.

2010 OlympicWinter Games License Plate

The Olympic (or, as it is more formally known, the 2010 Winter Games) license plate was released by the Province on April 16, 2007, and represents the first specialty / optional base plate made available in British Columbia. To read more about the formal announcement and unveiling of the Olympic plate (as well as its design), Click here!

Premier Gordon Campbell (right) was joined by VANOC CEO John Furlong (left)
to unveil the new B.C. licence plate celebrating the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The Olympic plate program from April 16, 2007 through to December 31, 2010, with approximately 196,305 sets of plates being purchased by motorists.
TYPE TOTAL PERCENT
Passenger Vehicles
154,515
(78.71%)
Commercial Trucks
35,931
(18.30%)
Motorcycles
4,989
(2.54%)
Utility Trailers
557
(0.28%)
Commercial Trailers
227
(0.12%)
Farm Trucks
86
(0.04%)
 
196,305
(100.00%)

Plate Types
The Olympic plate is available in six different bases, including passenger; truck, farm truck; trailer; motorcycle and utility trailer.

Milestones

When the Province announced the release of the Olympic plate, it was estimated that approximately 100,000 sets would be sold over the three year course of the program. However, due to pent up demand, the plates sold much better than epxected and ICBC announced a series of milestones throughout 2007 to 2010:

Issuing Statistics
We here at BCpl8s.ca have dutifully been keeping an eye on the issuance of the Olympic base and have formulated a table that provides an approximate indication as to the progression of the series. Click here!

The Best Plate on Earth?
Every year the Automobile License Plate Collector's Association (ALPCA) holds a survey amongst its membership to determine the most highly regarded design (amongst collectors) issued during that calendar year. In 2007, the Olympic base was nominated for this award. To see how the voting played out, Click here!

Sample Plates
ICBC has announced that there is no intention to make sample plates available to the public, yet we remain hopeful that there will be a movement in this direction closer to the Olympics. In the interim, some interesting specimens have been showing up, just Click here!

Torch Relay - Vehicle Convoy Plates
Since 2006, VANOC has been planning a 45,000-kilometre route that will bring the Olympic Flame within one hour of over 90 per cent of the Canadian population. With the launch of the Torch Relay on October 30, 2009, a not insignificant convoy has been assembled to assist with the progression of the flame across the country. To see the types of license plates assigned to the various vehicles in the convoy, Click here!

Souvenir Plates
As a goodwill gesture, ICBC announced fairly early on in the program that motorists who renewed their plates through December 31, 2010, would be able to keep the front plate as a souvenir if they chose not to keep the Olympic plates after this date. It is understood that exceptions to this policy will be made where the front plate is in rough shape and that a motorist can keep the rear plate, provided the registration decal is covered by the decal shown at right (we particularly like the "Not for Resale" quip).

Reflections
Gawd! Has it been long enough that reflections about the Olympics and, more specifically, the creation of the Winter Games license plate are starting to pop-up on-line? At right is a link to a post published by Dave Doroghy, Director of Sponsorship Sales for the Games, about the work required to create the plates between 2005-07. It is well worth the read.

© Copyright Christopher John Garrish. All rights reserved.