The Vancouver Olympics opening ceremony

K.D. Lang may have stolen the show with her heartfelt rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. She was absolutely amazing. Wayne Gretzky was revealed as the final torch carrier and official cauldron lighter. Even with one of the four crystal pillars malfunctioning, the opening ceremony was a resounding success, which culminated in Gretzky riding in the back of a truck through the streets of downtownVancouver, and finally lighting the cauldron to officially kick off the 2010 Olympic Games. Aboriginal youth from across the country – Inuit, Metis, and the First Nations of the Prairies, the North and the East – welcomed the athletes to Vancouver by dancing around a massive drum. When Olympian athletes emerged waving their flags of the 82 countries represented, there was a standing ovation for Georgia, who had 10 athletes – all donning black scarves and black armbands in remembrance of their teammate Nodar Kumaritashvili who was tragically killed earlier on Friday in Whistler during his final practice. Highlights on the night included Canadian superstar singers Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado, who performed together. With an audience of 60,000, who were at Vancouver’s BC Place to celebrate the Olympic festivities, the eyes of the world watched as northern lights, polar bear and a pod of orcas, who magically appeared when the floor appeared to crack like ice, transforming to ocean, became a spectacle to behold. Famous Canadian fiddler Ashley MacIsaac and singer Sarah McLachlan also performed. Want to make the Olympics more exciting by putting some money on it? Get your Olympics odds in the Bodog Sportsbook! ——————————————————————– Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled while traveling at about 90 mph, and crashed during a training run at the Olympic Sliding Center. Kumaritashvili, just 21, later died at the hospital. IOC president Jacques Rogge said the death hours before the opening ceremony “clearly casts a shadow over these games.”