Only hours away from the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games and the city is buzzing with excitement. But the question on everybody’s lips has been: Who is going to light the cauldron inside BC Place?

Ten years since Cathy Freeman lit the cauldron in Sydney, public opinion in Vancouver remains split between two worthy contenders - Ice Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and Betty Fox, the mother of the late cancer activist and humanitarian, Terry Fox.

In hockey mad Canada, no athlete is more celebrated then Gretzky. Gretzky won nine NHL MVP’s and four Stanley Cups. In his sole Winter Olympic Games, Nagano 1998, Gretzky’s Canadians finished fourth.

“Canada’s all about hockey and he’s the hockey man,” Vancouver native Dan Jepson said.

“When you think of Canadian Athletes, you think of Wayne Gretzky,” said Reece Dwight.

The majority of Canadians who don’t think Gretzky will light the cauldron are right behind Betty Fox. The Fox story has captured the emotions of the whole nation. In 1980, Fox’s son Terry, an amputee with cancer, set out to run across Canada with his prosthetic leg. He unfortunately died of cancer along the way.

“It would be really special if Betty Fox lit the cauldron, its 30 years since he [Terry] started his run so that would be really neat,” said Nicola of Toronto. “He’s such a huge Canadian hero.”

Almost 130,000 people have joined the Facebook group Terry fox's mother to light the flame at the 2010 olympics.

Other notable Canadians who the public would like to see light the cauldron include, former Paralympian Rick Hansen, Actor Michael J. Fox and Olympic Basketballer Steve Nash.

Tom Read
AOC/Vancouver