Organizers released the daily schedule for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games on Wednesday and as expected, the gold medal game in men's hockey will be the final sports event in the 17-day schedule.

"We have worked extremely hard with our partners in sport and broadcast to develop a balanced Games schedule that satisfies the demands of television audiences around the world, as well as spectators who will attend the Games," said Priestner Allinger of the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC).

The men's ice hockey final will be the closing sports event of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
(VANOC/Getty Images)

The schedule has already been approved by the International Olympic Committee, and gives a daily list of Games events.

"The heavy lifting on the schedule is now done. The next step will be to determine the specific timing of events on each day. We expect that a final schedule, with specific event times, will be released this summer," Allinger said.

Scheduling the events involved careful study of local weather conditions, monitored by weather stations installed at each outdoor venue, according to VANOC.

For example, it was determined the aerials competition at the Cypress Mountain venue should take place in the evening, when visibility improves and winds settle, according to VANOC.

But ski jumping at Whistler Olympic Park will be scheduled for the morning to take advantage of typically calmer winds at that location.

The Games will open on Friday, Feb. 12, 2010, at B.C. Place and there will be an average of nearly five gold medal events each day. The closing ceremony will be Sunday, Feb. 28.

Ticket prices, ranging from $25 to $1,100, were announced on Oct. 12. Tickets go on sale Oct. 11, 2008.