Copenhagen - Vancouver organizers are on the home stretch in their preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics which Olympic supremo Jacques Rogge believes will be "absolutely magnificent."John Furlong, chief of the organizing committee VANOC, told the IOC Session on Wednesday in the penultimate progress report that "we are in the countdown period.
"All venues have been completed for some time and been fully tested ... the team is extremely focussed. It is rehearsing, practising, testing all over the place," he said.
Vancouver was elected as host city in 2003. The Olympic flame will be lit in ancient Olympia on October 22, a final report before the IOC executive board is set for December and the opening ceremony is in just over four months on February 12. The Games end February 28.
"We are getting the city into a spirit you want to have it in when the world starts to arrive," Furlong said. "We have done our best, tried hard to keep our promises. Our country is excited."
Furlong spoke of huge ticket demand and an awareness factor of 88 per cent in Canada for the upcoming Games. He said the vital Sea to Sky Highway linking the host city and the mountain venues in Whistler was 95 per cent ready with travel time expected to be 90 minutes.
IOC co-operation commission head Rene Fasel said that Vancouver "has been able to reach its objective" as "we are going on operational mode now."
Rogge said: "I am sure these Games will be absolutely magnificent."
However, Wednesday's report in Copenhagen's Bella Center came against the backdrop of a local audit which reportedly revealed that the cost of the Vancouver athletes' village has risen yet again to almost 1.2 billion Canadian dollars (1.13 billion US dollars, 776 million euros).
There are also fears that the housing crisis will led to far less income from the post-Games sale of the 1,100 flats.
