Paint the Town Red, Canada!

    
    Canada's 2010 Olympic Team Calls on Canadians to Support Our Athletes by
    Showing Their True Colours
    

VANCOUVER , Sept. 22 /CNW/ - Canadians from coast to coast to coast are being asked to 'Paint the Town Red' in demonstrating their support for the Canadian Olympic Team leading up to and during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) has created this campaign to encourage Canadians to wear their national pride on their sleeve...and their back....and their face! To get involved in the free 'Paint the Town Red' program, Canadians can visit olympic.ca and download the paintbook of ideas - or let their imaginations run wild with their own unique ways to use the colour red in support of our athletes.

"'Paint the Town Red' is a simple concept designed to encourage Canadians to show our athletes that we support their efforts and preparations for the Vancouver 2010 Games," said Canada's Chef de Mission in 2010, Nathalie Lambert . "These Olympic Winter Games will be the biggest celebration in our country's history and Team Canada will be the strongest team we have ever assembled for an international competition. It's not just at the venues in Vancouver , Whistler and Richmond that our athletes will feel the support of the nation. All Canadians, from coast to coast to coast, can play a vital role in showing these athletes how proud we are of them, starting today and straight through the Games."

More than 200 athletes will represent the Canadian Olympic Team when the Games officially open on February 12, 2010 . They will be supported by a broader team of 33 million Canadians that has no requirements for participation except national pride. The athletes are counting on their fellow Canadians to be proud and loud as they Paint the Town Red across the country and they are encouraging them to show their support in any way that displays that pride - be it flying the flag, painting their face, installing red lights in their home, schools and work spaces, spreading the red online or whichever creative method they choose.

"It may seem a little absurd to say that you can feel the red from PEI, which is where I am from; but believe me, I will feel the red from coast to coast," said Heather Moyse , a dual national sport athlete in bobsleigh and rugby and 2010 hopeful from Summerside, PEI. "This is not just the Canadian athletes' Games, it is the country's Games. And by wearing red and by painting the town red it shows that you are a part of something bigger than yourself."

About the Canadian Olympic Committee

The Canadian Olympic Committee is a national, private, not-for-profit organization committed to sport excellence. It is responsible for all aspects of Canada's involvement in the Olympic Movement, including Canada's participation in the Olympic and Pan American Games and a wide variety of programs that promote the Olympic Movement in Canada through cultural and educational means. For news and information, visit the COC website at www.olympic.ca and find the team on both Facebook (Canadian Olympic Team) and Twitter (CDNOlympicTeam).

For further information: Whitney Stanford, Hill & Knowlton, [phone], [email protected]; Isabelle Hodge, Canadian Olympic Committee, [phone], Email: [email protected]