JEFF HODSON METRO VANCOUVER January 08, 2010A consortium of almost 20 organizations and harm-reduction advocacy groups plans to distribute a quarter of a million condoms to residents and visitors during the 2010 Games. SafeGames 2010 plans to have more than 200 volunteers — some dressed as “superheroes” with names like Captain Condom, Methadone Man and Pink Storm — handing out kits with condoms and lube as well as hand warmers, glow sticks and lip balm. “A lot of visitors will find themselves in situations that they might not normally find themselves in,” said Luciano Colonna, a spokesman for SafeGames 2010. Volunteers will be scattered throughout Downtown Vancouver, Granville Island and Whistler during the Games. “We’ll have a bunch of superheroes,” said Colonna, who is among the founders of SafeGames 2002, an organization that handed out 100,000 condoms at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
“We’ll have giant condoms on stilts. We’ll have marching bands … the only limit is our imagination.” The kits will also contain information cards about the city, transportation, safe sex, clinics and 12-step programs. Their website is
safegames2010.com. VANOC and Vancouver Coastal Health, which are not affiliated with this effort, plan to distribute an additional 100,000 condoms to Olympic athletes and officials.
