Vancouver plans lighthearted Games farewell

The closing of the Vancouver Olympics on Sunday is expected to be more light-hearted than the show that opened the Games on Feb. 12.

The big farewell celebration may even poke fun at Canada, according to Vancouver Organizing Committee head John Furlong.

Furlong promised some "pretty amazing Canadian talent" will make sure the party rocks.

Reports indicate Michael Bubl, Diana Krall and rock band Rush may all perform at the closing, which gets underway at 5:30 p.m. local time.

Those names haven't been confirmed, but some features of the closing can be counted on the march of athletes into BC Place, theplaying of the nationalanthem of Greece,the extinguishing of the Olympic flame.

Praise from Russian

Meanwhile, the head of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Organizing Committee is hoping the games in Russia can match what he saw in Vancouver.

Plans for the 2014 Games are well in hand, but Dmitri Chernyshenko said Vancouver has raised the bar.

The atmosphere of the Vancouver Games has been"electric," he said.

"It's atmosphere of friendship and fun. That is what we, as the next organizers, want to reach in four years and, of course, with our Russian flavour, with the Russian hospitality."

But 2010 will be a tough act to follow, Chernyshenko said.

"John Furlong and his wonderful team who worked together with IOC, they staged a magnificent and memorable Games and we at Sochi, we are the next, so the bar has been well and truly raised. "

Chernyshenko said some venues should be ready two years before the games, even though everything is being built from scratch.

Harper vows to support athletes

As the Games wind down, Canada was on the verge of setting a record in medals. As of Sunday morning, it was tied with the highest number of gold medals 13 of any Olympics and hadreached a personal best of 25 medals in all.

Athletes say the Own the Podium program helped them compete against the world, but concerns have been raised about the future of the program.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, however, is a believer.

"We're going to, obviously, continue to support our world-class athletes," he said.

"I think nothing breeds success like success, so I'd be very surprised not withstanding all the economic problems out there I'd be very surprised if you see loss of sponsorship and that kind of thing. I think people will continue to support and government will continue to support [athletes]."

Harper said Canada's results have been "fantastic," and the next generation of athletes will have to work hard to stay on top.