Cauldron lit, fireworks over city during opening ceremony

(13 Feb 2010) SHOTLIST
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. High shot of fireworks exploding over main BC Place stadium
2. Canadian hockey star Wayne Gretzky running with torch
3. Gretzky lighting second cauldron on Vancouver waterfront
5. Various of fireworks over waterfront
6. Fireworks rising behind Vancouver skyline
7. Cauldron on waterfront
STORYLINE
A series of fireworks atop the BC Place Stadium marked the beginning of the Vancouver Olympics on Friday before a large display that could be seen across the city continued the celebrations.
The roof of the stadium was awash with explosive colour before the fireworks switched to the bay, with rockets firing out from the water in a spectacular scene viewed across the city.
The fireworks were launched as the Olympic show went on - with grief and a closing glitch.
The Winter Games opening ceremony unfolded in a mostly jubilant atmosphere, with more than 60-thousand people packed into the BC Place Stadium for the evening extravaganza, the first Olympic opening or closing ceremony ever held indoors.
But the show came only hours after Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed in a horrific training-run crash at Whistler and the ceremonies were dedicated to the athlete.
A moment of silence was observed in his memory and the seven remaining members of the Georgian team, who decided to stay on and compete, wore black armbands as they marched behind a black-trimmed flag.
Most of the crowd rose to give respectful applause.
After several sombre pauses during the show to pay respects to the Georgian luger, the much-awaited surprise ending went awry.
One huge piece of the set failed to rise from the stadium floor and left one of the four final torchbearers, speedskater Catriona LeMay Doan, unable to use her torch.
The climax called for the cauldron to be lit jointly by four Canadian sports heroes - all-time hockey great Wayne Gretzky, skier Nancy Greene, basketball All-Star Steve Nash and LeMay Doan.
But the former speedskating medallist was left to stand by awkwardly when one of the four pillars holding the Olympic cauldron failed to rise.
A second, far larger cauldron was lit by Gretzky in a plaza along the downtown waterfront - giving Vancouver a visible symbol for the rest of the games that the indoor stadium could not provide.
About two-and-a-half thousand athletes from a record 82 countries are participating in the Games, vying for medals in 86 events - including the newly added ski-cross competition.
First-time Winter Olympic participants include the Cayman Islands, Columbia, Ghana, Montenegro, Pakistan, Peru and Serbia.
Canada Olympic Games
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