Seaside Gazette » National Nattering

Swedish Royal Wedding

Marianne Lindahl — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:28:00 +0000

The wedding between Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her long-time boyfriend, gym owner Daniel Westling was the event of the year in the Nordic countries.

In Finland, people have always been great admirers of the Swedish royalty, and here the atmosphere was almost euphoric. After having belonged to Sweden for more than 600 years, we still seem to feel entitled to a part of the glamour surrounding the Swedish royal family. In many homes the wedding was celebrated in grand style in front of the television with family and friends. What a show it was, performed with a lot of regal style, but with a warm-heartedness typical of the Swedes. In Sweden alone the wedding was watched on TV by 3 million people, in Finland by more than one million. About 2,500 journalists were present.

C.P. Victoria met Daniel Westling when she started working out at his gym in Stockholm in 2000. “Daniel and I had a very beautiful and grounded friendship. We were very good friends before, and it was a friendship that grew and became love,” she revealed.

On the eve of the wedding, the couple were treated to a star-studded gala evening attended by a huge audience, among them Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik of Denmark with Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary, King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway with Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Mette Marit, Queen Sophia of Spain, Crown Prince Felipe, Princess Letizia and Infantas Elena and Christina.

The wedding ceremony had around 1,100 guests. Victoria walked down the aisle with her father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, handing her over to Daniel, who looked just as nervous as expected.. There has been much debate over this custom, critics saying that handing over the bride from father to groom is a symbol of the woman being the father’s property and then becoming the groom’s property.

The royal court defended the handing over with the statement: “the King conveys the heir to the throne and hands her over to a man who has been accepted.” A compromise was reached, and the handing-over was done half-way down the aisle. Victoria wore the same diadem that her mother Silvia wore at her wedding.

After the ceremony Daniel Westling was made Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland, an honour last bestowed upon a commoner in the Middle Ages. The newlywed then passed through a gauntlet of crossed swords, stepping into a horse-drawn carriage and waving to hundreds of thousands of citizens lining the streets on their 7 km procession to Stockholm harbour, where they boarded the barge Vasaorden.
At the banquet attended by heads of state from all over the world, dignitaries and other VIPs, King Carl Gustaf and Daniel’s father held moving speeches to the bride and groom.

Prince Daniel’s speech to Victoria was a roaring start to royal life. He gave a confident, yet emotional speech, without notes, and switching from Swedish to English. This is really remarkable, considering the VIP audience and millions of television viewers. Experts have called his address “a rhetoric knockout.” The Swedes have not seen much of Daniel so far. Now they got to know him a bit. The speech was an answer to the question ‘can he do it?’ Now I don’t think anyone doubts that he can.

Rumour has it that the honeymooning couple has been spotted somewhere in French Polynesia.

Espacio Tres Exhibition

Mette Owens — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:51:04 +0000

Local Danish artist, Anne Marie Broegger Nielsen, will be exhibiting her paintings at the contemporary art gallery Espacio Tres in Málaga from July 6th – July 25th. This lovely lady currently lives in Motril, and when prompted to tell me more about herself, she told me the following:

“I always wanted to be more than a tourist. I like to participate in, and observe the Spanish life around me. Of course, this gives me the inspiration to paint. Consequently, I paint for my Spanish neighbors. With my paintings, I remind them how beautiful Andalucía is. They know this, but very often they forget. My paintings are colorful and simple. The style is naive. As an artist, I must know my tools well, which means I must know about colors and their impact on each other and how this affects, and creates, the expression wanted in my painting.”

When asked about her background, she told me she was taught in Aarhus, Denmark. She didn’t study painting per say, but rather studied all the relevant subjects of art. She also studied visual advertisement in University. She said, “One of my best experiences was the pure magic I felt when developing photographs in the darkroom. Today, however, I feel this pure magic when I paint.”

If you are looking for a cultural breakaway, this exhibit is a good reason to escape to Málaga for the day. Along with Anne Marie’s art, Espacio Tres will feature the work of two other Spanish artists as well. The exhibition opens July 6th, but the inauguration takes place on Fri. July 9th at 20:00 p.m.. For more information check out their website at www.espaciotres.es

Furthermore, located next to Espacio Tres is Málaga’s Contemporary Art Centre, which is also well worth a visit. They have current exhibitions along with a permanent art collection. CAC Málaga’s permanent collection features artwork from the 1950’s to the present and include pieces by internationally renowned artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Art & Language, Olafur Eliasson, Thomas Hirschhorn, Damian Hirst, Julian Opie, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth. Spanish art is featured as well and include works by Victoria Civera, Juan Muñoz, José María Sicilia, Miquel Barceló, Santiago Sierra and Juan Uslé. Read more at www.cacmalaga.org

Espacio Tres is located at Calle Alemania 3, Málaga. Open Tues. to Fri. From 11:30-14.00 and 18:00-21:00. Sat. and Sun. from 11:30-14:00.

The Hardships of Air Travel

Marianne Lindahl — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:26:47 +0000

Now the time of the year has come when Nordic migratory birds travel back to their Viking haunts. This year our trip to Finland seemed more tiresome than ever. This can, of course, have something to do with advancing age, but also with the fact that the new procedures regarding check-in and security would require flexibility and understanding from the airport personnel, not only from the passengers.

At the new terminal T3 at the Málaga airport, we were impressed by the post-modern structure, with its 225-metre glass façade, but less so with the efficiency in the check-in lobby.

The enormous queues to the desk took up so much space in the hall that it was very difficult for other passengers to pass through. We had to wait for two hours in line at the check-in with our luggage and a screaming, claustrophobic cat. The gate was said to open two hours before the departure, but the attendant was 20 minutes late. The manning of the desks should be adapted to the number of passengers. Now, only two check-in desks were open, and this is far too little for a charter flight with over 300 passengers. I don’t understand why the check-in takes so long, because once you get to the desk the procedure is very fast indeed.

The line to security was pathetically slow, zigzagging between ropes like in a labyrinth. It took us more than one hour to reach the security control where shoes, jewellery, belts, were was stripped off and computers inspected. I had to pass through the ‘beeping gate’ (metal detector) three times, and was thoroughly searched by a surly Amazonian. An elderly lady had secured her jewellery by wearing kilos of it. She had to get help by a flight assistant to put it back on again. I know that all this is for our own safety, but why do the security personnel have to be so rude? I really tried to be polite, having learned a lesson from a warning incident.
It so happened that the famous Finnish equestrian and trainer Piia Pantsu, now living in Sweden, asked, “Are you looking for a bomb?” in the security control at Sturup airport in Sweden because she thought they showed an exaggerated interest in her handbag, containing woollen stockings and a toy for her 3-year-old son. She shouldn’t have said that, because all gates were locked, no flights were allowed to take off, and the police was summoned. Ms Pantsu was interrogated by the police and was not allowed to continue her journey until several hours later, thus missing an important training session. So watch your tongue when being searched.

These tiresome procedures really make you appreciate service and comfort once you get on board the plane, and I must say that Air Finland had done its best to make us feel comfortable. Smiling faces, warm towels before dinner, a good meal and information by the pilot in three languages was something badly needed after this ordeal. After all, flying is rather expensive, and you expect to get some value for your money.

It’s nice to be in our summer cottage, surrounded by wild animals, growing vegetables, fishing and shopping at our small village grocer’s. Soon, the hardships of the journey will be forgotten. I do hope, however, that full-body scanning will be introduced by then.

Concert in the Castle

Mette Owens — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:03:15 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a dynamic, fellow Dane, based in Málaga. His name is Henrik Andersen. I contacted him because I heard he was organizing the Smokie concert on May 8th at Castillo Solhail in Fuengirola. I thought it was a great initiative and I wanted to help him spread the word on this side of Málaga. You know the expression: The more the merrier.

So we met over a coffee and had a delightful chat. The end result was that we organized a bus to bring people from this area to and from the concert. (Really, who wants to go to a concert and worry about drinking and driving?)

The old Arabic castle was the perfect venue for this open-air concert. The evening began with local legend Paul Maxwell warming up the audience with his fantastic piano playing and energetic performance. When Smokie came on, they soon had everyone on their feet singing and dancing to their legendary hits including: Living next door to Alice, Needles and Pins, Oh Carol and Lay back in the Arms of Someone.

It was a fantastic night out and Henrik did a superb job in organizing his debut concert. I just love it when people have a vision or a dream and go for it like Henrik has. He has basically been a self-starter and an event organizer his whole life, so starting his own business is a natural step for him. In the past, while working for the Danish magazine Solkysten, he has helped arrange and promote concerts featuring the Danish artists Kim Larsen, Thomas Helmig and Shu-bi-dua. Now he has decided to do it on his own accord by establishing his own concert and event organizing business EventHuset (CasaEventos).

His aim is to provide great experiences and entertainment for the vast international and Spanish audience here. He specializes in staging concerts, fairs, exhibitions and seminars. In fact, Henrik has already lined up two more concerts for the fall that we can look forward to. The first one is Boney M, which will take place on Saturday, Sept. 25th followed by Bamses Venner and Amin Jensen on Saturday, October 9th.

To accommodate those of us living on this side of Málaga, buses will be organized to take us to the concert and back for only five euros. So far, stops are planned for Almuñécar, Nerja and Torre del Mar, but may include others if there is a need.

I will keep you all posted, but in the meantime don’t hesitate to contact Henrik Andersen directly with any inquires at e-mail: henrik@casaeventos.es or tel. 670 635 786

Cat People & Dog People

Marianne Lindahl — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:34:13 +0000

I don’t know whether I am inspired by the fact that it has been raining cats and dogs over the past few months, but recently I have had many reasons to contemplate the perpetual question of whether a representative for Homo Sapiens is a cat or dog person.
Last spring, when staying in our flat in Helsinki, I was outing our Tabby cat named after my favourite poet, Federico García Lorca (Chico for short) on a leach in a park nearby. We were admiring the superb view over the Northern harbour, when an elderly (gentle)man joined us, pointing at Chico with disgust. “What is that thing,” he asked. “A cat,” I said, “an example of Felix Domestica.” “I hate cats,” he went on. “They are selfish, lazy and not fun to be with. I am a dog person.”
He sneezed before leaving us with our thoughts as to whether it was worth while to feel offended. By that time, we were used to hearing all kinds of sarcastic remarks about our devotion to our feline family member; mostly from men. Could it possible that cat-hating has something to do with the macho image? Mostly these remarks come from people who have never lived under the same roof as a cat.
Chico was a thin, shy and abandoned creature when he came up the steps in our garden one day in April, eight years ago. He just jumped up in my lap, and from that day on he slowly became a member of our household, as an outdoor cat at first, but after a while, he settled in.
During the first summer we left him in the care of a neighbour, under the surveillance of our cat-loving Swedish friends, Anita and Sture. It did not work out well, however, and one day we got a phone call from Anita to say that the cat was not doing well. We boarded a plane as soon as possible (O, how our cat-loathing acquaintances liked this!), took the cat to the vet and started planning to take him to Finland. The problem was that there was no space for a cat on our return flight, so Sture and Anita (God bless them!) offered to send Chico on a cargo flight to Helsinki, and so they did. We fetched him at the Helsinki airport at three a clock in the morning the following day. Since then he has flown between Málaga and Helsinki seven times – a true Globetrotter!
So why is that many people are either cat or a dog persons? Many dog haters say that dogs are dirty, smelly, drooling and dependent. Cat haters say that cats are selfish, lazy, sly and too independent. Dog lovers say that dogs are loyal, direct, kind, faithful, utilitarian, team players etc. Cat lovers say that cats are graceful, subtle, intelligent, clean, thoughtful and mysterious.
Well, cats and dogs are different; they are feline and canine species with their different characteristics. I like them both, but prefer cats. Simplistic studies suggest that the only binary classification to be made for mankind is this one: Is she or he a cat person or a dog person? It’s not necessary to dwell further on the canine traits admired by the dog person and the feline traits loved by the cat person. The study goes on to say that cat people are introverted, self-conscious, secretive, sensitive and artistic, whereas dog people are eager, unembarrassed and open. Dogs and cats get along perfectly when they get used to each other, and we humans should consider our differences as blessings and “live and let live.”

Danish Birthday Bash

Mette Owens — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:22:16 +0000

The Danish-Spanish Club (Dansk Spansk Samvirke) in Almuñécár celebrated the club’s 23rd birthday on February the 27th. It took place after our March issue deadline, but I feel it is definitely worth a mention anyway.
I was astounded and happily surprised that 70 club members decided to attend – especially given the fact that they were only given three weeks prior notice. Well done Danes – that’s the spirit! The festivities began at 7:00 p.m. at Bar Restaurante Pepe Góndolas and lasted until 1:00 a.m. I am sure it would have lasted longer if our two musicians, Vivi and Johnny Wilfordt, had been permitted to continue playing.
The food was incredible and the feast consisted of four different tapas to start, followed by asparagus soup, choice of sole or veal sirloin, and the final dessert, consisting of pancakes filled with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. I don’t think anyone could have eaten any more, even if they wanted to.
Nothing was lacking in the beverage department either, I might add! It’s a good thing we had arranged musicians so we could burn it all off on the dance floor afterwards. They did a great job and kept everyone on their feet all night dancing to the Danish favorite tunes.
Aside from the food, drinks, music and dancing, another highlight was the lottery we held. Tickets sold like hotcakes and no wonder, as the prizes were two boxes the Chilean Viña Maipo bag-in-box wines generously donated by Pia Leissner from Alcoholum. The funds raised will go to a great cause – namely the club.
All in all, the birthday celebration was a wonderful success and a great time was had by all. I actually have the photos to prove it. I will post the photos I took on the member’s board at the club. If anyone is interested in copies, let me know and I can forward them by e-mail. You can contact me at danish@seasidegazette.es

Rainy Day Activities?

Marianne Lindahl — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:49:33 +0000

After the rain comes more rain. Last summer was extremely hot and dry and people prayed for water, and soon the prayers were more than amply awarded. But enough is enough. The land is flooded, there are landslips everywhere and trees have been blown down. Many roads have collapsed and in some parts of Andalucía, cars are under water and houses are full of it. In February, there have been daily rainfalls of up to 40 litres per square metre. This prolonged rain is not normal for our part of the world. Three days a month is what you can expect, or so I have been told by our Spanish friends, Manuel and Encarna, who said that they had not experienced such a rainy winter during their lifetimes; they are both over sixty.

The much criticized climate conference in Copenhagen on global warming has shown some results after all, since this autumn and winter has been the coldest and wettest for decades all over the world. I believe that Higher Powers decided to interfere.

Foreign resident and holidaymakers exasperate in this extreme wetness. Walking tours in the mountains must be cancelled and the golf courses are full of water hazards in places where there should not bee any, according to the scorecard. There is no question of lying on the beach, and many tourists return home just as pale as when they arrived. And what a disaster for the tourist business this must be, on top of the economic crisis.

The winter, school-holiday period will start soon, and finding something interesting to do for visiting children and grandchildren in these climatic conditions is a difficult task indeed. Watching video films, cooking delicious meals, playing games can be boring in the long run.
Complaining, however, leads nowhere. Better trying to be optimistic. There are a lot of activities on offer in Almuñécar, La Herradura, Salobreña and Motril, from flamenco, theatre, concerts etc. All you have to do is to obtain the monthly cultural programmes from the tourist information offices or on the Internet.

In the Casa de la Cultura in Almuñécar there is a fantastic permanent exhibition, Claves de Almuñécar, 3,000 Years of History of Almuñécar and La Herradura which has received more than 1,000 visitors since its opening in December last year. Here you can make a journey through history from the Phoenician period to our era. Claves de Almuñécar is an ambitious project that has succeeded to 100 per cent. The historical part is shown in installations using modern communication, sound and image technology, guiding the visitors through the milestones of the history. One part of the display contains information for tourists on what the town has to offer, as well as some projects that will be implemented in the future. The exhibition as a whole is very well planned, artistic and informative. Congratulations!

Why not put on your boots, take your umbrella, and take a stroll through town, to Parque de Majuelo, the fortress and the old town. You can also visit the outstanding aquarium in the Plaza Kuwait or admire the beautiful new statues along the Paseo del Altillo.

What affects my state of mind more than rain in these days is the bad performance Finns have shown so far in the Winter Olympics. Only one silver medal, (in half-pipe snowboard) whereas Sweden and especially Norway have taken several medals of different colours. I am green with envy.

Let’s hope we will be luckier in the remaining events, and that the sun will be shining again soon.

Olympic Insider

Mette Owens — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:33:40 +0000

Unless you watch no TV whatsoever, you can’t miss the coverage of the Winter Olympics taking place in Vancouver as I write this. It turns out that one of my very close friends, Lars, just happens to be assisting the Danish delegation (18 athletes and about 19 officials plus ‘Olympic Family’) based out of the Vancouver Olympic Village. Not only is he in the epicenter of the Olympics this month – he also has accreditation that gets him in just about everywhere at every venue! Ask me if I am envious?

As the official ‘gofer,’ his job is to help with just about anything, including driving athletes/officials around, arranging tailors for athletes, shopping up a storm, getting special guests accredited etc.

One of the highlights, so far, was during the rehearsal on Feb. 10th for the opening ceremonies. Lars was selected by the Danish Chef de Mission for the great honor of marshalling a delegation of distinguished, former Olympic athletes (who were offered this opportunity as stand-ins for the various delegations).

Now, if any of you watched the actual opening ceremonies on Feb. 12th, as I did (I must admit, I felt quite nostalgic and proud to be a Vancouverite that night) you know just how spectacular it was. Lars was made Flag-Bearer and asked to lead the Danish delegation through the entire stadium-route, right past Brian Adams, Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan, K.D. Lang and many other celebrities, who were performing exactly as they would be on the official night. According to Lars, leading the group into BC Place in front of a crowd of 60,000 cheering people was quite the rush!

On opening ceremony night, his job was to lead the 37+ people from the Danish group from the Olympic Village right up to the gate where the delegations were filmed as they entered. Another highlight for Lars was assisting with the Team Welcome Ceremony for Denmark, which was preceded by a press conference, both of which had the attendance of HRH The Crown Prince of Denmark and Princess Mary. I can’t wait to hear more about Lars’ Olympic experience the next time I see him.

I know from my Danish network that the Danish speed skater, Cathrine Grave, and other athletes have expressed interest in meeting local Danes while they are in Vancouver. I am proud to say that my friends have risen to the task and have organized a ‘Celebrate-our-Athletes’ night for them, which takes place Friday Feb. 26th at a restaurant called Capones. I actually mailed out the invitation myself to the 100 or so Danes that I have on my Danes in Vancouver e-mail list (a social networking group that I started years ago). So, knowing that all who are on my list are young, active, and dynamic people, I can guarantee that the night will be an exciting one for the athletes. Hopefully, many new friendships will be formed – a shame I can’t attend myself. But one thing is certain, I will be glued to my TV screen watching the closing ceremonies which start at 17:30 Vancouver time (2:30 a.m. here) on Sun. Feb. 28th.

About The Club

Marianne Lindahl — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:40:53 +0000

In an interview in Diario Sur, Rafael Lamelas, Chairman of the Costa Tropical Hotel Association, said that Nordic visitors make a great contribution towards keeping the tourist market in the area alive during the winter months. According to Sr. Lamelas, the “Nordic tourism” decreased only by between 8 and 10 percent last year, which helps to provide some stability to the branch in these times of economic crisis. He also expressed his appreciation for tourists from the Nordic countries, calling them “decent people who do not cause any problems or make too much fuss of themselves.” That was nice of him!
It also seems that the number of Nordic people who stay here over the winter months has increased after a period of decline. In our association (Asociación Hispano-Nórdica de la Costa Tropial) with about 300 members, the number of new members in 2009 was 31, which is a record compared to the previous couple of years. Some background info about our club might be needed, as many readers might not be familiar with the organization and its activities:
Asociación Hispano-Nórdica, or AHN for short, was originally founded in 1968 in Fuengirola, at that time, a small, humble fishing village. Many people from Sweden had settled down there in the beginning of the 1960s, and soon there emerged a need for them to come together and get support from compatriots and other Nordic people in a more organized manner. After many tiresome rounds with Spanish legalisation, which we know can be very tricky, Asociación Hispano-Nórdica was founded on the 4th of October 1968. The main purpose of the association was to promote mutual understanding of, and knowledge about, the Spanish and Nordic cultures among the population in the local area. The founding members were Prince Carl Bernadotte, Doctor Einar Ekholm, Doctor Erik Feltström and Mr. Erik Falkman.
In autumn 2008, big 40th anniversary celebrations were held by AHN clubs in Fuengirola, as well as in all the branch associations around the Costa del Sol. AHN Costa Tropical arranged a big anniversary party at Club Náutico in Almuñécar.
AHN is the oldest Nordic association on the Costa del Sol, the majority of members coming from Sweden and the rest from Norway and Finland. AHN clubs can now be found in Fuengirola/Mijas, Marbella, Benalmádena, Nueva Andalucía, Torremolinos, Almuñécar and Nerja.
AHN Costa del Sol in Almuñécar presides in Edifício Mariote, Paseo San Cristóbal. Our weekly club meetings are on Wednesdays and our activities range from talks and lectures on cultural, health-related, historical, etc. topics, film evenings, walking tours in the beautiful mountains surrounding our town, art exhibitions, golf etc.
After the Christmas break we have met in the club twice so far, the first one being just mingling in the bar and exchanging Almuñécar gossip and news from our home countries after the Xmas-holidays up North. Three trekking tours in the mountains have been arranged so far, the New Year Round in the mountains surrounding Almuñécar resulted in people getting wet as drowned cats. A hot bath and a New Year’s drink on the stiff side were more than called for.
The next trip went to the beautiful mountains near the idyllic village of Lobres, followed by a trip to the mountains surrounding Salobreña. We always reach the starting point in our own cars and a special feature of this queue is that we Nordic people keep a ‘safety distance’ which more often than not is disturbed by impatient locals. No wonder many people, especially women, are afraid of driving here. I think I’ll put up a sign in the rear window reading ‘Abuela.’ Knowing the respect people in this area show women and especially the elderly, this might be a good idea.

Winter Olympics 2010

Mette Owens — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:33:56 +0000

Since I am a mix of Danish and Canadian, it is an obvious choice to write about the upcoming Winter Olympics that happen to be hosted by my hometown of Vancouver. Vancouver is Canada’s third-largest city and is located on Canada’s west coast, in the southwest corner of British Columbia. It is a city surrounded by natural beauty, with water and mountains dominating the scenery. Although the city itself has 600,000 inhabitants, we call it a big town, small city. Many of the events will be held in Whistler, a world-class ski resort located north of Vancouver, also known as Canada’s Aspen.
Denmark has only ever won one Olympic-Winter-Games medal in its history. Nonetheless, Team Denmark and the Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF) have decided on the goals for the Danish Olympic Team in Vancouver: One medal and three other top placements. The Danish Women’s Curling Team has proven that they can perform consistently at a high international level and has won medals at both the European and World Championships. Thus, Team Denmark and DIF are optimistic that the Women’s Curling Team has a chance at a medal.
Furthermore, they expect that three other athletes will get high placements in their respective sports. It is expected that the Men’s Curling Team will place among the top six teams, and that Sophie Fjellvang-Soelling will finish in the top eight in ladies’ ski cross, and the same applies for Julie Lundholdt in snowboard cross.
According to Michael Anderson, Managing Director of Team Denmark, the goals are ambitious but also extremely realistic. However, this demands that the athletes perform at their personal best.
You can follow the Danish Olympic Team, their competition schedule, video diaries and more on their official website: www.OL.dk
The 21st Winter Olympics will commence with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron at BC Place Stadium on Friday, Feb. 12th with the opening ceremony starting at 18:00 (Vancouver time). Don’t forget the time difference – we are nine hours ahead here in Spain. The closing ceremony on Feb. 28th starts at 17:30. The Winter Olympics are followed by the Paralympic Games, which run from March 12th to 21st. The motto for this year’s Olympic Games is: With Glowing Hearts.
The competitions will take place in Vancouver (curling, figure skating, ice hockey, short-track speed skating, snowboard and freestyle skiing), the city of Richmond (speed skating) and Whistler (bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping).
To read all about the host city, venues, sports, schedules, athletes, celebrations and ceremonies, visit the official website for the games: www.vancouver2010.com. Here you will also be able to watch live Olympic coverage online. Links to local broadcasters will be available on Feb. 12th.