Friday's show sets Canadian record

An estimated 13.3 million viewers watched the entire Opening Ceremonies Friday night, making it the most watched television show in Canadian history, according to CTV, a consortium of 11 television networks that is televising the games in Canada.

That broke the record held by the gold medal hockey game in Salt Lake City in 2002, which drew 10.3 million. Viewership peaked at 15.6 million when Team Canada entered BC Place during the Parade of Nations.

Eighty-four percent of televisions in Canada that were turned on Friday night were tuned to Opening Ceremonies at some point. In all, two of three Canadians tuned into some part of the 3 hour event.

During a news conference Saturday at the Main Press Center, VANOC spokesman Renee Smith Valade said there were few transportation problems before and after the Opening Ceremonies. There was a slight delay during the ceremony because several of the First Nation chiefs were late arriving due to traffic problems, but that it was barely discernible.

Valade also said there was no lip synching during Friday night's event, although there were soundtracks of the artists playing under each live performance in case of a malfunction, and that if the hydraulic lift that malfunctioned during the cauldron lighting Friday night is needed for Closing Ceremonies

No IOC news conference would be complete without a drug testing update. As of Friday, 717 samples had been collected, 524 urine, 193 blood. No results have been reported as yet.