Vancouver 2010 Board of Directors satisfied with Games operations wrap up
progress; continued balanced budget forecast with final financial results in
Fall of 2010

VANCOUVER, May 19 /CNW/ - The Board of Directors for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games held its first Board meeting since the end of the 2010 Games and was provided with a general update on the state of activities to wrap up the operations and finances of the organizing committee.

In addition, the Board welcomed new appointees from the Canadian Olympic Committee, President Marcel Aubut and CEO Jean Duprés, who replace Michael Chambers and Chris Rudge whose terms at the COC have ended. The Board confirmed that, consistent with the previous COC directors, Marcel Aubut and Jean Duprés assume Audit Committee membership and Marcel Aubut joins the Governance and Ethics committee.

"After seven years of ever-increasing activity and complexity of operations that culminated in highly successful Games, VANOC management is making excellent progress in winding down the organization in a thorough, responsible and efficient manner," said Rusty Goepel, Chairman of the Board. "We are particularly pleased to receive a realistic and encouraging interim financial update that continues to project a balanced budget, which would achieve one of the most important objectives and rewarding legacies of the 2010 Games."

The Board was presented with dissolution reports in a number of areas including finance, staffing, venue operations, ticketing, communications, final reports and the transfer of knowledge to future Games organizers. Dissolution highlights include:

    
    -   Finance: The Finance team presented an update on deferred revenues
        and operating expenses and VANOC's interim financial position. At
        Games time over 2800 operating contracts were in place and these are
        being closed at a rate of approximately 300 per week. Other
        dissolution work includes ongoing revenue collection and invoice
        payments with a considerable amount of work to be done over the
        coming months. As expected, VANOC is also subject to a number of
        audits. The Board was advised that while it is premature to project
        an exact final financial outcome, VANOC continues to expect that the
        project will end with a balanced budget and will issue its final
        financial statements in the Fall.

    -   Ticketing: All ticket account holders have been refunded for tickets
        for Games sessions that were cancelled. Over 13,000 account holders
        who sold tickets on the VANOC Fan to Fan Marketplace have been sent
        cheques in May in payment for tickets sold. The remaining
        approximately 220 cheques, which were slightly delayed due to a
        credit card fraud incident during the Games, are being sent to
        account holders this week.

    -   Venues: The venue construction program came in on budget at $580
        million and the two government funding partners, the Province of BC
        and the Government of Canada, are conducting their final
        reconciliation and audit. All venues either have been or are in the
        final stages of being readied for transfer to their respective venue
        owners.

    -   Asset sales: VANOC reached an agreement with the Province of BC's
        Asset Recovery division (Ministry of Citizen's Services) to undertake
        the sale of its assets. The asset sale commenced in April and the
        Province of BC reported on May 7 that sales had exceed $3.2 million
        and expanded the sale locations to include the Delta warehouse as
        well as the Surrey, Victoria and Prince George government warehouses,
        and online through BC Auction. Limited numbers of new items were
        regularly added, most recently including memorabilia, Olympic Games
        torches and electronics. More details are available at
        http://pss.gov.bc.ca/air and www.bcauction.ca.

    -   Staffing/building use: The vast majority of VANOC's full and part
        time staff, contractors and volunteers completed their duties and
        contracts in late February or March. The VANOC staff complement is
        currently 128 and reduces by approximately half every month for the
        next four months. The organization effectively ceases operations by
        November 01. VANOC's offices in its headquarters at 3585 Graveley
        Street will be consolidated by June 1 to one floor to allow for other
        uses of the building.

    -   Final Reports: VANOC is required to prepare a final report to the IOC
        and work on this report has been underway for several months. In
        addition, VANOC is preparing a final sustainability report, and a
        final report on the legacies of the 2010 Winter Games, to complete a
        series of reports on the lasting legacies of Winter Olympic Games in
        North America.

    -   Vancouver 2010 Games Debrief, Sochi, Russia, June 6-11: VANOC will
        send a senior team to Sochi, Russia, the host city for the 2014
        Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, to present a comprehensive
        debrief to the IOC and future Games organizing committees. The IOC
        pays all major expenses for the debrief, which is a required element
        of wrapping up the Games and, with the final report, constitutes the
        transfer of knowledge and lessons learned from one organizing
        committee to the next. Further information on the VANOC delegation
        and presentations will be issued later in May. Media interested in
        attending the Sochi debrief can apply for accreditation at www.sochi
        2014.com, which closes May 20.

    -   With Glowing Hearts/Des plus brillants exploits commemorative book:
        VANOC is producing a 2010 Games commemorative book entitled With
        Glowing Heart/Des plus brillants exploits that will be available in
        bookstores across Canada in June and is currently available for pre-
        order online at vancouver2010.com. With Glowing Hearts/Des plus
        brillants exploits is part of VANOC's official final report to the
        IOC and is the third book in a series of three licensed books
        produced by VANOC and publisher Wiley and Sons. The other two books
        already published are A Path of Northern Lights: The Story of the
        Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay and O Siyam: Aboriginal Art
        Inspired by the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
    

The next Board meeting will be held in October, with the exact date not yet confirmed.

About VANOC:

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games were staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler are hosted the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com

For further information: Media Contacts: VANOC Communications, [phone], [phone]