Race heats up for 2010 Olympics

By Harry Peart
BBC sports correspondent in Prague

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is due to decide later on Wednesday (1530 GMT) the host city for the Winter Games in 2010.

The bid cities each paraded their stars to get the vote

Three cities are in contention - Vancouver in Canada, Austria's Salzburg and Pyeongchang in South Korea.

The bid cities have spent four days trying to convince the IOC members to give them their precious votes.

The outcome of the vote of the IOC General Assembly could also affect the race to stage the Summer Games in 2012.

Lobbying

Sports stars have been paraded to add their voices to the debate.

Vancouver had Wayne Gretzsky - "The Great One" - who led Canada's ice hockey team to gold in Salt Lake City a year ago.

Salzburg showed off the skier, Herman Maier, the double gold medal winner in Nagano, back after his horrific motorbike accident.

They also had Franz Beckenbauer, even though IOC President Jacques Rogge has been disparaging about using footballers who cannot compete in the games - notably David Beckham.

Pyeongchang, which is hoping to produce its own winter sports stars if they win the bid, countered with a meeting between the members from North and South Korea.

But the lobbying is now over and all that remains is a 45-minute presentation of each city to the 113 members, who will then decide the outcome.