The police released a video and photos of two suspects vandalizing part of the Olympic memorial in downtown Vancouver, an act described by the police as "planned and deliberate".

The 51-second video shows the unidentified suspects approaching the monument at Jack Poole Plaza early Saturday morning, pulling some kind of tool and smashing the glass covering one of the pillars.

One of the suspects appears to be recording the vandalism on a mobile phone or camera. Jason Doucet from the Vancouver Police Department said in a statement, "The video showing the suspects destroying a piece of Vancouver Olympics history is infuriating."

"It is likely that these two individuals are using the video to get likes on various social media platforms."

Authorities said the suspects spent about 12 minutes in the plaza around 3:30 a.m., briefly approaching the monument before leaving the area.

They returned about 30 minutes later to smash the glass, causing thousands of dollars in damage.

There are hundreds of glass panels covering the memorial, each custom-made by Studio 3 Glass in Port Coquitlam.