(CBC)
Canadian pop superstar Avril Lavigne will perform during the official
closing ceremony of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.
She is featured in a special eight-minute production designed to
celebrate Canada and point the way to the 2010 Winter Games, which will
be held in Vancouver.
The Torino closing ceremony has a live audience of about 32,000 people
and is seen worldwide by a television audience of 500 million.
Lavigne is featured in a production by the Vancouver 2010 committee
that organizers say will "begin telling the story of Canada's Games in
2010 by featuring a combination of uniquely Canadian talent and themes
that reflect the country from coast to coast to coast."
Vancouver's Olympic organizers have not released other details of the
entertainment lineup for the segment dedicated to Canada, but other
Canadian performers are to be signed on.
The closing ceremony will be Feb. 26, 2006, at 8 p.m. Torino time and
features the final gathering of the athletes, the dousing of the
Olympic flame and the handover of the Olympic flag by Torino mayor
Sergio Chiamparino to Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan.
The main theme of the closing ceremonies is Carnevale, the Italian
masked festival, and it will include performances by some of Italy's
most famous circuses. Popular tenor Andrea Bocelli is the headline
performer.
Lavigne, a native of Napanee, Ont., has been nominated for eight Grammy
Awards.
Known for songs such as Complicated and Sk8er Boi, Lavigne once styled
herself as the anti-Britney. But the punk princess shed her skater girl
image to appear in the January issue of Harper's Bazaar wearing Chanel
and Gucci. Her 2004 album Under My Skin began an attempt to move out of
the teen groove into more mature music.
The choice of an Ontario-born singer, rather than local talent, signals
Vancouver's determination to make the 2010 Olympics "Canada's Games."
The Canadian Games will be held in Vancouver and Whistler from Feb. 12
to 28, 2010. Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March
12 to 21, 2010.
--
Allen Kirshner
(the alt.music.lyrics TV theme guy)
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