Two Olympic Games Organizing Committees paved a new way for inter Games cooperation when they held a joint event at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to help share knowledge, promote friendship and encourage participation in winter sport around the world.

Canada's Vancouver 2010 and Russia's Sochi 2014 joined forces to bring winter to a hot Beijing, courtesy of a networking event that also saw Olympic champions, Olympians and World champions showcasing winter sports.

Demonstrating the high-level support for the partnership, the Premier of British Columbia, Gordon Campbell attended 'Winter in Beijing'. Russian and Canadian athletes at the event in the «Russian Club Bosco» included World champion and NHL ice hockey star, Alexander Ovechkin; World champion aerial freestyle skier, Steve Omischl; reigning Olympic champion speed skater, Svetlana Zhurova and Beckie Scott, cross-country skiing Olympic gold medalists in 2002 and silver medalist in 2006.

The event was also attended by members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Chairmen of the IOC Coordination Commissions for Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Rene Fasel and Jean-Claude Killi, respectively. The representatives of International Federations (IFs), National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and a host of other VIPs from the Olympic Family also participated in the event.

Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 said the evening strengthened a mutually beneficial partnership between the Organizing Committees for the benefit of the Olympic Movement. A series of meetings are planned to discuss and share solutions for the most important elements of successfully holding the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

As members of the Olympic Family, the two Organizing Committees are in Beijing to participate in the IOC Observers' Programme to enhance their hosting knowledge and, for Vancouver 2010, to gain valuable on the ground work experience in advance of the 2010 Games which open in eighteen months.

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