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Phew only 75 thank goodness for the restraint...

I'd be interested to see what kind of coverage the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ provides with their 'relatively small' team of 75, especially in the context of the team of 407 staff sent to Glastonbury, currently being looked at by the NAO.

Seems like a small team, but hopefully the coverage will be good. Am slightly concerned that the hours of coverage seem fairly restricted coverage hours, especially during the 'primetime' slot of 2100-2320.

Can you detail how many streams will be available on Freeview now 302 has been shut down?

And can you confirm (or otherwise) if Barry Davies will be part of your commentary team (specifically for the Ice Skating)?

Nearly all of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's outside broadcasts are fantastic so I don't think a meagre staff of 75 will cause too much of a problem.

A lot of emphasis has been placed on the problems as Cypress. With Whistler benfitting from one of the highest snowfalls ever recorded this season, I am sure, in their 8000+ square acres of mountain, they will be able to move the venue for the snow boarding and the freestyle up there if necessary.

Eurosport are offering 24 hour coverage in HD/SD

Lets hope to that the commentary teams on the sports have been doing their homework as the last winter Olympics they were at best useless with no knowledge of the sport they were covering. Well the events I'll watch will be covered by their own official website streaming it live.

Posts #1 and #2 be fair please.

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ offer outstanding coverage of any outside event they cover. Having lived in half a dozen countries, not one of which does outside broadcasting like the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ I can only applaud them and wish the narrow minded and nasty would appreciate something that country excels in and leads.

I cant wait for it to begin in the full knowledge that coverage will be superb

I went to Vancouver for a week in the Summer in 2008 and the temperature dropped to about 5 degrees at it's coldest! And there was snow on the top of the mountains near Whistler where the ski-ing will take place. Vancouver is a brilliant city and the people there absolutely lovely so I'm quite jealous of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ 75!

"Barry Davies will be part of your commentary team (specifically for the Ice Skating)?"

Surely that gig should go to Tony Gubba - he's so knowledgeable and informative on Dancing on Ice!

Comments #1 and #2 just make me laugh.

All this moaning about ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ coverage of events etc is just politics and people moaning about their TV license. Take away the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ coverage (I dont see many other broadcasters going to Vancouver / Glasto) and your left with bland ITV and C4 reality shows.

People dont realise how good they have it until its gone.

GL with the coverage and I will be tuning in!

Im flying out to Vanccouver for 3 weeks on the 11th. And have been in close contact with grouse mountain (sister mountain to cypress)and friends and family!

Its jsut crazy! Grouse should be 3-4 metres deep right now, and there struggling to keep the mountain open, there are patches were there is NO SNOW! quite worrying!

The one thing I wish to know is...how long will this pineapple express (weather system) last

Looking forward to the games, though a shame we're one stream down on Freeview and that the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Trust won't allow ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Parliament to be used again even though Parliament is in recess (again) for most of the games. I just hope that during the day you manage to replay some events in full rather than just continually looping the same highlights programmes.

Elsewhere though coverage looks fairly good and I'm happy you're in Vancouver rather than a London studio - it really does make a difference for the hosts to be absorbed by that Olympic spirit. A bit disappointed at first coverage wasn't continuous from the 7pm start on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2, but looking into the schedules unlike the summer games there aren't numerous events happening all the time - indeed from what I can see there is never more than 4 events going on at once - so the coverage seems appropriate. Just gutting we on Freeview have lost the interactive stream for an HD channel we can't receive yet. It would have made sense to delay closing 302 until after the games.

For those who want more details on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ coverage: /pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/01_january/19/winter.shtml

(And thank god we don't have the mountains to host the games in the UK. A bit of snow and we'd have to cancel them!)

The big question - will the Ski Sunday theme tune be back? After being the theme of teh winter games for over 30 years it would be a shame if we heard anything else on our screens! I hope the new Olympic Trailer music is not the same as the one we will hear for the actual games!

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I'd be glad to see the back of the Ski Sunday theme really and like the Summer Games have something more tailored to the host city for each games.

A wider issue but I wish the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ would think their winter sports coverage outside of the games. It's ridiculous really it's mainly skiing where Britons rarely feature when events such as Curling and Bobsleigh/Luge/Skeleton where Britain is competitive and has world champions are only ever shown once every 4 years during the Winter Olympics.

Brekkie - You say you wish they would show more winter sports outside of the Winter Olympics! They are not showing any of the Winter Paralympics!

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#2 have a read of page 22 of the NAO report. There were 271 staff at Glastonbbury not 400+

The number of people needed for an event will depend on what they actually need to do. At Glastonbury and Wimbledon the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is the host broascaster so needs a large amount of camera staff and those that support them. Thats not the case for a lot opf events where the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ jst takes the feed from the host.

For Vancoouver most of the coverage will be provided by the host broadcaster so the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ needs a lot less of its own cameramen etc

Anyway I am looking forward to the games coverage.

Amazing conditions for a Winter Olympics in the North currently - anyone for Peak District 2018??

Disgrace that you not showing the Winter Paralympics at all. As for the Olympics it is disgrace you not showing it on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2 often enough. Ask me it should be on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ1

Good to hear we won't be hearing the Ski Sunday theme - I think it's right that you move on from that.

As for the Paralympics - has the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ ever shown the winter version? Compared to the summer games it is a very small event with just five sports on the programme.

Holding the events at Cypress is ridiculous. Vancouver is one of the wettest cities in the world and where it is it relies on being the right side of a very fine line to get any decent amounts of snow. I lived in Whislter for a year from November 2008 and the general consensus was it should have been at Whislter due to it's exceptionally reliable snowfall...Cypress was, put simply 'a risk.' The facilities aren't exactly the best either at Cypress. The halfpipe lies across the fall line as where the Whislter one is perfectly down the fall line. I think it's just a logistical thing having the events 20mins from the city centre rather than 2 hours away along a dodgy (yet stunning) highway!

So looking forward to the coverage from ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ. Having lived in Vancouver and Whistler, you are all about to have a real treat. I was given this link from a friend, if the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ could use this for their coverage it would be great to share with the masses. I have no affiliation with the video. Watch it its awesome.

That was nice and refreshing - reading a positive spin on the Olympic games. I live in the neighbouring province and there's been so much synicism (did I spell that right?) leaking out of Vancouver that I'm kind of in the mind set of "Is it OVER yet? I'm tired of hearing people complain". This article called the trucking in of the snow "extremely resourceful" (which it is), while the more predominant term here seems to have been "waste of taxpayer money". I'm meeting a friend in Vancouver on the 13th; she's flying up from the midwestern US, and she's really excited to be going! But, I can't get out of the "I'm really sick of hearing everyone complain about the Olympics" frame of mind to be as excited as she is! So, I went searching for news on the internet that would be without the embedded local anger lol. Thanks ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

... CTV is sending 1500 staff!? Good greif.

Agree with post #18 - ie there is no valid comparison between Olympics and Glastonbury as ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is the host broadcaster for Glastonbury but at the Olympics most of the pictures come from Olympic Broadcasting Services.

For the number of channels you will be having to cover (including World Service and Five Live etc) I think 75 is a tiny number. I assume 75 is actually the TV coverage crew and not radio.

Changing topic - Cypress is a big concern. I believe there is rain forecast for the next two weeks as well. So the snow they have shifted could go I guess.

Ok so You'll "have daily video packages from Vancouver & Whistler on Breakfast, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ News, Regions and the Sport website, reports on the website and planned Red Button and web streaming of the final stages Wheelchair Curling. There will be reports on 5Live and local radio, and a highlights programme is scheduled for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2 on 22nd March.

Basically "it's not important so we're doing the absolute minimum to say we covered it" Highlights of 2 weeks on competition in 1 programme!? Come on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ that is terrible. The Paralympics end of the 21st March! Brekkie - only 5 events yes so how hard is it to cover them? According the beeb.... very or they just don't care.

Sorry to rant but the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's coverage of disabled sport is shocking

Must admit it's a shame that Freeview coverage has been descoped so much since the heady days of Beijing 2008. Feel this is a step backwards ... and also a shame that Barry Davies isn't there. To me, he's the man who should be accompanying Robin Cousins; Sue Barker - as good as she can be - isn't the woman for the job compared with some of the excellent voices we've had before. It's the same problem the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ had with getting Huw Edwards to commentate the Opening Ceremony of Beijing 2008, when once again, Barry would have done a far superior job.

Dear ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ,

PLEASE run your stories about the lack of snow for the 2010 Olympics and the 'crippling drugs problems' in Vancouver's downtown East side and do it quickly. Once you've run those yawn-inspiring, hackneyed tales, lets get back to the business in hand.

As a resident ex-pat, Vancouver is not only a beautiful city-setting but the Games have been well planned, facilities are going to be perfect and I expect the competitions to be awesome. Personally, I can't wait and I hope it isn't over too quickly.

So please, lets balance the equation a bit here. I'd be more than happy to show ANY of the visiting ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ team around the city. Name the time & place and the first Starbucks is on me.

Brian

Oddly enough I lived in Canada during the 1988 Calgary games, and, funnily enough they suffered the same problems then as well.

The fact is, the winter olympics requires an abudance of snow, something which although you can predict to a point, is changeable.

Unlike the summer games, where you can generally run all events regardless of the weather (although the thunderstorms in Beijing spring to mind), the winter games do rely heavily on snow.

It's just something that we have to deal with.

Perhaps as Global Warming becomes more a reality, the winter games might need to be shelved.

As a new returner to winter sports as life and children got in the way I'm an old Alberto Tomba fan for those to young to remember he was born December 19, 1966 champion alpine ski racer from Italy. He was the dominant technical skier (slalom and giant slalom) in the late 1980s and 1990s. Tomba won three Olympic gold medals, two World Championships, and nine World Cup season titles; four in slalom, four in giant slalom, and one overall title. He was popularly called Tomba la Bomba ("Tomba the Bomb"). Oops sorry I digress can anyone please tell me is the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ winter olympics trailer music an newly written theme? If so what is it called and who by thankyou

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Every four years I tune into the Winter Olympics and I must say the 2010 Vancouver games have been very impressive. I think Canada has done

a fantastic job of holding the Olympic Games and despite some bad news, the Games should be a great success. I regularly watch so I am very excited by the Olympics this year. A number of sports sites listed at

www.dozensports.com are saying that this year is the perfect year for skiing wherever in the world you are. At least something good comes out of

the Big Freeze.

Excellent coverage and commentary generally.

But, ARGHHH! - why-oh-why-oh-why does the one remaining Freeview stream (301) spend much of its time simulcasting the same event that is being shown on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ 2?! This is completely pointless and extremely frustrating, and totally defeats the object of 301 providing additional choice. Tonight for instance, the GB vs USA curling, followed by the USA vs Canada ice hockey, both went out live on both ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2 and 301, while other live events were being shown on the satellite-only streams - and this is just one example of what has been happening regularly throughout the games.

Forgive me if I'm missing something obvious, but I cannot see any reason why ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2 and 301 should need to simulcast in this way, with other live events confined to satellite. Certainly this does not tend to happen at the summer Olympics or at Wimbledon. Yet it has been happening throughout these games, sometimes for many hours at a time...?

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