5 Things You Need To Know About Vancouver

Before we dive into the athletes and events that will make Vancouver 2010 memorable, let’s take a minute to appreciate the home of the games, Vancouver itself. Here are 5 things you need to know about Vancouver.

1. The Basics: The largest city in British Columbia, Vancouver was settled in the 1860s and survived as a lumber city. Today, it’s one of the nation’s largest industrial centers, depending mainly on the Port of Vancouver, which does more than $43 billion in trade with over 90 countries.

2. The Winter Olympics aren’t the only games taking place in Vancouver. The city is also home to the 2009 World Police and Fire Games, a competition of police and fire figthers from all over the world. They compete in events ranging from 3 on 3 basketball to horseshoes to stair racing.

3. Vancouver is consistently ranked one of the three most livable cities in the world. Although it’s also acknowledged as an incredibly expensive place to live, the quality of life there is fantastic. In 2008, The Economist tapped Vancouver as the world's most livable city, beating out Melbourne, Vienna and Perth.

4. The Olympic Games may cause a problem for the city's homeless population-Vancouver has been struggling recently with skyrocketing homeless rates. The Games will most likely make matters worse, as low income housing providers attempt to updgrade their facilities to attract more tourists. The problem has been an issue for a few years, as evidenced by this article, and one would think that, with the state of the economy today, it will not improve by the start of the games.

5. A few random facts about Vancouver: Vancouver will be the most populous city to host the games, as well as the warmest. Some of the Olympic Venues, such as the Richmond Olympic Arena are located at sea level, something not common for the games. Also, the opening ceremony will be the first ceremony held indoors.