Australian David Atkins, named Thursday as executive producer for the 2010 Winter Games ceremonies, says he won't rely on overplayed Canadian stereotypes for the big shows.
Atkins, responsible for the widely acclaimed ceremonies for the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, drew on that experience to give an idea of what he might do in 2010.
"When you look at Sydney, there were no kangaroos there were no koala bears. But when you look at that ceremony, it's innately Australian. It's who we are," he told CTV British Columbia.
The ceremonies are considered the most watched portion of an Olympic event, often bringing in an audience of three billion television viewers.
In 2006, Canada's eight-minute portion of the closing ceremony in Turin, Italy, was panned for relying too heavily on Canadian cliches such as hockey players and ice fishermen.
The Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) defended their decision to hire the Australian instead of a Canadian producer, saying Atkins will reach a wide international audience.
"We're putting on a show for the world and we really believed that it was necessary to go out and get the best team possible and I think we've done that,'' Terry Wright, VANOC's executive vice president responsible for the ceremonies, told the Canadian Press.
Atkins said being from another country won't get in the way of properly representing Canada in the productions.
"That's not my job. I'm not going to be telling that story. I'm going to be guiding the people who are going to be telling that story," he said.
Atkins will lead a team of 10, which will oversee a cast of 10,000 people involved in the event.
They will be responsible for the opening and closing celebrations, as well as all the award ceremonies.
Several Canadians are members of that team, including Bruce Allen, manager of music stars Bryan Adams and Michael Buble.
Allen told CTV British Columbia he was critical of Canada's part in the Turin Games closing ceremony and is looking forward to working with Atkins.
"I look at the scope of this stuff and it blows my mind. I mean I see the things he's doing, how grand they are, how big they are," Allen said. "I've done some pretty big rock shows but it's way behind this stuff. Believe me, it's mind boggling."
Atkins, who recently produced the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, is no stranger to massive displays and long form shows though most have been outdoors.
The ceremonies will be held at BC Place, and it's the first time for Olympic ceremonies to be held indoors. The venue presents some challenges, but Atkins says he'll tackle them.
"We're in there for months before the ceremonies. We're not in there for a few days like a rock concert and generally speaking we have the opportunities to fine tune all of those things like lighting sound," he said.
Other members of the team include:
- Nettwerk co-founder Dan Fraser, whose clients include Avril Lavigne and Sarah McLachlan
- Sam Feldman, who runs Canada's largest entertainment agency and manages jazz singer Diana Krall and Joni Mitchell
- Jacques Lemay, Canadian College of Performing Arts co-founder
- Erick Villeneuve, Director and Visual Designer
- Ignatius Jones, an Australian actor and former lead singer of punk cabaret band Jimmy And The Boys, who worked with Atkins on the Sydney Games
- Catherine Ugwu, co-founder of the The Live Art Development Agency in London, England.
- And VANOC Ceremonies' staff members Ian Pool and Marti Kulich
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Dave Lefebvre
