French and English are not only Canada’s two official languages, but also those of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC and the modern Olympic Games were founded in 1894 on the initiative of French nobleman, Pierre de Coubertin. De Coubertin believed that the French needed to improve their sport education, which he considered to be an important part of youth development. Because de Coubertin’s first language was la langue de Molière, French and English were confirmed as the Official Languages of the IOC.

Official Languages of Vancouver 2010

We at The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) have made a commitment to reflect the linguistic duality of Canada for the 2010 Winter Games. This commitment is identified in Annex A of the Multi-Party Agreement (MPA) (PDF, 297 KB) which was signed in 2002 by VANOC and many of its governmental partners. Since then, we have been meeting our Official Languages requirements and aim to exceed them by offering a level of service beyond what is outlined on paper.

“We are not just living up to our Official Language commitments, which originated for us in the Multi Party Agreement, but also, we believe, exceeding them and heading to a place where we feel that the results will be quite extraordinary for us and for the country.” John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer, VANOC

VANOC’s Internal Commitment

We are committed to delivering bilingual Games because linguistic duality is a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian identity; the French language is also an important component of our cultural diversity. Embracing and offering a valuable service in both official languages is at the core of the IOC, VANOC and Canada.

Our Mandate

We work in close collaboration with francophone communities across Canada to promote our two official languages and to activate the nation-building potential through all areas of planning and service delivery.

Our Approach

We integrate Official Languages into our organizational culture so it becomes a part of who we are. Delivering truly bilingual Games is no small feat given the scope of planning required from the variety of functions involved in Vancouver 2010. The Official Languages function has many internal allies within VANOC dedicated to deliver on VANOC’s Official Languages mandate.

The internal integration of our Official Languages began in 2002 with the signing of the MPA. Official Languages and the relevant functional areas have been discussing how they will integrate Official Languages into their respective operational plans, and consequently how they will deliver on the MPA requirement which relates to their area. For example, Official Languages is working closely with Workforce to ensure a bilingual service is offered throughout the venues. Official Languages is proud to note that all functions have been excellent partners so far and have shown true commitment to Official Languages. For example, not only is VANOC’s Look of the Games function committed to producing all signage in both official languages, they will also produce the templates for our partners in both French and English.

VANOC’s External Commitment

We are partnering with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Federal Secretariat to deliver bilingual Games. The Secretariat is a federal agency created specifically for the 2010 Winter Games to provide expertise, support and guidance for Official Languages.
We also promote Official Languages with Official Sponsors and Partners. Although many of our partners and sponsors are not contractually bound to deliver bilingual services at the Games, we strongly encourage them to deliver their products and/or services in both French and English at Games time.