We knew flags and patriotism were sensitive issues so how do you give countries the respect they deserve? The first step was to make sure whatever we did was not in the shape of a conventional flag.
CTV had a full online list of countries that participated in Torino. We were told it would take months to know who might be coming to Vancouver so the 2006 list of participants was the best guess. Then the hard work really began. Literally hundreds of hours were devoted to researching colours, making sure that whatever we used in our decals was accurate and of the highest quality. The blues had to be perfect; the reds had to be exact. I never imagined there were so many shades of red used in national flags. China’s red is different than the US red which is different that the Great Britain red and if you really get into it... you learn that some flags are the same colours, in the same order but vertical stripes instead of horizontal (see Germany and Belgium or Poland and Monaco which are upside down versions of each other. It is enough to make you dizzy. Our thanks to Clarke Wright for his endless passion to get it perfect!
CTV had a full online list of countries that participated in Torino. We were told it would take months to know who might be coming to Vancouver so the 2006 list of participants was the best guess. Then the hard work really began. Literally hundreds of hours were devoted to researching colours, making sure that whatever we used in our decals was accurate and of the highest quality. The blues had to be perfect; the reds had to be exact. I never imagined there were so many shades of red used in national flags. China’s red is different than the US red which is different that the Great Britain red and if you really get into it... you learn that some flags are the same colours, in the same order but vertical stripes instead of horizontal (see Germany and Belgium or Poland and Monaco which are upside down versions of each other. It is enough to make you dizzy. Our thanks to Clarke Wright for his endless passion to get it perfect!
The enthusiasm went on from there. 3M came through by donating a portion of the decal materials and Ken and Mike from Brushworks planned and planned for how they could get 450 decals placed on the sidewalk in the most efficient manner. There are a lot of unsung heroes in the FlagWalk story. All of them small, local companies or contractors that captured our vision, embraced it as their own, and helped us make it happen. Even our respective organizations got enthusiastic. 2 generally competitive shopping districts collaborating on a project is a brave move. Our thanks for their trust.
By the time 3 decals were down on the sidewalk, FlagWalk was drawing attention. People were stopping on the street, trying to decide what decal represented which country. A big smile would appear when a pedestrian guessed which country was being attached to the sidewalk. What got the most attention was that there was no advertising or reference to the Olympics in any way. Certainly this was a city project! Nope… just 2 little business districts who wanted to celebrate something great – friendship. Somehow that made FlagWalk even better.
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