I am currently in Vancouver for the olympics and one of the things I wanted to do was to get the same picture as all of the media have been showing with the torch in front and the olympic rings that are floating in the Harbour in the background.
I was excited as I treked accross downtown Vancouver through the paties outside of BC place and on Granville and Robson. Then we get to the International Broadcast center where the torch is and it is secured like a prison. 10 Foot high fenses with with olympic tarps on top of them to prevent you from seeing through. There is one small area about 20ft long where the tarp isn't there. From there you get to look through the chain link fence at the torch about 100 ft away. With people packed up against the fence the whole area looks like a UN food station.
The worst part of it all is that you get to watch Volunteers and anyone with credentials go past the fence and walk right up to the torch.
So far this picture is my enduring image of the olympic games. The official reason given is that they are worried about protesters vandilizing the torch. I understand that but at a mimimum they could have constructed an elevated viewing platform so that you could see the torch without the fence.