Death casts a pall over Olympics

VANCOUVER — Nodar Kumaritashvili died before he could fulfill his dream of representing his country in the opening ceremonies, but he was a part of the colorful and moving celebration, and his memory promised to remain part of the 2010 Winter Games.

"May you carry his Olympic dream on your shoulders and compete with his spirit in your hearts," John Furlong, the CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) said during his welcome address to the athletes and 60,000 fans who filled BC Place Stadium to capacity. It was the first opening ceremonies held indoors.

The three-hour ceremony was dedicated to the 21-year-old Georgian luge athlete's memory. Kumaritashvili was killed when he was thrown from his luge sled as he came out of the final curve of the track at Whistler during a training run Friday morning.

His countrymen briefly contemplated not competing but instead marched into BC Place Stadium wearing black scarves. A single black scarf also hung from the flag of the Republic of Georgia. Kumaritashvili was one of 12 athletes from Georgia competing in the 2010 Games.

The ceremony, filled with Canadian musicians, dancers and poetry, culminated with the lighting of a flame inside the arena, as well as outside.

Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, known to most as "the Great One," lit the external cauldron at the end of the ceremony, which was punctuated by references to Kumaritashvili.

A technical glitch prevented one of the sections of the internal cauldron from rising out of the floor, so one of those who was supposed to help Gretzky light the indoor cauldron stood by as the other three lit the cauldron. The three others who were supposed to help Gretzky ignite the indoor cauldron were NBA All-Star Steve Nash, Canadian ski champion Nancy Greene and Olympic gold medalist Catriona LeMay Doan.

Aside from that minor problem, the ceremony was moving and modest for an Olympic Games with performances by Canadians like Bryan Adams, k.d. lang and Nellie Furtado, as well as the Alberta Ballet. The ceremony began with a tribute to Canada's aboriginal people. Representatives of various tribes and peoples danced throughout the Parade of Athletes.

Following the Canadian national anthem, the Four Host First Nations — Lil'wat First Nation, Musqueam First Nation, Squamish First Nation and Tsleil-Waututh First Nation — welcomed the audience to the country and the Games.

Elders from each of the aboriginal nations spoke and then representatives from other aboriginal tribes joined as the Four Nations danced in to traditional music.