Omega, the official timekeeper for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver next month, is counting down the seconds to the Games’ official opening with a 1170 kg Countdown Clock.
Designed in conjunction with Vancouver-based Karacters Design Group, the three-metre wide, six-metre tall clock sits atop large blocks of cast concrete in the heart of downtown Vancouver where it has become a major attraction for locals and visitors alike.
According to the 2010 Games organising committee, the clock “combines precision timekeeping with public art” and “showcases the contrasting urban and natural settings of the 2010 Winter Games”.
“Steel and glass speak to both the thriving metropolis of Vancouver and also the ice and snow at the heart of winter sport (while) the clock’s red cedar tower evokes images of Canada’s lush forest landscapes and pay tribute to Aboriginal culture and tradition,” a spokesperson said.
The clock, which began counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds remaining until the opening of the Games two years ago, will remain in the city as a permanent reminder of the 2010 international sporting event.
Meanwhile Omega has opened a 50 square metre boutique in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for the duration of the winter games.
Omega, whose official Olympic timekeeping legacy dates back to the Los Angeles Games in 1932, has recently signed a new agreement with the International Olympic Committee which extends the partnership through to the 2020 Olympic Games.