic Ceremonies they saw and in this case, it will be Beijing. No one is going to be able to compete with Beijing in relation to the sort of ceremony they created; its scale was unprecedented. So our objective is to try to redefine the ceremonies model and in doing so, move away from the traditional format, which is so dependent upon thousands of cast members and huge spectacle,” 2010although he does still need thousands of volunteers. “We want these ceremonies to be more intimate, theatrical and more emotionally engaging.”

To accomplish this, Atkins says, “This has to be a Canadian Ceremony and it can only succeed if it’s true to its time, place and people.”

Atkins says, “Spectacle has to have purpose, some resonance and integrity. There is a story to be told and it has to remain true, while still being engaging and entertaining. In this case, it also has to be able to transmit its message without language or cultural barriers. Whether we achieve that or not will be judged by those who experience the ceremonies.”

To get an idea of what should be included, Atkins began his planning with a series of cultural symposiums with representatives of the arts and cultural sectors from across Canada. “From this, the ideas, themes, narratives and concepts for the Opening Ceremony are being developed.”

While he won’t give any details — a big part of the spectacle is the surprise — he does say that the focus will be targeted. Atkins says, “It has always been clear that these are Canada’s games. That being said, the games are awarded to a city, not a country, so our mandate from the Organizing Committee is to start with Vancouver and the Mountain Community of Whistler, then to expand to B.C. and then to Canada. Outside of specific creative and technical challenges that I can’t reveal, the biggest challenge is meeting, and hopefully exceeding, the expectations of everyone involved.”

While Atkins enjoys the luxury of working in one enclosed venue, Roberge is like Ginger Rogers to Atkins’ Fred Astaire. Astaire got all the attention, but Rogers had to do the same thing backwards in heels. Roberge was hired later, has a smaller budget ($4.8-million compared to the $38-million for the Olympics, plus access to Olympic infrastructure, back-of-house and technical support), can’t look like he’s copying Atkins, and has to plan two ceremonies in two venues. The Paralympics will open in BC Place, but will hold the closing ceremony in the 8,000-person outdoor Whistler Olympic Celebration Plaza.

Roberge modestly says he and his team are committed to presenting unique themes and segments, “making these ceremonies a celebration the athletes will never forget.”

He says that just as the Paralympians “overcome great obstacles and achieve greatness, they inspire our team to overcome logistical challenges. Like with any large event, we will simply plan for the unique requirements of the Paralympians. We don’t see working with athletes with a disability as a challenge. Rather, we see the Paralympic Ceremonies as a unique opportunity to tell a very special story. Making the ceremonies physically and emotionally accessible is our goal.”

And while he was only awarded the contract 14 months before the Paralympics, Roberge says, “work has already begun for the Paralympic Opening and Closing. We are working closely with David Atkins’ team. We will obviously look for efficiencies as far as the technical components are concerned, but that being said, we are looking forward to presenting a unique Paralympic Ceremony with its own style.” Roberge is focused on using the “opportunity to continue to celebrate the paralympians in grand fashion. We will endeavour to make the Paralympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies celebrations of inclusion and participation.”

Like the rest of the world, we will have to tune in to see what these two planners won’t reveal before show time.

— Allan Lynch is a New Minas, N.S.-based freelance writer.