Olympics: Vancouver 2010 - Ilanaaq

If anyone has been wondering about that big figure made out of stone blocks you see in some of the broadcasts from the Winter Olympics, the following is from the Vancouver Olympics website:

For centuries, the Inuit people of Canada’s Arctic stacked rock in human form to create the inukshuk, a steadfast guidepost that provided direction across the vast horizons of the North. Over time, the inukshuk has become a symbol of hope and friendship, an eternal expression of the hospitality of a nation that warmly welcomes the people of the world with open arms every day.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games emblem is a contemporary interpretation of the inukshuk. It is called Ilanaaq which is the Inuktitut word for friend. This is the symbol of Canada’s Games – our friend who will help us greet the world in 2010.

Above:  Ilanaaq
Below:  An example of an inukshuk and the 2010 Olympic poster/emblem.