It was over two decades ago when Vancouver opened the
doors to the people from around the world to come visit Expo '86. It was an
event that impacted the visibility of British Columbia and Canada making
Vancouver a destination centre and focal point of admirers the world over.
This event made a huge impact on Vancouver and was one of the few world
exposition that was on schedule and under budget and since the event Vancouver
was able to boast an increase in tourism revenues each year.
It was also a time when Vancouverites took pride and an opportunity to showcase
Vancouver to friends and families, while having a peek at exhibitors from around
the world celebrating Expo 86.
If there is a pivotal point in the transition of a city's history, Expo '86 was
it for Vancouver. It was the beginning of what Vancouver has become. a microcosm
of the global village.
The highlight of the event was twofold. The joy of sharing your home with people
from all over the world and seeing the city alive with activity there was a
reason to get out, explore and discover the arts and culture of
nations seemingly unreachable at the time.
This was the beginning of people's love affair with Vancouver.
Just walk down any street in Vancouver and you will hear a myriad of accents and
languages from both residents and visitors of our city. Our closeness to Asia
and the Pacific Rim has changed the face of the city and helped define Vancouver
as a city of the future; a multicultural city as diverse as the most exotic of
bazaars and as flavourful as the range of
Restaurants, markets and neighbourhoods that dot our city.
Vancouver for its size has surpassed many major cities in its abundance of
cultural offerings, regularly listed in the top-10 most liveable and tourist
destination cities in the world, it is
Vancouver's cultural offerings that jump us up the scale. In music, we cover
the gamut from classical, symphony and opera to recital societies, jazz and pop
music venues and worldwide artists.In the applied arts, we are home to
several of the most prominent artists in the world, with Jeff Wall in
photography; Sarah McLachlan and Michael
Buble in popular music, Douglas Coupland in writing; Ryan Reynolds and
Carrie-Anne Moss in film among many others.
In digital media we are a hub of creativity and industry at
Electronic Arts and Great Northern Way
Campus, and our academic institutions, the University of British Columbia,
Simon Fraser University,
and BCIT rank among the best in North America.
Unbeknownst to most locals, the
Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale - the bi-annual event that
celebrates the multicultural diversity of the city through the installations of
art in public places by the world's
most renowned artists - is the youngest cultural venue in the city to capture
the attention of the art world. In September 2009. when the city is in its final
stages of prepping for the world's visit, the Vancouver Biennale will launch its
21-month series of events via the unveiling of an expected 25 major sculptures
from 20 nations, as well as the first of 120 new digital media transit shelter
and billboard installations representing 40 nations.
Very soon Vancouver will again be front and centre on the world stage. With the
arrival of the 2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver and Paralympic Winter Games, the city will once again be
transformed. Unlike Expo B6, hundreds of millions of visitors, via electronic
media, will have the opportunity to walk the streets of Vancouver and Whistler
and instantly become part of our urban landscape. The world will be viewing us
from a distance, exploring all that has made us so popular and the envy of much
of the world. They will see the most obvious the majestic mountains of Whistler,
the beaches of English Bay,
the shoreline and seawall of Stanley
Park, the architecture of
Downtown Vancouver. the pubic artwork, the multicultural diversity of the
residents, that make us a world class city and the desired destination for many
years to come.
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