Join in the Opening Ceremony Feb. 12 with a 2010 Winter Games digital
souvenir: A global event and a first for Canada and CODE

VANCOUVER , Jan. 26 /CNW/ - Watching the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver or on TV? Wherever you are, you can be even closer to the action. For the first time in Olympic history, people from around the world will receive an official digital souvenir from the Opening Ceremony directly to their own e-mail address - while the fun is still going on!

The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) in partnership with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the Cultural Olympiad's digital edition (CODE), is inviting people from around the world to sign up to get their digital souvenir live during the Opening Ceremony, and all it takes is registering their e-mail address.

To get your digital souvenir, go to Canada CODE at code.vancouver2010.com, a website that shares images and stories from Canadians with the world. There, click through to the invite, sign up and you'll be ready to go on Feb. 12, 2010 .

"This is a Games experience like no other. It captures a special moment of the Opening Ceremony in an instant and is sent directly to you, wherever you live," says Michele McKenzie, CTC president and CEO. "We are the first host country to connect the world to the Games through a global social media event. Canadians are not only welcoming, they are extremely creative and we're very excited about this project."

"The collaboration with CTC is an ideal extension to the ground-breaking program we've established with CODE and our invitation to the world to connect with us online and explore Canadian culture and the arts," adds Burke Taylor, vice president of culture and celebrations for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

An added bonus for everyone who signs up is the opportunity to participate in a global social media event that ends at the Closing Ceremony on Feb. 28, 2010 . More details will be made available soon.

About the CTC

The CTC is Canada's national tourism marketing organization. Our vision is inspiring the world to explore Canada . With our partners in the tourism industry and the governments of Canada , the provinces and the territories, we advertise and market Canada in 12 countries around the world, conduct industry research and studies, and promote product and industry development. For daily updates on CTC initiatives, subscribe to CTC News, available through RSS feeds and by e-mail.

About VANOC

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

About CODE

CODE is the Cultural Olympiad's digital edition, a series of programs developed to creatively engage national and global audiences through the use of digital technology.

Links

code.vancouver2010.com

    
    http://twitter.com/keep_exploring
    http://twitter.com/ctccct
    http://twitter.com/locals_know
    

For further information: Jitka Licenik, Corporate Communications Advisor, Canadian Tourism Commission, Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone], [email protected], www.mediacentre.canada.travel; Janet Miller, VANOC Communications, Tel: [phone], [email protected]