Meetings Conventions and Expositions, Essay Example

On February 12, 2010 Vancouver British Columbia hosts host the world’s Winter Olympic games.  This event will attract athletes from all over the world in order to compete for Olympic medals.  On January 19, some two weeks before the commencement of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter games, the Canadian mint is hosting an exposition to proudly display the Vancouver 2010, athletic medals at its Winnipeg and Ottawa facilities.  These medals have been skilfully crafted by the mint engineers, engravers, die technicians, machinists and production experts in Canada.  The exposition will be showing you these medals to the general public, and they will be invited to have a close-up inspection of the medals with the opportunity to take photographs of same.

This sporting exposition is a great opportunity for the public to get into the spirit of the Winter Olympics.  It also provides the opportunity to look at the historical aspect of the role Canadian mint boutiques, which are in Ottawa and Winnipeg.  These are the only locations outside of Vancouver, where the general public is going to get an opportunity to see the Vancouver 2010 medals prior to the games taking place.  This has been accomplished by the close cooperation of the Canadian mint with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics organizing committee.  It is anticipated that this will attract a fairly, large crowd from those interested in the Olympics and those planning to attend the games.  It will equally be an important stop for those tourists that want to have a close-up look at the medals that will be offered to the winners in Vancouver 2010.  Whilst there are adequate hotels in Winnipeg, to cater for the demand of this particular exposition, this cannot be said of the accommodation in Vancouver.  Many of the hotels in Vancouver have been fully booked for the duration of the games.  The exposition in Winnipeg is extremely well-organized, in association with VANOC ( the winter games organizing committee).  The public will be given the opportunity to have fully guided tour of the mint and in addition view  the gift shop which has been provided with a wide range of memorabilia supporting the Winter Olympics.  There is also the opportunity to enter a competition in order to win in 99.99% pure silver kilo coin.  Mint has also arranged for exchange coins to receive a $.25 Olympic circulation coin, in addition these are provided with a free coin collector, while quantities remain.  There is also a photographic exhibition, which provides larger-than-life designs of the Vancouver 2010 athletic medals.  These will be to pictured on the exterior of the mint’s Winnipeg building. (Canada News Wire, 2010)

Figure 1 The Olympic Medal

Although at a rather cold time of the year in Manitoba, Winnipeg offers the visitor and tourist a wide range of facilities, these include excellent restaurants, bars, and generally amenities in order to make visitors feel welcome.  The reason that the medals are being showcased in Winnipeg and Ottawa  is to give the visitor the opportunity to see some of the more historical aspects of Canada in support of the Vancouver Olympics.  Essentially, to provide the tourist and visitor with a much more rounded experience and chance for exploration of the cultural and people in Canada.

Figure 2 The Mint at Ottawa

The historical consideration  of the  Canadian mint is very insignificant.  The mint is a Crown Corporation  that has been responsible for the minting and circulation of Canada’s coins.  The mint has gained recognition as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide variety of high quality coinage products, and as such provides these services on an international scale.  The mint is one of the official sponsors of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter games and as such, has undertaken reviews one of the most extensive circulation coin programs in relation to the Olympic Games ever conceived by any mint worldwide.  (Royal Canadian Mint, 2010).

Figure 3 The Mint at Winnipeg

The mint’s high-technology plant produces over 1 billion coins each year.  The visitor to Winnipeg has the opportunity of seeing a modern mint at work.  The mint at Ottawa is much more a historical  fortified building of architectural and historic significance.  In this sense the opportunity to see both the old and the new.  Giving visitors the opportunity to see where the medals are actually coined adds the value of their experience.  In this sense, it was appropriate to have the venue in both Winnipeg and Ottawa.  If this had been moved to Vancouver, where the games are being hosted, this would’ve lost the cultural and historical significance behind the production of the medal.  It also provides for a greater degree of inclusivity for Canadians to participate in the Winter Olympic experience, and welcome visitors to Canada.  There is also the concept of being an extremely large country and as such.  Being seen as representative of all Canadians having the ability to participate in the Winter Olympic experience.  This was also demonstrated with the carrying of the Olympic torch that went across the Canadian cities via a relay and ending at Vancouver.

Works Cited

Canada News Wire. (2010, 1 20). Royal Canadian Mint to display Vancouver 2010 athlete medals. Retrieved 2 8, 2010, from Vancouver Medals Exposition: http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?topic=5549.0

Royal Canadian Mint. (2010, 1 20). Royal Canadian Mint to Display Vancouver 2010 Athlete Medals. Retrieved 2 8, 2010, from Royal Canadian Mint: http://www.mint.ca/store/news/royal-canadian-mint-to-display-vancouver-2010-athlete-medals-7800004?cat=News+releases&nId=700002&parentnId=600004&nodeGroup=About+the+Mint