Sam Sullivan: Media Clippings
Riding the Ziptrek line on the Rick Mercer Report
March 27, 2010
"As foolhardy as everyone else" - Sam rides the Ziptrek line
Sam Sullivan got a lot of different duties during his time as the Canada's Paralympic Ambassador for the 2010 Games. Perhaps the one that really tested his nerve the most was riding the free Ziptrek line set up at Robson Square, alongside CBC TV's Rick Mercer. The piece featuring Sam aired on the March 23rd program, which you can see in longer form here.
Sam Sullivan interview with CBC's The National
March 15, 2010
Sam Sullivan in his role as Canada's Paralympic Ambassador interviewed for CBC's The National newscast by Ian Hanomansing.
Sullivan's message of inclusion resonates
March 6, 2010
By Randy Shore, Vancouver Sun
Sam Sullivan delivered one of the city's proudest moments when he accepted the Olympic flag on behalf of Vancouver and the 2010 Games in Turin, performing a series of assiduously practised loops in his wheelchair to ensure the flag would unfurl.
The former mayor battled the cold that day in 2006 and was on the verge of going into a debilitating muscle spasm.
But it wasn't Sullivan's electric pirouettes and athleticism that made an impression; it was his message of inclusion.
Sullivan, of course, stood on the shoulders of giants such as Rick Hansen and Terry Fox. But Fox and Hansen were terrific, charismatic athletes with well-marketed causes. They made themselves heroes with ability and determination and became Canadian icons, each with a highly polished public image.
Looking ahead to the Paralympic Games
February 26, 2010
GlobalTV on the announcement of Sam Sullivan as Paralympic Ambassador
Ex-Vancouver mayor confident Olympics cost is worth it
February 21, 2010
On the eve of the Olympics, the man who was this city's face of the Winter Games was holding court on a universe of social causes, from homelessness and drug addiction to more rights for the disabled.
Throughout the afternoon event, timed to the screening of a film about his life as a quadriplegic, there was barely a reference to anything Olympic.
In fact, Sam Sullivan, the former Vancouver mayor who in 2006 appeared in his wheelchair for the ceremonial handoff of the Olympic flag in Torino, says he doesn't have much interest in the sporting events.
Sullivan carries the Olympic Torch
February 12, 2010
Sullivan carries the Olympic Torch - Photo: The Province
Sam Sullivan to welcome torch to his old neighbourhood
February 11, 2010
By Kristen Thompson, Metro Vancouver
Sam Sullivan has waited a long time for the Olympics to come to his hometown, and tomorrow the former mayor gets to carry the torch through the neighbourhood where he grew up -- Commercial Drive.
"It's a real (sense of) completing the circle," Sullivan said. "(Having) to leave my neighbourhood because of my disability, and then to be able to come back and have this ability to connect with my past -- it's really quite amazing."
Sam Sullivan: GlobalTV interview before Olympics
February 9, 2010
GlobalTV reporter Rumina Day caught up with former mayor Sam Sullivan on Commercial Drive. See the video report here.
Joel Epstein: Exploring Vancouver With A True Olympian
February 3, 2010
Source: Huffington Post
Next week when the Winter Olympics get underway in Vancouver, BC, many will recall the iconic image of Sam Sullivan waving a massive Olympic flag at the 2006 winter games in Turin, Italy. Were Sullivan just another athlete or Olympic official the image he cut would be long forgotten. But Sullivan is no ordinary gifted athlete or business of sports bureaucrat.
As the former mayor of Vancouver and a quadriplegic who worked tirelessly to ready the city and British Columbia for the games, Sullivan is an inspiring figure who will tower over the buff six and a half foot tall athletes at the games from his permanent perch in a wheelchair. Though he will never ski or ice skate again, as a living legend and champion of Vancouver -- and particularly its poor and dispossessed -- Sullivan deserves the Gold as much as any of the athletes who will be competing in this year's winter games.
NY Times: Vancouver's Former Mayor Remains Face of the Games
January 30, 2010
By Greg Bishop, NY Times (published Jan. 30, 2010)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Millions watched four years ago as Vancouver’s mayor, Sam Sullivan, rolled onto the Olympic stage in Italy. Spasms shot through his legs. The blinding lights felt warm.
The crowd at the closing ceremony in Turin gasped as Sullivan turned a tradition into an improbable and stirring moment. Sullivan is a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, yet on that stage he waved the Olympic flag.
At City Hall, thousands of letters poured in from all over the world, from Russia and China and Italy, from the disabled and the able-bodied. The Vancouver Olympics, still four years away, had established an enduring image: the mayor and his Turin twirl.
“People tell me all the time, even now, how tears came when he did that,” said Lynn Zanatta, Sullivan’s fiancée.
Sullivan, 50, will not perform an encore when the Winter Games begin here next month. He lost his party’s nomination for re-election in 2008. He lost his place at the Olympic table. He lost his mentor, Abraham Rogatnick, who died last August, and went to seven other funerals.
Explore.org Documentary: Life in a Wheel
Permanent Link | January 29/10 | Comments (0)
The Olympic mayor who never was says he has no regrets
Permanent Link | January 24/10
Sam Sullivan visits the Big Apple for Christopher Reeve Gala
Permanent Link | November 22/09
Businessman with close ties to Sam Sullivan detained in Chinese jail
Permanent Link | November 10/09
Gentle toast to Sullivan
Permanent Link | December 03/08
Memories are made of this
Permanent Link | December 02/08
Say goodbye, Sam
Permanent Link | December 02/08
Sam Sullivan pokes fun at himself at roast
Permanent Link | December 02/08
Outgoing Vancouver mayor and Langara grad Sam Sullivan encourages political involvement
Permanent Link | November 19/08
Vancouver celebrates AC/DC Day November 28th
Permanent Link | November 19/08
Mayor Sam Sullivan tackled tough issues
Permanent Link | November 13/08
Sullivan says 'I did everything I wanted do'
Permanent Link | November 11/08
Regrets and triumphs of Vancouver's outgoing mayor, in his own words
Permanent Link | November 11/08
Libs stick with Vancouver convention
Permanent Link | November 09/08
Grits are coming to Vancouver!
Permanent Link | November 09/08
BC Place, Whitecaps release snapshot of Major League Soccer pitch
Permanent Link | November 07/08
AC/DC will have its day in Vancouver: Mayor
Permanent Link | November 05/08
Mayor visits CFOX Jeff O'Neil Show
Permanent Link | November 05/08
Great Beginnings initiative cleans up Vancouver neighbourhoods
Permanent Link | November 03/08
City council approves major redevelopment plans for BC Place
Permanent Link | October 31/08
New art gallery, towers and roof for BC Place passes Vancouver council
Permanent Link | October 31/08
City Council approves laneway housing
Permanent Link | October 30/08
Million bucks for cameras to keep eye on crooks
Permanent Link | October 27/08
What do people like doing with their Sundays?
Permanent Link | October 26/08
Need to invest in Vancouver for 2010: Sullivan
Permanent Link | October 24/08
City of Vancouver unveils 24-hour phone information system
Permanent Link | October 21/08
Bill Clinton on Vancouver's green building standards
Permanent Link | October 21/08
Championship Vancouver Whitecaps saluted at City Hall
Permanent Link | October 20/08
Regardless, Caps thinking big; Team planning 'all part of the next step to MLS'
Permanent Link | October 15/08
City hall Caps soccer victory
Permanent Link | October 15/08
Whitecaps flag flying at City Hall
Permanent Link | October 15/08
No Swiss miss: Mayor to speak at IOC summit
Permanent Link | October 08/08
Vancouver mayor makes pitch for Major League Soccer team
Permanent Link | October 08/08
Mayor Sullivan will bear city's torch in meeting with MLS
Permanent Link | October 07/08
Art work to light up city during 2010 games
Permanent Link | September 30/08
Mayor Sullivan reveals plans for Olympic streetcar line test
Permanent Link | September 30/08
Electric cars for Vancouver approved by City Council
Permanent Link | September 30/08
Council to consider electric cars in Vancouver
Permanent Link | September 28/08
Vancouver gives green light to electric cars
Permanent Link | September 27/08
Downtown Ambassador program expanded
Permanent Link | September 23/08
Sullivan in awe of star treatment for Beijing's Paralympics
Permanent Link | September 18/08
Michael Smyth: Mayor made us proud on world stage
Permanent Link | September 16/08
Interview with Chinese media at Paralympic Torch Relay
Permanent Link | September 10/08
China opening its eyes to the disabled
Permanent Link | September 06/08
Hosting Paralympics will aid Chinese disabled, says Sullivan
Permanent Link | September 06/08
Artist co-op in Downtown Eastside opens
Permanent Link | September 05/08
A 'Turin Twirl' in Beijing
Permanent Link | September 04/08
Flaming Fantastic
Permanent Link | August 28/08
Excitement for 2010 Olympics builds on both sides of border
Permanent Link | August 27/08
Vancouver getting safer, says police crime report
Permanent Link | August 24/08
Mayor Sullivan on Beijing Trip (CBC Early Edition)
Permanent Link | August 24/08
Mayor Sam basks in some Olympic limelight after all
Permanent Link | August 22/08
Vancouver's quadriplegic mayor to carry torch in Beijing Paralympic Games
Permanent Link | August 21/08
PARALYMPICS: Vancouver mayor in Beijing to carry torch in relay
Permanent Link | August 20/08
Carrying the torch
Permanent Link | August 19/08
Video: Mayor Sullivan on CTV to defend Insite
Permanent Link | August 07/08
DVBIA welcomes Downtown Ambassador® expansion in five BIA areas
Permanent Link | July 11/08
Canadian Paralympic Committee announces Canadian team for the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games in China
Permanent Link | July 11/08
63 per cent of respondents support the creation of a regional police force
Permanent Link | May 31/08
Seawall extended to front of Olympic Village
Permanent Link | May 28/08
Mayor Sam Sullivan declares June "CBC Radio Orchestra Month"
Permanent Link | May 26/08
Paralympic torch relay coming to Vancouver
Permanent Link | May 15/08
South Asian Post: Mayor Sullivan learns Punjabi language
Permanent Link | May 08/08
Latest crime stats for the city of Vancouver released
Permanent Link | April 03/08
Metro Vancouver residents driving less, taking transit more often
Permanent Link | April 02/08
Mayor Sullivan profiled on Global National News
Permanent Link | March 10/08
Ottawa Citizen: "Gunning for easy answers"
Permanent Link | January 22/08
Maverick Vancouver, B.C., mayor faces Olympic-size challenge
Permanent Link | September 30/07
Cyclers praise bike path progress
Permanent Link | June 28/07
Reinventing the asylum
Permanent Link | June 18/07
Vancouver seeks 2008 Paralympic torch
Permanent Link | June 16/07
Panel looks at how Vancouver ranks as a business city
Permanent Link | June 13/07
Easy living, easy business in Vancouver
Permanent Link | June 12/07
Grassroots take up the challenge
Permanent Link | June 07/07
EcoDensity: Vancouver city hall concerns shift dramatically
Permanent Link | June 05/07
Riverview is not the only choice
Permanent Link | June 01/07
Can’t sweep mentally ill under rug: advocate
Permanent Link | June 01/07
Review for homeless - Vancouver mayor
Permanent Link | May 28/07
Sprawl is our 'inconvenient truth'
Permanent Link | May 18/07
Visitors eye Vancouver’s density plan
Permanent Link | May 11/07
Shift in tax burden should be a wakeup call for homeowners
Permanent Link | April 23/07
Vancouver needs to keep jobs close at hand
Permanent Link | April 12/07
80 million dollars from province for rooms to help the homeless
Permanent Link | April 03/07
B.C. government buys up hotels, buildings for homeless
Permanent Link | April 03/07
Homelessness plan for Vancouver gets green light
Permanent Link | March 14/07
Federal funds spare aboriginal groups
Permanent Link | February 13/07
Mayor Sullivan promotes EcoDensity in national editorial
Permanent Link | February 13/07
Political will needed to fuel change
Permanent Link | February 03/07
Mayor endorses controversial addiction program
Permanent Link | February 01/07
Its Wild Heart Broken, a City, Like Its Eagles, Rebuilds
Permanent Link | January 29/07
Living large on a small planet
Permanent Link | January 25/07
Alternative treatments give addicts a chance
Permanent Link | January 24/07
Mayor backs green cabs
Permanent Link | January 17/07
Ottawa boosts accessible taxi licences after Vancouver mayor's complaint
Permanent Link | January 16/07
Vancouver Mayor honoured by Sikh community
Permanent Link | January 13/07
Keep Your Footprint Out of My Backyard
Permanent Link | January 12/07
Sullivan praises Victoria's plan for social housing
Permanent Link | December 17/06
Achieving a civil society hinges on humane treatment for its lost souls
Permanent Link | December 09/06
Vancouver Mayor eager to learn Punjabi and Sikhism
Permanent Link | September 09/06
Hotel to be Social Housing
Permanent Link | July 12/06
Rick Mercer Report appearance (video clip)
Permanent Link | March 21/06
Greetings from Sam Sullivan
