A year from now, Vancouver will be basking in the glare of the international spotlight.

And this next year will fly by. One thing is certain, Vancouver and Whistler will look very different than they do today.

B.C. Place will be packed to the roof for the opening ceremony. Billions of TV viewers will be tuning in. And what will they see that historic night?

"There's a whole range of things that we've been given from VANOC as a mandate to include in the ceremonies, and I can't say any more than that without giving the game away," said David Atkins, the producer of the Opening Ceremonies.

With the ceremony underway, the Olympic flame will be on the final leg of its 106-day journey. Thousands will line the torch route for its final push to the Opening Ceremonies.

With banners and building wraps Vancouver will look and feel like an Olympic City.

"We know our partners the city, Richmond and the governments are all looking at how they can create a seamless feel of a city from arrival till you get to Whistler and the corridor, so you know something momentous is taking place," said Terry Wright, VANOC's V-P in charge of service operations and ceremonies.

Every night, thousands will gather at celebration sites, not just in Vancouver and Whistler, but around British Columbia.

It won't all be fun and games though. Long before the Olympics begin hundreds of city blocks will be affected by parking restrictions, road closures, and security zones. The Georgia Viaduct will be closed, as will the area around the convention centre, and roads near venues and the athletes village.

Major routes will have designated Olympic lanes. Parts of streets like Robson and Granville will likely be pedestrian only.

"We'll see traffic diversions and we'll see a lot of motor coaches and buses arrive because we have in the range of 25,000 extra guests that we have to move from points A to points B on specific time bases," said Wright

And weeks before the Games, the massive security force will move in.

"You will see more law enforcement and security on things like the SkyTrain and at the stations. You will see more security at YVR. So the existing jurisdictional police forces will function at 100 per cent and we'll enhance that," said Bud Mercer, the Assistant Commissioner of the 2010 Integrated Security Unit.

He described planned security presence as "polite and subdued".

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Mike Killeen.