It’s hard to describe what 200,000 people partying in the street sounds like. I have a good vantage point — the partying has been happening every night, almost all night, 15 floors down from my hotel room — and it’s still hard to peg. The noise starts as a dull roar, punctuated occasionally by air horns, spontaneous rounds of O Canada and drunken shouts. 

This enthusiasm will, for many, be the lasting image of these games. 

Vancouver has come out of its shell in the last 10 days. As impressive though, is the fact we Canadians also seem to have come out of our shells.

Everywhere you go in this city, an overwhelming number of people are wearing something red, something that has CANADA printed on it.

There is a celebratory mood on the streets here. Some of that has been helped by stunning weather that has people checking their calendars to ensure it really is February.

Even a week of  sunshine, double-digit temperatures and blossoming cherry trees can’t explain why people from across the globe would cheerily line up for hours to do just about anything.

In many cities, including my hometown of Toronto, this would be greeted by grumbles, or worse. Here, people make an event out of it, thinking nothing of waiting for seven or eight hours to ride the zipline over Robson Square. Sure, the 40 seconds of terror as you whizz over thousands of people is absurdly fun, but who would wait an entire day for 40 seconds?

Plenty of people, actually. And in a way, that helps explain what the Olympics have done to this city.

You can be cynical about the five-ring circus for good reason. You can insist that resources spent on these Games should have gone elsewhere.

But it’s hard not to be swept up in the celebratory feel of the place. Even from 15 floors up at 2 am.

– Matt Galloway is the host of Metro Morning on CBC Radio One 99.1 FM in Toronto.