Yo, VANOC! Your trouser zipper is open!

"Your trouser zipper is open" is of course one of two examples from the "Embarrassing Situations" section of the Olympics "Business Etiquette Protocol Manual", the other one being "A button has come undone". This does not seem to be a very complete list of what to say in 'embarrassing situations' involving foreign dignitaries, and I can't see how either one would be much help in the event that, for instance, you throw up on their shoes.

At any rate, VANOC has itself wandered into open trouser zipper territory this weekend with its release of a promotional video which includes footage from Leni Riefenstahl's film of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.
Leni, by the way, invented the burning stick relay for her film. VANOC felt a bit squeamish about all the Nazi salutes however so they edited them out.
Almost as peculiar is their choice of Coldplay's "Fix You" as a backing soundtrack. :

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I will try to fix you

Um, er , "a button has come undone" ...

The Guardian : Vancouver's Olympics head for disaster

The Bailout Games have already been labelled a staggering financial disaster. While the complete costs are still unknown, the Vancouver and British Columbian governments have hinted at what's to come by cancelling 2400 surgeries, laying off 233 government employees, 800 teachers and recommending the closure of 14 schools. It might be enough to make one cynical, but luckily every inch of the city is now coated with advertisements that feature smiley people enjoying the products of the event's gracious sponsors.

Conservative estimates now speculate that the games will cost upwards of $6bn, with little chance of a return. This titanic act of fiscal malfeasance includes a security force that was originally budgeted at $175m, but has since inflated to $900m. With more than 15,000 members, it's the largest military presence seen in western Canada since the end of the second world war

... a corrupt relic of the 20th century that does little more than gut city coffers and line the pockets of developers and investors."

Actually the relevance of those Coldplay lyrics is starting to make a bit more sense now.
.