This is the first time I attended an Olympics winter game, and to assure that it is a winter game, Torino had a very 'cool' welcome to me by snowing and snowing...indeed I consider that the winter game an event which did not have aroused much interest like other worldwide events in the field. Reviewing the hosting cities of winter Olympics, it is noticeable that the game actually took place in a few major participating countries like France, Swiss, US, Norway, Germany, Canada and Italy. France hosted the event for 3 times at Chamonix (1924), Grenoble (1968) and Albertville (1994) respectively. Japan, the only Asian country who has hosted the game at Sapporo and Nagano, is the exceptional selection of venue outside North America or Europe in the history. As many the winter sports are originated from Northern Europe and the Alps area, it is reasonable to see the game being held in the region like these. To my surprise, Russia (or former Soviet Union) has never hosted any winter game. My first impression of the winter Olympics comes from a Soviet-made watch which I bought many years ago, and the graphics on the surface of the watch did bring me fantasy of the game when I was small. I have had always a perception that the game should be favourably held in a country like Russia who permits a perfect natural environment for the event. However, political and monetary factors may have been the explanation about the choice of hosting cities by the committee in the past. Sarajevo, on the other hand, has organised the event in 1984. The Torino event has faced severe financial problem, and of course this is not something new to the event. It has been rescued at last by the state government with an injection of investment just before the commencement of the game. There have been precedent cases that an awarded hosting city refused to organise the game due to financial reason.
When I visited the game, the standard of management in Torino was just so-so. Unlike other profitable world scale events like World Cup or summer Olympics game, the intensity of sponsorship programme and commercial promotion is not very outstanding. The souvenir items are not too attractive not just in terms of pricing but also the quality, design and variety. Souvenir pins must be the most appealing souvenir item to me. At the official souvenir shop in Torino city centre, it, nonetheless, offers souvenir pins of only a few participating countries but not all. There is a pin model having a word of 'welcome' on the design, but this 'welcome' sign is only available in a few major languages but not all. Again, it is this little consideration that offers me an unfulfilling planning and regards to the customer. Of course, demand of the product is another story.
Interestingly, I met quite some souvenir pin collectors near the stadium who demonstrated to the visitors their collection, and asked for exchange of pins. Really lovely.
Torino, unlike the condition where I visited last year, has been much renovated, and it brought me more attraction about the cuisine, the history and the originality of Piedmonte. Quite numerous visitors come to the city to participate in the event, and the one I have chosen to watch is an ice hockey game, Slovakia Vs Kazakhstan. In fact, both countries are supporter of winter sports. The Slovakian team has showed great effort in leading in the group with a 100% winning record, and Kazakhstan, on the other hand, is a candidate country for hosting the game in 2014. The game was attended by over 9,600 audiences, and the atmosphere was quite impressive. Many of the attendants are supporters of Slovakia, and their team did not let them down. The game is actually quite fantastic to view, and it was a good match. Miroslav Satan should be a star to the fans, as it was not difficult to locate his name on the jersey wore by the Slovakian supporters. However, he has yet scored a goal during the past 5 games though he had already 12 shots on goal. As expected, most of the players compete in the NHL in US, and similar to NBA, the league enables the players to get a fortune in the commercialised competition. For more moment of the event, please check on http://www.kodakgallery.fr/I.jsp?c=jiw1j59.ojz23l9&x=0&y=sfhek2.
