by Greg Heakes*

With one year to go before the Winter Olympics, Vancouver has been thrust into the spotlight amid the backdrop of financial and security worries.
As soon as the Summer Games in Beijing ended in August last year, the organizers of the 2010 Olympics felt the glare fall on Vancouver -- the largest city to host a Winter Games.
"It happened in an Irish second," said John Furlong, chief executive of the Vancouver Organizing Committee.
"The second Beijing ended it was like a giant microscope did a big turn and the focus was on us."
While Beijing's 40-billion-dollar budget was considered over the top by some, Vancouver is hoping its games will be a matter of style over extravagance.
"As Beijing wrapped up, people were saying no one will top that again," Furlong said. "I think a new bar has been set. But to say you can't do better is to give up.
"I believe people will leave the 2010 Games, saying: 'I think you have seen it as good as it gets'."
Beginning with the opening ceremony on February 12, the 2010 Games will feature 86 events contested over 17 days until it concludes with the ice hockey final and closing ceremony on February 28.
Vancouver's preparations have been scandal free so far and organizers kept their word that they would have most of the venues completed well before the start of the Games.
Furlong is please that the facilities in Vancouver and Whistler received high praise from athletes and officials last week when a series of international World Cup test events were held.
There are less than a handful of projects unfinished, including the 40 million Canadian dollar curling rink and the athletes' village. The impressive speed skating oval in the suburb of Richmond and the hockey rinks in Vancouver are all finished.
Also completed are Whistler Creekside, Sliding Centre and Olympic Park in Whistler, which is 125 kilometres (78 miles) north of Vancouver.
Canadians seem to be taking the Games to heart.
Figure skater Amelie Lacoste even has the Olympic rings painted on the ceiling of her bedroom.
"Every night I see them when I go to sleep," said Lacoste who competed in the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships at the Pacific Coliseum last weekend. "It is my dream and I am going to work hard to make sure I achieve it."
Mike Slipchuk, high performance director for Skate Canada, said: "I told them to look around because the next time you are out here it is for the short programme at the Olympics."
The 104.9 million dollar Whistler Sliding Centre received high marks from the athletes as it hosted the Bobsleigh World Cup. Thirteen of 23 sleds reached 150 kilometres an hour and Latvia's Jannis Minins took gold by clocking 153.03 km/h.
"The speed is incredible. The best in the world," Minins said. "There are no easy corners. It is fast and the sled is just flying."
But there have also been problems including the global economic crisis which forced organizers to re-examine their budget.
"It came from nowhere," Furlong said. "It is quite a phenomenon to be dealing with.
"It is what it is and it's happening. It didn't come on at a great time. What we have done is to have our venues built and we are now in the stage where that work is finished."
The overall budget for the Vancouver Olympics is pegged around two billion dollars with portions coming from sponsorship, television revenues, ticket sales, merchandise and the taxpayers.
Potential disruptions could come from terrorists attacks, violent ethnic youth gangs, protests from civil rights groups, homeless advocates or Indian bands who have been battling the provincial and federal governments over land claims.
Tourist spots like Stanley Park and Gastown are being spruced up but the east side of the downtown remains one of the most crime-ridden and drug-plagued areas in North America.
About 200 people paraded in the downtown on Sunday to protest the homeless and poverty situation.
Protestors will organise a Poverty Olympics while the Winter Games are on.
"The Olympic Games are for the rich people, developers and people with money," Sharon Burns, of the Carnegie Centre told The Vancouver Sun.
One of the biggest areas of concern from the beginning was the dangerous Sea-to-Sky highway which connects Vancouver with Whistler.
Improvements to the scenic mountain road will shorten travel time on average by 30 minutes. It will now take between 75-90 minutes to get to Whistler - a trip that took over two hours before.
There are also problems with Vancouver's public transportation. The city's bus fleet is well below the total scheduled to be in place three years ago.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge will get the latest updates on how preparations are going when he visits today.

* AFP