AMID ALL the scandals and successes during this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, one announcement went largely unnoticed. The international ArtsGames – the only country-versus-country medal contest for the arts in the world – announced its inaugural event, to take place in Montreal in 2018.
ArtsGames was initiated by Sylvia Sweeney, television producer and former basketball Olympian, with support from Olympic executives. Sweeney, who is the niece of the great jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, developed the idea to honour a request by her late uncle to produce a cross-cultural celebration.