Winter Olympics 2010 - Vancouver Canda

Vancouver 2010 - Winter Olympics host

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, will be held February 12–28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the resort town of Whistler nearby. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are being organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC).

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia. Previously, Canada was home to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. These will also be the first games to be held in an NHL market since the league allowed its players to participate starting at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Following Olympic tradition, then Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. The flag was raised on February 28, 2006, in a special ceremony, and will be on display at Vancouver City Hall until the Olympic opening ceremony. The event will be officially opened by Governor General Michaëlle Jean.


The Canadian Olympic Association chose Vancouver as the Canadian candidate city over Calgary, which sought to re-host the games and Quebec City, which had lost the 2002 Olympic bid in 1995. On the first round of voting on November 21, 1998, Vancouver-Whistler had 26 votes, Quebec City with 25 and Calgary 21. On December 3, 1998, the second and final round of voting occurred between the two leading contenders, which saw Vancouver win with 40 votes compared to Quebec City's 32. The win allowed Vancouver to prepare its bid and begin lobbying efforts internationally.

After the bid bribing scandal that took place with the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City (which saw Quebec City asking for compensation (CDN$8 million) for their failed 2002 bid), 1999 saw many of the rules around the bidding process change. The IOC created the Evaluation Commission which was appointed on October 24, 2002. Prior to the bidding for the 2008 Summer Olympics, often host cities would fly members of the IOC to their city where they toured the city and were provided with gifts from the city. The lack of oversight and transparency often led to allegations of money for votes. Afterward, changes brought forth by the IOC bidding rules were tightened, and more focused on technical aspects of candidate cities. The team analysed the candidate city features and provided its input back to the IOC. The bid books from the three candidate cities were submitted in January 2003 and inspections occurred before May 2003, when the final report was submitted.

Vancouver won the bidding process to host the Olympics by a vote of the International Olympic Committee on July 2, 2003, at the 115th IOC Session held in Prague, Czech Republic. The result was announced by IOC President Jacques Rogge. Vancouver faced two other finalists shortlisted that same February: PyeongChang, South Korea, and Salzburg, Austria. Pyeongchang had the most votes of the three cities in the first round of voting, in which Salzburg was eliminated. In the run-off, all but two of the members who had voted for Salzburg voted for Vancouver. It was the closest vote by the IOC since Sydney, Australia beat Beijing for the 2000 Summer Olympics by 2 votes. Vancouver's victory came almost 2 years after Toronto's 2008 Summer Olympic bid was defeated by Beijing in a landslide vote.

Travel to London

London, United Kingdom

What is so special about London, UK? Isn't it just another megacity like all other? Not realy.

Noisy, vibrant and truly multicultural, London is a megalopolis of people, ideas and energy. The capital and largest city of both the United Kingdom and of England, it is also the largest city in Western Europe and the European Union. Situated on the River Thames in South-East England, Greater London has an official population of nearly 8 million people — although the figure of over 14 million for the city's total metropolitan area more accurately reflects London's size and importance. London is one of the great "world cities," and remains a global capital of culture, fashion, finance, politics and trade. London will host the 2012 Summer Olympics.

World Cup 2010

Going to the World Cup 2010?

Join the multitudes in traveling to South Africa for the World Cup 2010.

Radoviš, Macedonia on www.CheckMyCity.com

Radoviš, Macedonia

Radoviš (Macedonian: Радовиш, is a city positioned in the southeastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is the seat of Radoviš Municipality, which is spread on the bottom of mountain Plačkovica and the northern part of the Strumica valley.



Radoviš City Guide

The main road Štip–Strumica is tangentially placed on the township of Radoviš. This road is a main communication route with other parts of the country.

After the settlement of the Slavs, during the rule of Samuel of Bulgaria, Radoviš became a business centre while the medieval town of Konče was a monastery and episcopal centre. As a settlement and a regional town parish, Radoviš is mentioned for the first time in the deed of the Byzantine emperor Basil II in 1019. At that time, the town was located in the North-West of the town's present location, on the banks of the Old river, where we can find traces of several churches, for example St. Archangel church.

In the 14th century, after the destruction of the Byzantine Empire, Radoviš found itself in the Serb medieval state. In 1361, the tsar Uroš sojourned in Radoviš. During the Ottoman Empire, in the 17th Century under the Kyustendil sanjak, it belonged to the diocese of the Kustendil metropolitan. At that time, the town had 3,000–4,000 inhabitants.

Almost one millennium ago, Radoviš' queen (a princess of Slavic origin) Rada, was looking from the wall of the fortress when she became upset by her fiancee's exclamation "Rado Vish". This exclamation that was supposed to warn her of the enemy attack, became according to the legend the name of the city, a synonym of its endurance over the centuries to come.

The area of the municipality is 497,48 km². Radoviš municipality has 28,244 inhabitants, according to the last census (2002). Population density is 56/km². It is populated mainly with Macedonians and partly with Turkish minority. In the Municipality of Radoviš ethnic conflicts and intolerance are unknown.

36 villages are also part of the municipality of Radoviš. The Mayor of Radoviš is Dr. Robert Velkov, MD.
Radoviš City, Macedonia
Source: Wikipedia & Macedonia Tourism
More tags: radoviš macedonia republic yugoslavia ortodox

Cultural Bourges, France on http://www.CheckMyCity.com

Bourges, France

The name of the city is either derived from the Bituriges, the name of the original inhabitants, or from the Germanic Burg (French: Bourg.Spanish: Burgos. English, others: Burgh, Berg, or Borough), for "hill/village". Its Celtic name was Avaricon. In the Gallic Wars, the Gauls practiced a scorched-earth policy, but the inhabitants of Avaricon begged not to have their city burned, and it was spared due to its good defenses provided by the surrounding marshes and a strong southern wall.

The third century Saint Ursinus, also known as Saint Ursin, is considered the first bishop of the city. Currently, Bourges is the seat of anarchbishopric.

The Gothic Cathedral of Saint Etienne, begun at the end of the twelfth century, is listed as a World Heritage Site. It is considered the earliest example of the high gothic style of the thirteenth century.

During the Middle Ages, Bourges was the capital of a Viscounty until the fourteenth century. The future king, Charles VII, sought refuge there. His son, Louis XI, was born there in 1423. In 1438, Charles decreed the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges. During this period, Bourges was also a major capital of alchemy.

The city has a long tradition of art and history, other sites of importance include the Palace of Jacques Cœur and a sixty-five-hectare district of timber houses and grande homes.

The Impressionist painter, Berthe Morisot, was born in Bourges on January 14, 1841.