Canada counts out the days until the beginning of the Winter Olympics with the last details of preparation. The 2010 Winter Olympics run from Feb. 12 to 28 in the Canadian city of Vancouver and the winter sports resort of Whistler. The biggest sports forum for this year starts on Friday and Vancouver gets ready. The most serious problem is the high temperatures and lack of snow.

Founded in 1886, the city is inhabited by 2.2 million people and is very ecologically oriented. The competitions will be held from sea level to 935 m in Richmond in Whistler. From 12 until 28 February 2010 around 5500 athletes from more than 80 countries will participate in the 21’s Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Games are expected to be watched by about 3 billion people. And around 55 000 spectators will be able to watch the opening ceremony.