The Olympic rings are seen prior to the opening ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at BC Place on Feb. 12, 2010, in Vancouver. The Olympic rings are seen prior to the opening ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at BC Place on Feb. 12, 2010, in Vancouver. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Vancouver on Saturday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the 2010 Winter Olympics, while others protested the Games' legacy.

Last Feb. 12, hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets of Vancouver and Whistler as the Games officially opened.

Exactly one year later, on a rainy afternoon, spectators, families, and former 2010 volunteers filled Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, the epicentre of the Games.

"It's great to see everyone," Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson told the gathered crowd. "It's great to see the city filling up again with Olympic pride and memories of a year ago.

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"We were inspired by our athletes, over and over again. We were inspired by our leaders."

John Furlong, who was VANOC's CEO, was given a standing ovation.

"I think it's a fantastic thing to say that we saw what sport can do to a nation, how sport can bring a country together and allow it to have a moment like the one we had."

Games controversy

But the Games, then and now, have been riddled with controversy.

Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a crash on an Olympic training run in Whistler just hours before the opening ceremony.

Vancouver's Olympic Village has also seen its share of trouble after City Hall took control of the billion-dollar project when the financial lender backed out.

Sales of the high-end condominium units were lower than expected. The remaining units are being sold at reduced prices, and the city will be lucky to break even on the deal.

At a rally in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Saturday, protesters said the Olympics left a legacy of homelessness.

"The Olympics helped bring things forward more quickly in the Downtown Eastside in terms of more market development," activist Wendy Pedersen said.

"And all of that momentum is driving up the prices of land and rents for low-income people."

All in all, the legacy of the 2010 Winter Games may depend on whom you ask.

With files from the CBC's Ben Hadaway