By Des Dougan

I was very fortunate this evening to have attended the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. BC Place was packed, colourful and loud. Seated high in the nosebleed seats with two of my children, we had an amazing view of the stadium floor as first the audience preparation then the main show kicked off. Clad in pale blue ponchos (there were ponchos around the stadium in 4 or 5 different colours) and armed with reflective gold cards and pompoms with build-in orange lights, we were prepared by the pre-show MC as he rehearsed when and what to do. Of course, once the main show kicked off, most of his instructions went by the wayside, especially in the use of the pompoms. When the stadium had darkened, and everyone (and I mean everyone) started shaking the lit pompoms, the sea of flickering orange lights was a sight to behold.

And did I mention the noise? As well as the excellent sound system, the cheers and screams of support from the crowd left my ears ringing as the performers strutted their stuff. Each country's athletes received loud applause and approval as they moved across the stadium floor. Finally, of course, the host nation entered the arena last and if I thought it had been noisy prior to this - the ovation for Canada's athletes was long and heartfelt and wonderful to see.

The emphasis on the future, showcased by the majority of performers being children, was an interesting and creative direction that differentiated the ceremony quite clearly from its sibling last month. The mix of able-bodied and disabled performers was well managed and brought home how physical challenges are no barrier to people with talent.

Lloyd Robertson's section on Terry Fox was extremely moving and emotional and led well into the lighting of the Paralympic flame, which ended the wonderful event on an excellent high note.

You never know what to expect of events such as this; and the show's directors had a huge challenge to create an event that could stand out on its own. That they did so with zest and some excellent performances is a credit to the entire team behind the show.

Downsides for me - the national anthem seemed to have been tweaked again (it wasn't clear in the stadium other than there appeared to have been an extra chorus added). It's fine as it is (actually, it's a great anthem), so why mess with it?? The second downside was John Furlong's absolutely awful French. I'm sure he's very relieved that he won't have to attempt speak the language ever again after next weekend!

Des Dougan is Principal of Dougan Consulting Group, which provides technology support services to small businesses in the Metro Vancouver area. Des can be contacted here and via @ddougan on Twitter.