Top North American talent, medallists to headline nightly Whistler Victory
Ceremonies at 2010 Winter Games

VANCOUVER , Dec. 15 /CNW/ - The great outdoors will provide a spectacular winter backdrop for nightly Whistler Victory Ceremonies paying tribute to medal-winning Olympians with a lineup of top North American acts, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) announced today.

The 15 headliners, which include Feist, Usher, Our Lady Peace , and The Fray, will perform for one night each from February 13 to 27 during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games at Whistler Medals Plaza, a world-class outdoor amphitheatre built expressly for the nightly events and the Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. See below for the full list of headliners and dates they appear.

"Celebrations in Whistler will be rockin' for 15 incredible nights during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games with this impressive lineup of top solo artists and bands - all playing outdoors under the stars in honour of the world's best athletes and their triumphs," said Christy Nicolay , VANOC's vice president of sport production and Victory Ceremonies. "Thanks to our partners, the Resort Municipality of Whistler and the Government of Canada , we'll have a fantastic venue for these events - Whistler Medals Plaza."

Whistler Medals Plaza is an intimate space designed to serve the needs of the Sea to Sky community not only at Games time but also in the long term. Given its space limitations and the restrictions on travel into Whistler, access to Whistler Victory Ceremony tickets is limited to residents living from Squamish to Mount Currie.

The ticketed nightly ceremonies in Whistler - which kick off on February 13 with the All American Rejects and the presentation of medals for men's ski jumping and downhill skiing, as well as the women's 7.5-kilometre sprint event in biathlon - are designed to pay tribute to the world's best competing in 2010 and celebrate Canada's hosting of one of the world's largest sporting events.

Whistler Medals Plaza includes a large "turntable" stage to accommodate both the medals presentations and the entertainment programming. Adjacent to each side of the stage will be video walls featuring Vancouver 2010 Look of the Games' graphics, as well as two giant screens showing highlights of the athletes' performances and enhancing the activity on stage.

Gates open nightly at 4:30 pm (Pacific Time ) with a DJ and interactive games for the crowd, followed by a live simulcast of the nightly provincial and territorial preshow held at BC Place in Vancouver . At 7:00 pm , the medal ceremonies will be held for the winning athletes of the day at Whistler-area venues, followed 30 minutes later by that night's headlining act. The evening celebrations will end at approximately 8:30 pm .

All medal presentations in Whistler will be televised around the world as part of Olympic broadcasting plans for the 2010 Winter Games. The nightly concerts on February 13, 22 and 27 will also be broadcast live.

    
    Ticketing information for Whistler Victory Ceremonies
    -----------------------------------------------------
    

Whistler Victory Ceremony tickets will be distributed to the public in the Sea to Sky region through a contest operated in partnership with Tourism Whistler at www.whistler.com.

The contest will operate for 11 days, starting on January 4, 2010 and is open to residents from Squamish to Mount Currie. Entries at www.whistler.com will be limited to one per e-mail address.

The contest will close on January 15, 2010 and winners will be notified via e-mail by January 22, 2010 . Tickets must be picked up by the winner (with ID and proof of address in the Sea to Sky region) at the Main Ticket Centre in Whistler, located next to Whistler Medals Plaza, by January 31, 2010 .

A number of Whistler Victory Ceremony tickets were also previously made available residents from Squamish to Mount Currie who registered accounts prior to the "Locals" ticket sale ( October 24 to 25, 2009), or who received a voucher at a Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) community event marking 100 days until the start of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games on November 4, 2009 .

    
    Whistler Victory Ceremony headliners' line-up and dates they perform
    --------------------------------------------------------------------

    Saturday, February 13:   All American Rejects
                             (www.allamericanrejects.com)
                             Live medal presentations in men's downhill
                             skiing, ski jumping (individual normal hill) and
                             women's biathlon (7.5-kilometre sprint).

    Sunday, February 14:     Estelle (www.estellemusic.com)
                             Live medal presentations in ladies' alpine
                             skiing (super combined), as well as men's Nordic
                             combined (individual normal hill) and biathlon
                             (10-km sprint).

    Monday, February 15:     Pierre Lapointe (www.pierrelapointe.com)
                             Live medal presentations in men's luge and
                             cross-country skiing (ladies' 10-km free and
                             men's 15-km free).

    Tuesday, February 16:    Feist (www.listentofeist.com)
                             Live medal presentations in men's alpine skiing
                             (super combined), women's luge and biathlon
                             (women's 10-km pursuit and men's 12.5-km
                             pursuit).

    Wednesday, February 17:  Our Lady Peace (www.ourladypeace.net)
                             Live medal presentations in alpine skiing
                             (ladies' downhill) and cross-country skiing
                             (men's and ladies' individual sprint classic).

    Thursday, February 18:   Deadmau5 (www.deadmau5.com)
                             Live medal presentations in men's luge doubles
                             and biathlon (women's 15-km individual and men's
                             20-km individual).

    Friday, February 19:     Hedley (www.hedleyonline.com)
                             Live medal presentations in men's alpine skiing
                             (super-G) and ladies' cross-country skiing
                             (pursuit, 7.5 km classic and 7.5 km free).

    Saturday, February 20:   Stars (www.sadrobots.ca)
                             Live medal presentations in men's and women's
                             skeleton, ladies' alpine skiing (super-G) and
                             men's ski jumping (individual large hill).

    Sunday, February 21:     OneRepublic (www.onerepublic.net)
                             Live medal presentations in men's cross-country
                             skiing (pursuit, 15 km classic and 15 km free)
                             alpine skiing (giant slalom) and two-man
                             bobsleigh, as well as biathlon (men's 15-km mass
                             and women's 12.5-km mass).

    Monday, February 22:     To be confirmed
                             Live medal presentations in cross-country skiing
                             (men's and ladies' team sprint free) and men's
                             ski jumping (team large hill).

    Tuesday, February 23:    The Fray (www.thefray.net)
                             Live medal presentations in Nordic combined
                             (men's team relay) and women's biathlon (4x6-km
                             relay).

    Wednesday, February 24:  Jet (www.jettheband.com)
                             Live medal presentations in ladies' alpine
                             skiing (giant slalom) and men's cross-country
                             skiing (4x10-km relay classic/free).

    Thursday, February 25:   The Roots (www.theroots.com)
                             Live medal presentations in women's bobsleigh,
                             Nordic combined (men's individual large hill)
                             and ladies' cross-country skiing (4x5-km relay
                             classic/free).

    Friday, February 26:     K'Naan (www.knaanmusic.ning.com)
                             Live medal presentations in ladies' alpine
                             skiing (slalom) and men's biathlon (4x7.5-km
                             relay).

    Saturday, February 27:   Usher (www.usherworld.com)
                             Live medal presentations in men's alpine skiing
                             (slalom) and four-man bobsleigh, as well as
                             ladies' cross-country skiing (30-km mass start
                             classic).
    

The headlining talent for the Vancouver Victory Ceremonies, held indoors at BC Place in the heart of the city's downtown, was released on December 8 by VANOC and is available at www.vancouver2010.com.

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.

For further information: Media contacts: Janet Miller, VANOC Communications, Tel.: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]; Erin Mikaluk, VANOC Communications, Tel.: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]