The large Canadian contingent has travelled to Prague in preparation of the International Olympic Committee's Wednesday vote to choose the 2010 Winter Olympic host city.
The cast of characters ranges from bid architects John Furlong and Jack Poole, to politicians like B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell.
Wayne Gretzky attends a Canada Day gathering at the Canadian Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic with wife Janet Jones and son Tristan. Gretzky and other high profile Canadians are in Prague to support Vancouver's bid to host the 2010 Olympics. (CP PHOTO/Jonathan Hayward)
The group also includes retired hockey star Wayne Gretzky and double Olympic gold medallist Catriona Le May Doan.
All six will join Prime Minister Jean Chretien, as well as other key bid organizers and stakeholders in a final presentation shortly before the 119 voting IOC delegates elect the 2010 host city.
Then, the voters will decide between the three final contenders -- Vancouver, Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang, South Korea.
"My thing I want to come across is how proud I am to be Canadian," said Gretzky, "and how I think our country is the right country to host the Games and how much I believe in our country."
Furlong said Gretzky's participation in the final presentation is a boost to Vancouver's chances.
"It means a lot to everyone on the bid team," he said. "It means a lot to every Canadian."
There are approximately 100 official Vancouver bid delegates in Prague for the announcement. They will congregate at the Hilton Hotel when the IOC announces its decision.
Nervous excitement and cautious optimism are among the emotions setting in for some of the delegates as the announcement draws near.
"I'm excited, I have butterflies," Whistler Mayor Hugh O'Reilly told CP. "As soon as I start talking about it my heartbeat starts to rise."
Dozens of other Canadians have also made the trek on their own.
They don't have official bid business and don't need to shake hands with IOC officials. They're in Prague for the same reason a sold-out crowd will congregate at Vancouver's GM Pace -- to witness a potentially historic moment for B.C.
"I just want to be there for the magic moment," vacationing Vancouver resident Joan Pottinger told Canadian Press. "It's an exciting moment in history. I want to be part of it."
Many of the unofficial Vancouver boosters will watch Wednesday's vote from Canada House, a Prague bar that has been transformed into Canadian territory for the week.
There will be no sightseeing or bars for Furlong in the next couple days. The Vancouver Bid Corp. team has kicked into high gear, shaking hands with IOC voters and ironing out the potentially make-or-break final pitch.
"It's more about consolidating relationships, meeting people we've met before," Furlong told CP Monday.
"We're meeting them to talk to them and continue to build relationships. I think more hinges this time on what happens in the presentation. We have to make a great presentation."
The Vancouver delegation met Monday to fine tune the presentation that could win or lose the city the right to host the 2010 Games. They've scheduled a dress rehearsal for Tuesday, exactly 24 hours before the actual pitch.
Le May Doan, who joins Gretzky as big-name athletes in the final Vancouver presentation, said the behind-the-scenes glance of the Vancouver team has shown her all the hard work that goes into an Olympic bid.
"It's really eye-opening to see how much work and how much passion goes into it," Le May Doan told CP.
She is slated to speak for about three minutes and 30 seconds, offering an athlete's perspective of what it's like to compete at the Games.
"What I talk about is me," added Le May Doan.
"It's so to the core. I've had the Olympic experience and having the Olympics in Canada brought me to this point. I'm not just saying words, I'm speaking from the heart."
with files from Canadian Press
