The clock’s design is influenced by the natural and urban surroundings of Vancouver and Whistler. At left, the design team’s initial concept sketch. At right, Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan with the real thing.
The clock is already ticking for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games—a 20-foot-high, ten-foot-wide, 2,600-pound clock, that is. Unveiled February 12 in a public ceremony, the Vancouver 2010 Official Countdown Clock, presented by Omega, Official Timekeeper, marks the three-year countdown to the opening ceremony on February 12, 2010.
The clock showcases the contrasting urban and natural settings of the 2010 Winter Games. Steel and glass speak to both the thriving metropolis of Vancouver, Host City of the Games, and also the ice and snow at the heart of winter sport. The clock’s red cedar tower evokes images of Canada’s lush forest landscapes and pay tribute to Aboriginal culture and tradition.
Two Omega electronic displays count down the hours, minutes, and seconds on the clock, which is located at the corner of Hornby and Georgia streets in downtown Vancouver in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Tapping the natural and urban surroundings of Vancouver and Whistler, the clock was designed in collaboration with Karacters Design Group, a division of DDB Canada. The body, resting on concrete blocks, is cedar, glass, and stainless steel.
Omega is the Official Timekeeper to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a role it began in 1932. In this position, the manufacturer says, it “assures the accuracy of scoring and competition results and ensures that results are delivered promptly to the public at the venues and through broadcast, print, and online media to audiences around the world.�
Omega also designed the Beijing 2008 Countdown Clock, located in the city’s Tiananmen Square.
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