Press Release

For Immediate Release
October 22, 2009

Olympic-themed exhibits in Toronto capture a winning spirit

TORONTO, ON - New exhibits at Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame and Bata Shoe Museum capture the moments of high drama and emotion experienced by Olympians past and present and demonstrate the city’s burgeoning Olympic spirit.

“Toronto has caught the Olympic spirit as much as the rest of Canada and the world has,” said David Whitaker, CEO and President of Tourism Toronto. “We’re rooting for Vancouver and our athletes and it shows in the way our attractions are putting on exceptional sports-related displays.”

The Hockey Hall of Fame secured the entire Olympic medals collection on loan from The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. This marks the only time such a collection has ever been available for viewing outside The Olympic Museum. All 137 medals from every Summer and Winter Olympic Games, dating back from the first in 1896, will be on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame until January 15, 2010. www.hhof.com.

Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum’s Bound for Glory: Cutting-Edge Winter Sports Footwear exhibit focuses on the evolution of winter sports footwear since the Winter Games were first inaugurated in 1924. Bound for Glory celebrates important milestones in the history of winter sports. Visitors to Bound for Glory will see more than 45 examples of footwear worn by some of the world's greatest winter athletes and experience their personal stories of triumph. www.batashoemuseum.ca.

The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay will take place in Canada, in order to share the Olympic Flame, with as many Canadians as possible, in the months leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The Torch relay passes through Toronto on day 50 of the relay, December 17, 2009, and a Torch Lighting ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. at Nathan Phillips Square, where more than 25,000 are expected to attend.

In September, Toronto welcomed the Chinese women’s Olympic curling team to the city to meet locals, have adventures and experience the popular Canadian city in a program led by the Canadian Tourism Commission called Connecting with Canadians. Team captain Bingyu Wang and her team, who are coached by Canadian coach Dan Raphael visited several iconic Toronto attractions.

When it comes to sports, Toronto is unrivaled. The city is home to legendary professional teams like the Blue Jays (baseball), the Maple Leafs (hockey), the Argonauts (football), the Toronto FC (soccer), Raptors (basketball), and Toronto Rock (lacrosse). An international array of sports are played and supported in Toronto with more than 200 sports venues and facilities for both amateur and professional sports.

About Tourism Toronto
Tourism Toronto, Toronto’s Convention and Visitors Association, is an industry association of more than 1,200 members established to strategically sell and market the Greater Toronto Region as a remarkable destination for tourists, convention delegates and business travellers around the globe.

For more information on Tourism Toronto, please visit www.SeeTorontoNow.com or www.SeeTorontoNow.com/Visitor/Experience/Sports-and-Recreation.

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For more information, please contact:
Media Relations
Tel - 416.203.2600
Email - media@torcvb.com