FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Olympic Spirit Wins Thea Award of Outstanding Achievement

Atlanta, Georgia, United States - November 16, 2005

“This year’s Thea Awards are truly an international affair,” said Craig Hanna, of Thinkwell Design & Production and President-Elect of the International Board of the TEA (formerly Themed Entertainment Association) in announcing the prestigious awards for outstanding achievement in the creation of compelling places and experiences.

The Thea Awards are to the entertainment industry what the Oscars are to Hollywood. TEA membership is not a consideration in judging of the awards. Excellence is the only standard. Formal presentations will be made at the Thea Awards and Gala, a special black tie extravaganza, to be held March 18, 2006, at the Disneyland Hotel in California.

Mark Dzenick, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Olympic Spirit Group, congratulated “all the team, whose talent, energy, passion and commitment to the concept, design and development of Olympic Spirit over the years has been recognized by TEA in bestowing upon Olympic Spirit Toronto its highest honour, the 2005 Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement – Branded Visitor Center."

"Far from a culmination of our collective efforts, we are but at the beginning – our imagination, creativity, passion and dedication currently focused and hard at work to bring in the near future, bigger and better celebrations of the Olympic Spirit around the world – to the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and the Orient."

"Our vision and purpose is clear, and in due course we aspire to be an icon of Olympic values and ideals worthy of consideration for a Thea Classic Award, as an entertainment attraction which has stood the test of time as honourably and gracefully as Disneyland, recipient of the 2005 Thea Classic Award. We honour and congratulate all of you who have contributed to the success of the Olympic Spirit program in the past, now recognized by the entertainment industry’s most prestigious symbol of excellence. We are proud to be part of such a great team. We look forward to greater achievements in the future.“

About the Thea Awards - The Thea Awards were created to bring recognition to achievement, talent and personal excellence within the themed entertainment industry, which had some of the most accomplished, yet under-recognized talents working in all of entertainment. From a modest beginning in 1994, the Thea Awards have become internationally recognized as a symbol of excellence – prestigious awards for outstanding achievement in the creation of compelling places and experiences. TEA membership is not a requirement or consideration in judging. Excellence is the only standard.

Inspiration for the name “Thea Awards” comes from three key elements. First, the Greek goddess Thea from whom all light emanates – the mother of Helios (the sun), Eos (the dawn), and Selene (the moon). Second, ‘Theater’ – itself a word derived from the goddess Thea. Third, TEA, the name of the association (formerly the Themed Entertainment Association).

Award for Outstanding Achievement: Branded Visitor Center - Olympic Spirit Toronto (Toronto, Canada) - The Olympic Spirit visitor center provides an engaging and participatory environment as well as an educational experience that captures the essences of the Olympic Games. It successfully combines interactive sports simulators, multimedia presentations and authentic artifacts into an immersive guest experience enabling visitors, particularly children, to effectively understand what it is like to be a highperforming athlete. This permanent discovery center extends the Olympic brand by delivering strong entertainment components within an inspirational learning context.

Among other recipients honoured in TEA’s announcement from Atlanta:

Thea Lifetime Achievement Award - To Yves Pépin, founder of ECA2 (Paris, France) – the designer of logos for the Concorde and Air France, producer of the first interactive audiovisuals for the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre, designer/producer of multimedia shows and large-scale events such as the Eiffel Tower Millennium Show, the night-time spectacular at the Seville Expo’92, Lisbon Expo’98, Yamaguchi Expo 2001, as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in Paris.

Thea Classic Award - To Disneyland - Opened in 1955, Disneyland (Anaheim, California) created a new genre of entertainment environment, immersing guests immediately in immaculately presented story-driven worlds. For fifty years, Disneyland has offered families fun, familiarity, challenge, entertainment, and leading-edge experiences with a style and approach that is often imitated but rarely achieved. Disneyland is a worldwide icon and an exemplar for the entire industry, and the Thea Classic Award honors the park and the thousands of creative people who have conceived, designed and built the park for their leadership role in defining contemporary theme park design and continuing to expand the guest experience.

Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement – Live Event Spectacular - To the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Opening Ceremony – Creating and producing a one-time live event with a cast of over 8,500 performers and crew, live audience of 70,000 and a worldwide broadcast audience of 4 billion is a daunting challenge in any circumstance. To pull it off with sublime artistry, creativity and showmanship is a truly Olympic achievement.

12th Annual Thea Award Recipients -

Thea Lifetime Achievement Award -

· Yves Pépin, ECA2 - France

Thea Classic Award –

· Disneyland - Anaheim, California

Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement -

· Attraction: The Curse of DarKastle, The Ride, Busch Gardens - Williamsburg, Virginia
· Branded Visitor Center: Olympic Spirit Toronto - Toronto, Canada
· Reinvention of a Cultural Heritage Center: Images of Singapore - Sentosa Island
· Live Event Spectacular: Athens 2004 Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies
· Show: Remember… Dreams Come True, Disneyland - Anaheim, California
· Live Show: Fear Factor Live, Universal Studios - Hollywood, California
· Museum: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum
· Exhibit: The Lifeline Table, Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Room - London, UK
· Limited Budget/Refurbishment: Ice Age Adventure! Movie Park - Bottrop, Germany
· Limited Budget: Dodge’s Wild Earth at the Philadelphia Zoo - Pennsylvania
· Development of Interactive Technology: The Magiquest Wand

For more information www.themeit.com

> BACK