It seems like speculations are running high these days - at least in Torino where the newspaper La Stampa have posted some revealing (?) pictures of what will happen at the opening ceremony. Okay - you tell me what's going on here! Anyway here it is:


if you scroll down a bit you'll also notice the other photos from the practice sessions - the revelation is that they've moved the sessions outdoors. But wait - is that a cow?

Light a torch
It might not be what the Olympic Committee had in mind when they came up with the Torch Relay concept. Anyway it seems like someone found a solution to what in the world they should use the 10.000 Olympic torches after the Torino 2006 is finished



(Thanks for the tip Marco B!)

Center of Turin Today:

After an unusually dry winter, Northern Italy has just in a few hours during the night and this day recieved huge amount of snow. So much that the whole region is practically a white chaos of traffic jams and hysterical newsreels. Malpensa and Linate, the two major airports outside Milan, 2 hour drive from Torino, are closed, and the civil guard has been put on alert. But while some people cry catastrophe the Torino 2006 organizing committee is probably dancing happily in the heavy snowfalls. What could have been a Winter Game with strips of imported snow to cover the path and slopes over green grass is now officially history! The fact is that Piemonte and Lombardia haven't experienced similar snowfall in 20 years - and it's supposed to last over the weekend - so rojoice my fellow Olympic fans.

Even tomorrow's torch relay leg, from Bormio to Livigno, is cancelled due to the snowfall. The organizers decided to do this after the problems they experienced today between Cortina and Merano. The relay continues as normal on Sunday with the leg from Bergamo to Milano.

Opening Cermony 2006 - 1
These pictures are supposedly from the rehearsel for the Olympic Ceremony on the 10th February, and what do they reveal? Hmmm, I'm not a genious if I claim that we'll probably see a lot of people lying on the ground and waving red sticks in the air, while doing some leg movements... maybe... but hey! Only two weeks left, so enough of this guessing and time for some real action.

Opening Cermony 2006 - 2
Opening Cermony 2006 - 3

Torino Torch Trouble 2006

It hasn't only been a long glorious journey through Italy for the Olympic Torch. Though most people have massively supported the relay and cheered while it has passed through the different regions, political activists (and they are many here in Italy) have seen the journey as a golden opportunity for media attention.
Yesterday the latest place for a 'Torch incident' was Trento in Northern Italy, where a group of eight anarchists tried to grab the torch from Eleonora Berlanda, the Italian 1.500m champion. But she and her companions of runners and police escort bravely defended the torch from being stolen or the fire put out.
Four of the Anti-globalisation activists were arrested, and the torch was later carried to the main square twenty minutes after schedule.
Also in Genova, Iesi, Bologna and Modena the torch relay has experienced incidents with demonstrators trying to send some kind of message, before the start of the Torino 2006 Olympics. The organising committee Toroc has also suggested that the relay route is led past the troublesome Val di Susa region where they expect clashes with demonstrators against a planned high speed train line.

(a couple more pictures can be found after the jump)

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Due to the last days extreme cold in Russia, Italy's main supplier of natural gas, the Russians have supposedly been forced to supply more to domestic needs and hold back on Italy's share. The boss of Italian oil and gas firm Eni, Paolo Scaroni, has said that Italy might have power problems in February and March if the cold weather continues and Russia did not provide enough gas.

Although the Russian supplier Gazprom claims they're still fullfilling all their obligations to the European market, the Italians are worried. Not just because they don't have much gas reserves to heat the homes and stoves, but also if there will be enough gas to run the Olympic cauldron. Now Italgas even has come with an official statement to deny any future problems during the Olympics to calm down anxious Italians.

Also some environmental organizations have suggested that the cauldron should be switched off in order save some of the precious methane gas for other and more important purposes. The 4 metre high flame requires 8000 cubic metres of gas per hour with a total of 2.8 m of natural gas to be consumed during the Torino Games.

Because of the slow sales of tickets for this year's Olympics, there are reports that the organizers have started to reduce prices on some tickets. (I haven't managed to confirm this yet) Because the sad fact remains: there are still over 300.000 unsold tickets for Torino 2006! Of course the most popular events are starting to fill up, so here is a preliminary list of what's left:

There are still around 180.000 tickets left with a price tag between 20 and 40 Euros, and other 150.000 in the high end class with prices between 50 and 100 Euros.It's recommended to hurry and buy tickets especially for speed skating, ski jump, figure skating, alpine, quarter and semi final of hockey for men, where the availability is only limited to a few hundred for each dicipline. Of the 177 events on the Olympic programme there are some that obviously haven't been that popular among the Torino sports crowd.

These are:
- 14 February, figure skating, short program, men 2000 tickets.
- 15 February, downhill, ladies, 2400 tickets
- 16 Feb, figure skating, free skating, men, 1000 tickets
- 16 Feb, snowboard cross, men, 2000 tickets.
- 17 Feb, snowboard cross, men, 2000 tickets.
- 18 Feb, short track, finale 1500m ladies and 1000m men, 1500 tickets
- 18 Feb, ice hockey men, Czech Rep vs Finland, 4000 tickets
- 19 Feb, ice hockey, men, Italy vs Czech Rep, 2400 tickets.
Also there are still tickets available for the 30 curling sessions and in total 15.000 tickets for the 12 speed skating sessions.

Italians have always put a lot of emphasise on style and appearance - and now the US Olympic uniform pays tribute to the hosts and present a retro look with a subtle style. Going back to the uniform worn at the Cortina Games in 1956 to find inspiration, the design company Roots calls its creation 'retro futurism'. Definately more stylish than the fleece outfit that the US team wore at the Salt Lake Games in 2002. Hopefully the new outfit will help them to perform better, as a Roots spokesperson said in a statement:
"I think if they look good, they'll feel good. And if they feel good, they'll play well." Well, we'll see if that logical conclusion comes true for the performance in Torino 2006.

Obviously the Italian hosts follow a more traditional Gore-Tex style at least for the thousands of volunteers that will put their mark on the event. Below is an image of the uniform used by the volunteers for the Torino Olympics:
Italian Olympic Volunteer uniform

The Olympic Village will soon be invaded by athletes and this is where they'll stay.
So for your viewing pleasure here you can see what I think has become a very nice construction for the Torino 2006 organization and Torino as a whole. The apartments' interior meant for the athletes is rather modest, but functional.
Olympic Village Interior

Most spectacular is the exterior which has some rather fresh color choices. A brave choice, but something that blends well with the area.
Olympic Village exterior
According to the president of the organizing committee TOROC,
Jaques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee has supposedly said that this is 'the best
Olympic village in the history of the Games'.
Olympic Village Exterior 2
In the heart of the city, next to the Olympic Stadium in the quiet area of Lingotto, the athletes have the optimal conditions to prepare for the competitions.

I think that the organizers in Torino 2006 will be disappointed by this number, at least they've been heavily critisised lately for missing the bus on marketing the event early enough. 650.000 tickets are sold less than a month before ski-off and the most requested tickets are for alpine, ice hockey, and skating.
200.000 tickets have been sold in Italy, mostly naturally in the Olympic home region of Piemonte and the neighbouring region Lombardia and Milano, followed by the rest of Northern Italy. About 400.000 tickets have been sold abroad, and here the most eager purchasers of tickets have come from USA, France, Germany, Holland, Norway, Switzerland, Japan and UK. All in all enthusiasts from 42 countries have purchased tickets for the Torino 2006 games.

Torino 2006 is aiming to become one of the first major truly green sports event. Besides the football World Cup in Germany later this year, the Winter Games is this year's first big sports event that have taken a 'lifecycle approach' to the organisation, according to the wise men in EU's environmental institutions. This includes everything from the managment of waste and water to area preservation. The reward is a socalled EMAS certification - a European eco managment and eco labelling scheme.

For example the main Olympic Village is, according to Toroc, a showcase for sustainable architecture, with its 39 buildings that will house 2.500 athletes. Solar panels have been installed to warm sanitation water, south-oriented glass surfaces optimise sun exposure during winter, rain water is used to irrigate the green areas and low energy light bulbs are used.

The media village will serve as a students residence after the games, meets the European Eco-label criteria for reduced energy and water consumption, reduced waste production, the use of renewable resources, bio architecture and of material which are less hazardous to the environment. It is also about to be awarded the European Eco-label as an example of how to address the sustainable use of facilities once the event is
over.

Though WWF in Italy originally criticised the Torino 2006 organising committe for building ski jump platform in an area where there are endangered animals like wolves, the same WWF issued a statement a few days ago where they are mainly positive of what has been done to fulfill the green agenda of the upcoming Olympics.

Because of its historic ties to Torino and the region of Piemonte, it was only natural that Fiat became one of the main sponsors of the event. And the sponsorship deal also means that Fiat will deliver 3000 cars to the Olympic organizers. Fiat's new model Sedici four wheel drive, is also chosen as the official car during the Torino 2006  Games.

2000 cars and the main part of the Olympic car fleet will be the Sedicis, while the rest of the cars, depending on the requirements of the organisers, will be the delegated the new Grande Punto, Panda four wheel drive, Fiat Croma, Idea, Alfa Crosswagon and Alfa 159.

More than 3000 volunteers will operate as dedicated drivers for international delegations and media operators.

For these volunteers, safe driving courses have been arranged and most cars are equipped with satellite navigation systems so the chances of getting lost should not be very high. (Though traffic jams will be hard to avoid as the amount of traffic estimated is far to high than the infrastructure is constructed for)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Torino Olympics have in cooperation with the Italian Government decided to introduce a scratch card lottery in order to reduce the current deficit and to create badly needed buzz. The game will be named "Medaglia D'Oro" (the Gold Medal) and 10 million of these scartch cards will be issued, but if  the lottery will be a success, more will be issued. (And the chances for success is quite high in a country which is famed for it's affection for lottery gambling.) For the price of two euros, which will be the price of a scratch card, you can win up to 70.000 euros.

From the 26th of January the Olympics will have a green number which will be available 24/7, established to answer all you ever wondered about the Torino 2006 games. So when you wake up at night wondering what the heck the Olympics is all about, just dial 800 124 314 and they can answer you in either English, Italian, German or French.

The phone number is meant mainly for locals and foreigners with questions about the Olympic events, but it's also meant for taxi drivers and business owners in case they have difficulties to communicate with foreign clients (!)

While the controversies continue to rage in Italy and abroad, wether or not the Olympic buzz and enthusiasm is lacking, the Torino 2006 affiliates continue to reap the marketing advantage. This time is Swatch' turn to release their line of watches to celebrate (or capitalize) on the Winter Games this year. In good old advertising jargon "Face the mountain” is the message underlying the Winter Sport, Next!, Olympic Collection. Anyway the watches look nice so why not?

For more pictures see Moodiereport.

The Italian state owned broadcaster RAI has posted a nice video with historical clips from previous winter Olympics. Warning - it's in Italian, but well worth a look if only to see some historical Olympic moments and to build up the tension as we close in on the Torino 2006 games.)

Some nice pictures from today's Torino 2006 Torch Relay leg. This is the 30th stop for the Olympic Relay, from Campobasso to Pescara. The Olympic Flame convoy today climbed up the top of the southern Apennine, in the central part of Italy. The Altopiano delle Cinque miglia, literally the five miles plateau, one of the most important skiing resorts in the south of Italy, boasts a total area of 110 km of skiing slopes.It seems like the relay is managing to create some hard needed buzz around in Italy, which the official commercials haven't managed to do. At least now people around most parts of the country can take part in the celebrations. For the rest of us there the Torch relay has a very neat diary with pictures from each leg of the run - joyful daily read!

As we're closing in on the one month left mark, why not check out some of the videos that are posted on the Torino website? (Yes, I know they've been there for a while and yes, I also know that the contents is somewhat lacking/glossy/ exaggerated etc, but in lack of different video material from the Torino Olympics it's worth a look.) Interestingly they've not been able to out the video if "The Olympic System of Torino" yet - I guess they're busy preparing it?! For a nice mix of Italian culture and a three and a half minute crash course in Italian culture, have a look at Torino and Italy (DSL or 56k) Or for a more timely presentation have a look at the Torino 2006 torch relay video. (DSL or 56k)

At least if you're one of the 8000 fortunate volunteers, athletes and journalists who will receive a Samsung D600 mobile. These phones will provide information, timetables and updates on the Olympic event, game scores, as well as personal profiles of athletes with updated medal information and even a handy weather forecast for the Torino region.
(via Zaman)

It seems like the Torino newspaper La Stampa is concerned about the state of Torino these days, and for a good reason. Although the stadiums and sites for the events are mostly finished, the city itself is far from ready to receive visitors from all over the world. Torino is still a mess with construction sites scattered all over the historical centre reminding visitors that there are still a lot to do before the Olympic fire is lit in only 38 days.
The editors of La Stampa has published a very describing set of images to illustrate the problem. Obviously it's a matter of image, what is needed is to clean up the city after all the astonishing building and renovation projects that have totally transformed this once heavily industrialised city. But the doubt lingers and as the newspaper writes:
"We're risking to present ourselves to the Olympic visitors with impressive arenas, but surrounded by something that reminds of a "bidonville" [Shanty town]. In order to find a solution it would be enough to clean the city. But do we have enough time to do that?"

The last few Olympics have all been sadly branded by threat of terrorism.

The 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City came not too long after the attack on 11th September and it soon became known as the Security Games. Likewise the 2004 Athens security measures became infamous as the threat of a terrorist attack seemed imminent and likely due to the war in Iraq.

The latest Anti-Terror Games is depressingly enough the Torino Olympics. After two serious terrorist attacks first in Madrid and then in London, many Italians fear that the Olympics will be a major target for a new strike on Italian soil.
The Italian Interior Minister even went so far as to say that "we don't know where the terrorist will strike, only when" clearly referring to the upcoming Olympics. The Government's continued (although toned down) support of the war in Iraq hasn't exactly reduced this fear of Italy as the next European target.

A report from USA Today even stated that over 700 possible terrorist were under surveillance by the Italian Intelligence
This number was supposedly to come from Italian Police official Luigi Renella who later refused the number as speculation, but also added that "there could be more or fewer." (sounds comforting...)

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It seems like the Torinese are opting for an original flame during the Olympics. Not one, not two, but five different flames will keep the Olympic fire burning during the duration of the Games. According to Rai this is also the first time that this will be done - and there is more. The tower with the Olympic Fire will be 57 metres high with five tubes stretching towards the sky, a construction that is one of the highest ever built for an Olympic Game.
After spending 1.5 m Euros, the result is equal to a 20 storey building, a gigantic torch that won't exactly contribute to Italy's Kyoto climate obligations. The 4 metre high flame requires 8000 cubic metres of gas per hour with a total of 2.8 m of natural gas to be consumed during the Torino Games.