Talk Description to Me
Talk Description to Me
Episode 132 - Air Canada’s Paralympic Send Off Party
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Christine and JJ are always up for new adventures and experiences, especially when there are interesting visuals to describe and gab about!
This week, Talk Description To Me embarks on a new season of on-location escapades, sponsored by Air Canada. To kick things off, the description duo are invited to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport for the national airline’s official send-off of Team Canada’s Paralympic Athletes.
With athletic celebrities in team uniforms parading through the bustling airport, reporters setting up media scrums, and waiting passengers snapping selfies, Christine and JJ join the party, and do some serious invite-only people watching!
Big thanks to Madeline Long-Duke, Director of Commercial Communications at Air Canada, and Jessica Spremo, Vice President of Client Experience at Weber Shandwick, for the invitation and support!
Talk description to me with Christine Malik and J.J. Hunt.
SPEAKER_04Hi, I'm Christine Malik.
SPEAKER_00And I'm J.J. Hunt. This is Talk Description, where the visuals of current events and the world around us get hashed out in description-rich conversations.
SPEAKER_04We recently learned that our little podcast here has some fans at Air Canada. We grew up with Air Canada as our flag carrier, our own national airline. So when they offered to sponsor a series of episodes and invited us to share in some extraordinary experiences that we could describe and pass on to you, we jumped on board and see what we do there. Longtime listeners to our podcast will know us pretty well by now. But these are Canada episodes will be shared on a variety of platforms. My name is Christine Mallet. I'm a member of the Rod Community, and a cultural curator, and the line is organization.
Toronto's Pearson International Airport
SPEAKER_00My name is JJ Hunt. I am a professional access worker who described it. We described it. We are looking forward to it. We were an international airport. That is where we land to focus our attention. When just a few days ago, on a cold February afternoon, with a healthy amount of winter snow still on the ground, Christine and I headed to the airport, Air Canada invitations in hand, to describe the visuals of Team Canada's Paralympic send-off.
SPEAKER_04We are here at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, YYZ. It's February 26th, 2026, and we are here for the official send-off of the Canadian Paralympic Team. Go, Canada, go! So JJ and I are here to bring you the visuals of this send-off. So to have an audio-only experience of the official send-off sponsored by Air Canada of the Paralympic team. Very, very exciting. So we are in a completely functional gate. This is not a set-aside area, this is a functioning gate. We just got a call earlier for Guadalajara. If anyone wants to see Guadalajara, they're welcome. So, JJ, since we're at the beginning of the event, the event hasn't quite started yet. Can we start with some description about just broad strokes, a gate, and then what has happened to this gate to make it festive and special?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. So Pearson uh is a big airport, really big airport. This is uh terminal, we're in terminal one. Uh there are two major terminals. It's massive. We're at gate E85. So that gives you a sense of the number. And that would be the last gate in this terminal. And so it the terminal is uh this part of the terminal, anyway, is really long with one exterior wall of windows. There's almost always an exterior wall of windows at airports these days that allows customers, uh flyers uh who are sighted to look out the window and see that the jetway is there, the plane is there, the all that being clean, the luggage is is being put on. So there's always a an exterior uh wall of windows in big airports these days. So this airport, this terminal that we're in, big long, it was probably a 10-minute walk to walk all the way along that one uh, you know, the all the way through the terminal. And then we turned a corner right at the end, and right at the end there's just a little bit of an L. Just a little run, just a little turn, and then there are these two or three gates in a one little closed off, not quite closed off, but one slightly more secluded area, and that's what we're in. It is just a gate, like it is it is a fully functioning gate. We've got the industrial carpet on the floor, we've got the wall of windows on the outside, lots of uh seating bolted into the floor, um, you know, waiting chairs, uh, there are a couple of desks uh for um you know uh for flight attendants and boarding crew to uh to wait at. There are stanchions and and ropes to help people form lines, there's uh like a little convenience store area to our right and a subway sandwich shop, a couple of bathrooms, very classic airport stuff. And then kind of tucked in all around are little bits of like there's gonna be a party, there's gonna be an event here. So there's um uh an Air Canada um backdrop, so it's like an off-white kind of beigey color with the Air Canada logo, the um uh Canadian Olympic logo, the Canadian Paralympic logo. We can talk about all those later. Um uh for a backdrop in that's behind a podium, a small podium with a single mic at it. That's kind of separating two of these, uh the like two of the boarding areas, two of the gates. So there's like one block of chairs behind it, and there's another block of chairs in front of it. There are a couple of tables set up with uh you know with sandwiches and and snacks that's just being set up now. There are a couple of extra security guards around, and then there are these like cardboard cutouts of Paralympic athletes that are against the the wall of windows, and these really fantastic. You know the uh you know the idea of a novelty check, the oversized check? You win the you win the lottery and they make a giant check that's got that's all fully branded and it's got your name on it. They've got a version of that that is the um like uh the the novelty boarding pass, that is the the the boarding pass for uh folks who are flying on the official flight, the Air Canada flight, taking the Paralympic athletes to the Olympic Games. So those are those are kind of set up around, there are two or three versions of that set up around, too. So, but otherwise, it's a gate. Like there are people who are walking around pushing their rolly bags, there are people, you know, uh buying snacks at the at the convenience store and getting a sandwich from Subway and you know, kicking back and taking off their shoes as they sit and wait in their chairs waiting for their flight. This is an active airport, these are active gates.
SPEAKER_04And so what kind of Canada branding are you seeing around that you wouldn't normally see, like flags or coloration or logos? What are you seeing icon iconographically speaking that says Canada and Olympics?
SPEAKER_00Yes, well uh a lot of the um uh the flights that are in this area, like that are currently using this uh this little wing of the terminal are Air Canada flights. So you're already getting Air Canada branding. The stanchions and the little ropes, all the ropes the that are kind of like seatbelt ropes, they're like um you know bands of nylon. They all say Air Canada on them. There's Air Canada, of course, on the signs for like boarding now, Air Canada flying to Munich, Air Canada to Guadalajara, there's the Air Canada stuff there. So they're Air Canada's branding is Canadian branding. It it is the Maple Leaf. Um, so we're seeing that. And then all of those things that I talked about before, the um athletes, the cardboard cutouts, the the life-size cardboard cutouts of the athletes, they're wearing their Canadian uniforms uh for whatever sport they're in, their you know, their ski uniforms and whatnot, and then the branding on the back drops as well. But otherwise, I gotta say, it's it's a little low-key, not as much kind of like big Canadian flag as I might have expected. Interesting.
SPEAKER_04I know, it's so Canadian of us because we all feel it in our hearts. I'm holding my hand to my heart. We all feel it. But um, and so those cardboard cutouts, I I instantly want one. And there's a a tabletop curling board that also, if anyone's wants to dispose of that after the event, I want to take that home too.
SPEAKER_00You want in on that?
SPEAKER_04I want in on that action. It's got little moving pieces, and I want to fling those down right down the uh right down the line. So, what do we what we think is gonna happen today? There'll be a parade.
SPEAKER_00Um there's gonna be, I think, uh some kind of parade where the the Paralympians make their way to the gate. Um I think there's gonna be a media scrum, which is pretty cool.
SPEAKER_02I'm kind of looking forward to knowing what that looks like from the outside. Not that I've been in the middle of one because I don't want to be, but what does that actually mean?
SPEAKER_00What does that look like in real time? Yeah, so we'll we'll be able to check that out. Um and then yeah, then there's the the actual boarding. We're gonna be here as the athletes uh board. I'm kind of excited about the idea that we get to be here and s and and kind of and say farewell, say good luck, say do your best.
SPEAKER_04It's all they're like astronauts, right? I feel this. That Olympic athletes are like astronauts, they have to be the top in every way. Yeah. And not just in their skill, but in their composure, in their emotional stability, in their charisma. And so these are the best of the best of the best of the best of us. Yeah, I feel it too. I feel the it's gonna be a very exciting time.
Tabletop curling
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's a good day. I'm I'm this is gonna be fun. Christine was pretty interested in the tabletop curling game. So we hovered around a bit and did a bit of table watching. The game was set out on a folding table near the sandwiches and drinks, and waiting passengers were starting to realize it was set up for them. The curling board was a long rectangle, about two feet long, with a house orbit and centered blue and red circles painted at either end of the smooth white surface. In place of curling rocks, players used metal marbles encircled by thick bands of rubber, which acted as stabilizers and bumpers. Some passengers would walk by, consider the board, and casually slide a marble rock and then head back to their seats. But others re-able in the ball is the thing that does the rolling. One guy, so into it. So he's lean he he's he's leaning forward, getting his hand really close, and he's using a flick technique and flick, and so that that little yeah, with his fingers, like a little and then that rock goes all the way down to the other end and hopefully stops in the you know the the bullseye style, the rings, and then he does all his rocks, and then the other guy's going and doing all his. That's not exactly official curling rules, but if you're playing like flick curling, but I just love how into it the one guy in particular is like the one guy's like standing up and he's like just holding his hands at his side, flicking half of his rocks or going into the gutters and whatever. The other guy, he is lining himself up perfectly, he is leaning forward, he is into it, and he's winning.
SPEAKER_04It's winning. Tabletop hockey, air hockey is classic Canadiana, but have you ever seen this before?
SPEAKER_00I yeah, I mean there are versions of shuffleboard uh like that are basically curling um uh that you find at bars and things like that. Uh a version like this, I'm I'm it's probably just a commercially available game. Like this is uh but no, I haven't I've I've played definitely played some table hockey in my day, but not this. I haven't I haven't played this before.
SPEAKER_04I'd like to talk about branding because there's a lot of that happening here. There's there's Air Canada branding, there's Olympic branding, there's Paralympic branding, and those are all very, very intentional, and uh one of our favorite words on talk description to be very iconic, and so a lot of people, sighted people would see them and instantly know what that means. So can we break down the visuals of some of those?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, so absolutely, and you're right, like a lot of that stuff is um, especially with all of those things, they're send it around in Canada, the Maple Leaf. Um, so it is exactly that iconic. We see it instantly. Um uh if you are sighted and you are in Canada. We're not huge flag waivers, but anything that that has a maple leaf on it, we're gonna respond to right away. So I don't want to start with Air Canada branding.
SPEAKER_05Yes.
SPEAKER_00So uh yeah, Air Canada is the flag-bearing airline, the flag carrier. It's a that's a legacy term from those the days of the national airline. And from a visual standpoint, what that means is Air Canada literally flies the flag in its branding. The airline logo is a bright red maple leaf that's encircled by a red ring that connects uh to the stem just on one side. And then the name Air Canada often appears below or beside that in simple black all caps. Um these days a lot of the Air Canada planes, uh like almost all Air Canada planes carry Air Canada branding, but the uh most of them right now are white-bodied airplanes with this with a black tail fin. Like it's it might be even a dark, technically a dark, dark, dark blue, but it reads as black um tail fin. Um and then the name Air Canada in that simple black all-caps writing over the windows along the front half of the plane on both sides, and then that red encircled maple leaf logo on both sides of the black tail fin. Um, as the official airline of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic team, they've actually created a custom design for the Olympic livery. Do you know about the Olympic livery?
SPEAKER_02I do not. I do not. Sounds very victorious.
SPEAKER_00This is this is the plane, the actual plane that is uh uh decorated to carry the uh uh the athletes to and from the Games. Okay. Um uh and so there is a custom design for the Olympic livery, which is an Airbus 330, I believe. Um that's the the the plane that the team members are gonna take to and from the games. So to the sides of this white-bodied uh airplane, huge enlarged photographs of four athletes have been added. These huge, huge pictures printed um on this uh like a vinyl sticker, basically, and and you know, added on to the sides of the airplane. There are uh four athletes um on each side of the airplane, the same four athletes. Um uh Alexis Cumont, uh the Paralympic Alpine skier, is depicted zipping downhill, kind of leaning into a turn. Marie-Philippe Poulain is um peering through the cage of her hockey helmet. Um Mikhail Kingsbury is a freestyle skier, and he is shown seemingly floating through the air, kind of mid-twist. It's like leaning back mid-twist. Um Ina Forrest, the wheelchair curler, is shown leaning forward in her wheelchair, staring intently with her rock delivery stick in hand. And so those enormous, enormous stickers are on the sides of the airplane, um, along with uh in big black letters, the tagline We fly the flag. That's the you know the tagline of Air Canada. Um uh it's in English on one side of the plane, and then on the other side, the same tagline in French, Hôte le Drapeau. And then finally, um on the dark blue tail of that livery, the air, the the usually red Air Canada ringed maple leaf has been changed to gold.
SPEAKER_04Oh and so how about Olympic and Paralympic uh icons?
Team Canada uniforms
SPEAKER_00Uh the the Canadian Olympic uh logo is um uh a red maple leaf over the Olympic rings, the the the five rings of the Olympics. And that's uh you know encircled by uh a thin red line in an oval shape. The Paralympic, uh the Canadian Paralympic logo is uh is a play on that. So in this case it's half a red maple leaf, but it's kind of wavy, it looks almost like um lapping flames in a fire. And then the rings, they're kind of um pulled together in a slightly different way. So you only get crescent shapes instead of ring shapes, and they're kind of clustered together. So those are on like in this space, those are on the backdrops, those are on lots of the signs, and those are also on the airplane as well. So those are the the official logos of the teams. The uniforms for the Olympic and Paralympic teams, those are a really big deal. They're a really big design deal and big business. Um the the the uh these outfits, these official uniforms are worn by athletes, coaches, and staff, both during the opening ceremony and closing ceremonies, but also at media ceremonies uh like at medal ceremonies and during media appearances, when they travel, even when you're hanging around the village, the idea is that you are supposed to be wearing your parts of your official uniform. And I understand the athletes' trade. Like, oh, I really love that sweater. Can I have that sweater? I really and so you trade us your sweater for someone else's hat. Oh wow. Yeah, pretty cute. In the old days, in the 1920s and 30s, like an official Olympic or Paralympic uniform might be like a simple sweater with just the country name across the chest, kind of like a varsity sweater, like like you would find with like a with the university name written across the chest. Uh in the 60s and 70s, that was kind of the era of the track suit, which was more like a warm-up suit, nylon jackets and pants in colors pulled from the national flag. Obviously, that's more of a summer games thing, um, but you know, they had winter versions as well that were kind of more like snow pants. But they were very yeah, they they were like pull-on outfits, warm-up wear. Then in the 80s, more big name fashion designers got involved, and now it's like you get fashion brands and high-tech brands that put put together these outfits that are like it's a showcase for the brands, right? And so these outfits are sold directly to consumers. Some elements of a team uniform, frankly, are more like costumes, like theatrical costumes. The stuff that you're gonna wear at the opening and closing ceremonies, those are those outfits are designed to look good in a stadium or on TV when groups of people are walking through a gate or doing a parade. Um those costume pieces make a really good entrance, but would look really weird if you saw an athlete walking around the village in one of those. Um other parts of the of the official like clothing line, the official uniform are gonna be more like everyday fashion. So that's what the athletes are gonna wear around the village. Like uh performance uh coats and performance snowpants and touches and gloves and baseball hats. For the last, I think it's four years, the Canada's team, uh Team Canada's uniforms have been designed by Lululemon. Um, and this year they've gone with a look that I've heard called a conceptual aesthetic. A conceptual aesthetic. The Canadian flag is cherry red and white. Um, but for these games, Lululemon, that their palette leans on these really deep reds, like dark burgundies, really dark reds. They've also got some coats and snow pants in like this dark silvery bluish green, really shiny colors that could be described as cold or icy. And they're also using chocolate brown as a contrasting or a secondary color. So the jackets that they have, uh, because there's a whole line of them. A lot of the jackets are like high-fashion puffer coats, um, with subtle images of topographical maps of Canada stretched across the whole garment. So that's where like this, like there's some concept here, right? Like, so you get these topographical lines all the way across some of these garments, and then you've got um accessories like touches and baseball hats, sling bags and shoulder bags. Oh. And they and they these bags have and and the and mittens. Remember when you were a little kid and you and you had your mittens clipped to your to your parka or whatever? That's right. Well, they've kind of taken that idea and they've got straps that connect to these sling bags and these mittens that go over the shoulders and over the neck, so they look kind of like suspenders. Oh my god. That's really fun. Um the big fashion costume for the Canadian team coming out of like this was certainly the case for the Olympic Games. I'm guessing the Paralympic team is going to be wearing the same. At the opening ceremonies were these big, they were called quilt jackets. They're like big chocolate brown shawl-like quilts in the puffy parka material with a huge red maple leaf on the front. Like take up the entire front of these garments. And then really low armholes, like at elbow height. So they really do wear like a shawl, but made out of parka. Puffy Parka material. They were absolutely talked about at the Yeah, oh yeah, these were a big deal. I should also note that Lululemon is getting a lot of international attention and kudos for their commitment to accessible design in this year's uniforms. Apparently they worked with the Paralympic team to include adaptive design elements into their clothing. I know it's fantastic. So they've got um uh seated fit styles for athletes who use wheelchairs, they've got adaptive footwear, they've a lot they're um all of their clothing uses um magnetic zippers and pull-on loops, and they even have added braille elements. So the zipper tab has the word Canada in English text embossed on one side, and then the braille text embossed on the other. Oh and a lot of these inclusive design elements are these are just part of the garments for the Olympic team and the Paralympic team across the board, which really does create a nice sense of unity across the whole team, eh?
SPEAKER_04I'm curious about how and if any of this trickles down into popular culture and popular clothing wear. And so after the Olympics, are there versions of this the way some people wear, like a hockey jersey or a team shirt? Does this filter down?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. You can buy almost all of the things that I just mentioned here and lots more on online at Lululemon, at the at the the you know, whoever the sell the official sellers are, probably on their on the uh the Olympic and Paralympic uh websites and whatnot. And there will be items of clothing that will be really popular. This is really you know, really a big hit. Uh the sweater is really popular, this jacket is really popular, um, this hat is really popular, and like every year there are one or two items that are like, oh, the must-have items for the teams.
SPEAKER_03So we don't know what those will be yet, right?
SPEAKER_00Who knows? I don't know. I mean, listen, my fashion blog hasn't blown up yet with what yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Your fashion blog. Okay, let's put that aside for the moment and then say in a month or so might you be seeing this on the streets?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Yeah, there will definitely be. Uh like I bet those if I had to guess, some of those coats with the topographical maps on them.
Media scrum
SPEAKER_04I instantly wanted one when you described. Those are cool. Yeah, soon after, a few of the athletes began to arrive, and members of the press started to gather. We actually got into the airport several hours earlier, and we went through security with a number of journalists who were traveling in pairs of ordinary reporters and camera operators, and some teams were wheeling and folding cards here and tripod. This was all new to us. So I asked JJ to describe how members of the media were setting up and covering the event. So, JJ, I very much feel like we're in this privileged position here because we're sort of behind the scenes of stuff that we don't normally get access to. And one of the things that's going on is we'll be uh making wiggly air quotes, a media scrum, which I just love to say. And so what that's gonna mean a lot of um visual media, a lot of popular media interacting with the athletes, and so I believe that's being sort of assembled as at the moment. So, what are you seeing happening in that respect?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so the the the the podium and backdrop area has has changed quite a bit. So the backdrop is still there, um, but the podium has been pulled away, and instead uh where the podium was, now is a row of cameras, uh, TV cameras, um uh and smaller media cameras as well. It looks like one, two, three, four, I see five, six cameras. Um and each camera has a camera operator behind it. These are all uh, you know, they these range from what would have been an old-fashioned camcorder size, the one that you would kind of hold on your shoulder, that kind of camera, to um just like a nice high-end um personal camera that's a digital camera. So they range their all oh, it looks like two more, three more people who are now are also there filming in um with cell phones, because cell phones are being used. There are uh like microphones, and it looks like there are someone's being interviewed now.
SPEAKER_01Is this like a press conference style? Yeah. Is that what a press conference might look like?
SPEAKER_00I paused there for a moment because I wondered if it was going to be amplified uh into it and presented out. It it doesn't seem to be, but it is exactly that press conference style. So normally, um, if you're watching on TV, you see the view, obviously, from one of those cameras. We're behind that scrum. There's now a second layer of press that are standing on chairs. Oh they've got people, they they kicked passengers out of their waiting area seats. Sorry, what all are and they're standing up on chairs with cameras held high and and they're filming down into this, into this media scrum. Some people are like some reporters are leaning in with microphones. Um, and uh, you know, I can just see that a couple of the microphones have branding on them. Um and uh but I still can't make out who exactly is being interviewed in there because I can't hear them and there are uh so many people around. The other thing I'll mention is like what's going on with the crowd of like the crowd of folks who are just waiting for their airplanes. Some people not paying any attention to this going on. They're just waiting for their airplane. Some of them are getting sandwiches because they all of those sandwich tables that have been left out are those sandwiches. This is lovely, they're just for everyone at the gate. So folks are like getting their sandwiches, getting their wraps, and you know, filling their backpacks with cans of coke and whatever. And uh, and then others are obviously very interested in what's going on. So there are a handful of others who are not part of the media scrum, but they've also got their cell phones out and they're filming and they're watching and they're listening. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Something's happening. There's a I I think there must be an interesting visual vibe when there's celebrities in the room, and so everyone knows there's some notable people. Otherwise, why would there be cameras? And I'm always curious about how that changes the visual dynamic of how people move around a space and interact with each other.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it is interesting. I can't see who's being interviewed, but I know something important is happening where all everyone's facing the same direction. You've got cameras and phones all facing in the same direction. And every like there's a lot of people craning necks. Like standing a little talking about who's going on, what's going on over there? Yeah. Uh it is interesting to be in a space where there is uh yeah, there's a there's a celebrity, there's a there's an athlete. You know, uh when you and I met, we were uh playing goal ball together, right? We were playing pickup goal ball.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's how we met.
SPEAKER_00That's how we met. And some of the members of the uh Paralympic goal ball team would come and occasionally scrub like scrimmage with us just to get there, just to have a little bit of a workout. Yeah. They were obviously slumming. Yeah, exactly. They were leagues better than we were. But I remember like when one of those athletes would walk into the gymnasium on any like you know, random Thursday night, there was a like a feeling in the air.
SPEAKER_04It was a little static in the air. It's really true. It's really I was an observer, not a player, but I felt it too that there would they had a forcefulness and an energy, and I knew who they were and why they were there. So it was partly their personalities, because I don't think you get there by being timid, but it was also just the knowledge. This is someone who's an expert in this thing. Oh, yeah, and here they are with us.
SPEAKER_00It was a big deal. I remember uh I I took a I took a ball to the face at one point because I wasn't very good. I I didn't have good form in my blocking, and I dove, I took a ball right to the face, and I got a black eye. Oh and I wore that black eye so proudly, I walked around like I got this from a Paralympian.
SPEAKER_04Lovely. And with the the the selfie culture, are you seeing that people who might not be here specifically for this event are kind of going, Oh, something famous is going on. I want a picture of myself in front of this. Absolutely.
The Para Athlete Parade
SPEAKER_00So I just I as you were talking, I was scanning to see what I could see, and there was a woman who got walked right up to the front, uh, you know, wearing her parka, getting ready to, you know, board the airplane. She walked right up behind the cameras, took a photo, and then immediately got got her thumbs to work. And if I had to guess, that was a take and sense. Here I am at the here's what I'm doing. I saw uh earlier as we were walking around a couple of flight attendants who were carrying uh little paper um Canadian flags with them. And they stopped in front of the in front of one of the posters that had the the Air Canada branding, that had uh, you know, a you know a photograph of one of the uh Paralympians, and they stopped the two of them in their flight attendant uniforms or Trim Air Canada flight attendant uniforms. They're they're made up and ready for work. They got their flags and they cuddled up nice and close, and one of them held the camera high in the air, and they took the photo of selfie down so that they could catch them and the poster, the branding behind them. It's absolutely the case that the um uh there are professionals taking photos, there are uh individuals taking photos, and then there are lots of people taking selfies. People want I was here. After the media scrum, things quieted down a bit. We stopped for a break, had a few sandwiches, and then Chris sat down for a moment while I went off to stretch my legs. I walked out of the party gate and turned the corner into the long vaccinated terminal, and discovered a completely gaggle of athletes and air-handed ambassadors approaching completely bagged in the main foot with hair athlete in the front, waving flight attendants and pilots behind them, and waving passengers gathered at the left and right, like kids lining the curb at a holiday parade. Luckily, I had the mic with me, so I started describing as the roving party made its way through the terminal all the way to the send-off gate. Okay. So just JJ here. Right now, the Paralympians are coming all the way through the terminal. A whole group of folks led by several athletes in in wheelchairs, they're making their way through the airport with Team Canada signs being held by Air Canada employees, flight attendants chanting, people in uh in their seats all through the terminal are uh turning to watch the athletes as they make their way through the space. There's a huge lineup of people that's gathering around behind for this parade, too. So lots of folks um who are um part of the official um like parade, part of the official ceremony, but also people who are just gathering behind and following the athletes, following the Paralympians, okay. Chris, Chris, they're coming, they're coming. All right, so the athletes just made their way. So the athletes have just made their way through the whole tunnel. Excuse me. And they're now entering our gate area here. So led by one, two, three, four five athletes in wheelchairs and power scooters, several other athletes coming behind, all in uniform. We talked about the uniforms earlier. So these are like um burgundy sweaters with the topographic maps in lighter red, kind of spread across them. We've got um zoom of athletes and family members all the way in flags. Interesting, some of the media folks are right in the parade. So some of the professional cameras are being are filming from right inside the parade, and a couple of the broadcasters, some of the on-air personalities from local um radio uh television stations, they're holding up cell phones. They're walking inside the parade and filming themselves, and then others as um as the whole parade comes in. Now is when the flags are waving. So Canadian flags being waved all over the place, and uh, and like everyone has made their way into the space now, and lots of folks standing on their feet. So all those sandwich eaters, all the folks who are just here waiting for their plane, they are all on their feet to watch again. We talked about what it's what it does when celebrity enters the room, right? Everyone knows, even if you don't recognize the individual athlete, you recognize the attention. You recognize everyone's turn to look, lots of cameras on. So all of those athletes are now in the in the boarding gate area that we are in. Um people are starting to settle back down, get back into their chairs, and look at their phones. What did I get? What did I capture? Can I send it to anyone? Like all of that stuff is happening now, and then all uh a lot of the athletes have moved to a uh to an area that's kind of behind the um the backdrop, and I guess there's gonna be more media scrum and so far uh and so forth over there. Wanna go check it out? See if we can fight our way through? Okay. The crowds have gotten thicker. It it's like the number of people in this gate area probably doubled in the last two minutes. Oh wow. Yeah, yeah, it's pretty wild. Okay, let's see if we can fight our way through. So there's uh uh what looks like one family uh to our left, um, where there's a kid who's rocking two paper Canadian flags, rocking back and forth on his heels, doing his own little flag show. So flags above, flags down the side, crisscross in front, like he's doing a little dance all by himself. There's no other activity of that sort going on. A lot of the flight attendants that were part of the parade coming in, they've all gathered together, um, you know, just aside, and they're chatting excitedly, like, you know, they were just part of this party. They were just not part of the and now they're taking selfies, all the flight attendants in a group, some of the flight attendants holding up the peace sign, and one flight attendant holding up his camera up high and taking photos down into the whole crew. They're having their little party. Um, and yeah, and now the crowds are kind of dispersing a little bit. Oh, and I should say, almost all of the free sandwiches are gone. Nope. So the lineup at Subway has gotten a lot longer.
SPEAKER_02That's how it works. Got it. Okay. We're waiting for the dessert table. Yeah, that's right. I'm not performing in the Paralympics. That's right. Bring on the square.
SPEAKER_00Bring on the two-bite brownies, right? Where are the nanaimo bars?
SPEAKER_02That's patriotic. It's only patriotic to eat at anything.
SPEAKER_00If you can get a nanaimo bar and a butter tart in one dessert, come on.
SPEAKER_04It'll be a lost opportunity if it doesn't happen.
SPEAKER_00Peak Canada, right there. So glancing about the this kind of gate area now, I'm there are lots of because there are well, I don't know how many different athletes, must have been 20 uh Paralympic athletes who came in during that parade. They've all broken up into little groups. So uh one or two athletes with this news camera and this news team, and then another couple of athletes over here with this news camera and this news team. And um so there are all sorts of these conversations going on, all sorts of these official uh um, you know, interviews happening, some that are being uh set against official backdrops that were uh set up as part of the the decorations of this of the space, the um, you know, the the the branded Air Canada backdrops, some are just being taken with um uh you know regular airport scenes uh as background. So one of the things I find really interesting watching the media do their work, the professional media, is a lot of the uh a lot of these crews have have big cameras, have big professional cameras, and they're also using cell phones. So reporters who are I I recognize from local news stations not only recording content to big camera for air, but also recording content on cell phones, but in a professional way. So I don't think those are I'm guessing, but I don't think those are clips that are for their own personal use. I think those clips are to be posted on social media in a professional capacity. You can like that's something that is done more increasingly these days, where you get professional news and opinion pieces and so forth delivered on social media recorded by those per uh by those reporters, and I think that's what we're that's what we're catching glimpses of here.
SPEAKER_03I have no idea. So maybe say CBC has an Instagram account or something, exactly how you might see something like that.
SPEAKER_00Or or even the reporter themselves. Like I bet some of that stuff would be both the reporter, they have a professional feed, but also, yeah, like the the broadcaster would have their own feed, and so that some of that content could be um could be aired there, some of it might be for personal professional social media, if you know what I mean. Yeah, that's fascinating. I don't think even two years ago you would have seen that kind of thing. That's that's that's my sense of it, but I think that's right.
SPEAKER_04Well, and it's I I hear sight of people say this all the time that phone cameras are so good these days, so that you could it's it's comparable to maybe to in some degree what you're getting from the big cameras.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, it's you it's certainly usable. Like there's nothing about it that is uh um that is awkward or substandard. It's absolutely usable. By the way, uh a flight attendant just walking by. This is an Air Canada flight attendant again, full uh uniform, which is like a skirt suit, uh, you know, well done up, ready for to do her job. She's got a Canadian flag draped across her back, like she's an athlete that's just won her event. So Chris, a lot of the folks, uh like a lot of the uh the Paralympians, the athletes, have looks like they've done their official interviews, they've done their photo ops in front of the uh the branding backdrops and whatnot. Um and now a lot of them have like they've stripped off the outer layers of their uniforms, so they're they're official sweaters, but they're all still wearing the same matching uh like sweatpants and the same matching hats, but they've they've they've you know taken off the outer layer sweaters and they've they've gone over to the far corner of the space and they're like chilling out, they're hanging out, they're just having conversations. And I mean, these are probably athletes from a variety of different sports, they might not all know each other.
SPEAKER_04That's very interesting to me, eh? Like, how well do they know each other? Because it is very different sports, different parts of the country. That's right. Different disabilities.
Group photo
SPEAKER_00But here they're gonna, that's exactly all of those are uh that would put them in different rooms, different spaces, different training facilities, different coach coaching staffs. But now they're here, they're hanging out, they're in uniform matching uniforms. They're Team Canada, and they're getting to they're hanging out together, and they're all gonna be on the same flight together now, too. So the party's gonna continue. The party's gonna go from here, all back, you know, onto the airplane, and then they're gonna get to the Olympic Village, and you know, they're with their crew, they're with their people, they're with their team. The party was starting to wind down, and the athletes had a plane to catch. But before the Air Canada flight crew got to work, they wanted an official photo with the athletes. Flight attendants, pilots, and Paralympic athletes rushed in from every corner of the space to join the ever-expanding group photo. Okay, so now uh the several of the Paralympians are lined up in front of the uh the backdrop banner that we talked about earlier. The podium has been removed, and the flight crew is standing behind them. So we've got uh Paralympians, uh four five four athletes in wheelchairs who are at at the fr in the front row. They're holding one of those oversized boarding passes, the novelty boarding pass. Behind them are board or gate crew, um pilots and flight attendants, as well as other athletes standing behind them. So flight attendant uniforms in like skirt suits and pant suits, and um pilot uniforms, which are black suits with black caps. And black ties. And then all oh, it looks like more athletes are piling in. So now it's good, now it's like the family photo where people pile in. At first it was organized. Now we've got athletes who are coming in, who are walking and standing in behind. One of the pilots is handing out little tiny paper air can or Canadian flag flags. And so this is there's some professional lighting set up here. There are professional photographers who are taking pictures. There are also, oh, looks like we've got some coaching staff coming in. Now the group's growing even more. So there must be probably 25 people now piled into this photo.
unknownOh wow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so yeah, the athletes in wheelchairs, it's like, guys, you gotta come forward. So now they're they're moving forward and more. Oh, there's a flight attendant just went whipping right past. She's running in with her flag. Everyone wants in on this photo. And those who are just like waiting for their for their gate, waiting for their flight, they're they want in on this too. They're standing, they're taking photos of the of the athletes. Oh my god. Okay, the backdrop is literally like wobbling. It's being pushed, it's being tilting back and forth. Lots of big smiles. Oh, a couple of flight attendants were not happy with their position. They're running from one side of the. Yeah, I think they were told, come on, there's too many on the right, you've got to move to the left. So they get they moved across.
SPEAKER_05It's like the class photo.
SPEAKER_00It really is. Um photographer always has to tell a joke to get to get the smile. Did you catch that laugh?
SPEAKER_02I did. I I didn't know why.
SPEAKER_00That's right.
SPEAKER_02I want to know what he said.
SPEAKER_00They got jokes, they got one-liners. Why not?
SPEAKER_02That's right. I guess that's one of your qualifications.
SPEAKER_00That's right. Can you tell a cheap joke to the phone? That's right. No, that's right. And I can tell you, no one is looking grumpy in this photo. There are a lot of very genuine smiles in this group of people. The athletes, the Air Canada employees. There are a lot of very happy people in this space with us right now, Chris. There you go. Athletes throwing their hands in the air for that one last photo.
SPEAKER_04This episode was recorded in Terminal One of Toronto Pearson International Airport and in studio in Toronto, Canada, with a technical production by Jacob Symansky. Big thanks to Madeline Long Duke, the Director of Commercial Communications at Air Canada, and Jessica Sprimo, Vice President of Client Experience at Weber Shandwick, for the invitation and support. Stay tuned for more Air Canada adventures in upcoming episodes.