'Best place to come and watch': Olympic FanFest takes over downtown Calgary
Stephen Avenue has transformed into a central hub for Olympic fans to unite and support Team Canada at the 2024 Paris Games.
Road blocks are in place to allow fans to experience the Calgary food scene and take in the Olympic Games as they happen.
This is the first time the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) has hosted a FanFest for the Games and the opening weekend is in Calgary before it moves on to Toronto and Montreal.
"Best place to come and watch all the competition," said three-time Olympian and program manager of athlete marketing and Olympic legacy for the COC, Émilie Fournel.
"Big screen, lots of cheering happening. There's also so many different things you can try. ... We have booths to try, different sports, breakdancing, soccer, basketball, gymnastics."
Fournel says this event is already proving successful.
"First time ever that Team Canada is putting on a FanFest in Calgary," she said.
"Seemed like the perfect opportunity. We're moving our way slowly across the country. We have great support here from the fans. Lots of athletes come from here, so we were just excited. And the sport is great and summer in Calgary is amazing as well, so why not?"
For snowboarder Liam Gill, the summer is his off-season and he gets to cheer his fellow athletes on from the sidelines.
"I'm like a seasonal sport, so I need a mountain and snow in order to do that," he said.
"So this summer, I'm kind of just chill and go to the gym and stuff, and we love Canada. We love supporting our athletes. And I'm here."
For pin collector Wayne Ronald, the Olympics are about celebrating what unites Canada.
"I've been a collector since the '88 Olympics. I'm down just trying to get some of the pins in there," he said.
"I think this is going to be one of the best Olympics overall. I'm not speaking about just Canada. Everybody can go out and enjoy the Games now, whereas the last couple Olympics, we weren't able to do that."
FanFest will run all weekend and wrap Sunday at 6 p.m.
There will be a chance to meet Olympians and ask for autographs.
FanFest will start again Saturday at 10 a.m. and run until 8 p.m.
Josh Ross, breakthrough artist of the year in 2023 for the Canadian Country Music Awards will headline the stage Friday night beginning at 6:30 p.m.
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