The mayor of Vancouver, host of the 2010 Winter Games, hasn't let being a quadriplegic interfere with his goal to accept the Olympic flag during the closing ceremonies of the Torino Olympics.

Sam Sullivan, who broke his neck in a skiing accident at age 19, was at a preview of the customized flag-holder he will attach to his wheelchair for the Sunday afternoon ceremony.

"Some have questioned the wisdom of Vancouver sending its worst skier to Torino," Sullivan joked at a news conference in Turin, Italy on Thursday.

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan prepares to carry the Olympic flag

During the closing ceremony, the head of the International Olympic Committee hands over the Olympic flag to the mayor of the next host city. The tradition is to wave the flag in the air, marking the start of the countdown to the next Games.

Sullivan, who has minimal hand movement, says he didn't want someone waving the nearly five-metre flag for him.

"That's completely against everything I stand for. I want to be able to do it myself," said Sullivan.

Diagram of the Olympic chair allowing Vancouver's mayor to carry the Olympic flag.

With one billion viewers expected to watch the closing ceremony, Sullivan says the symbolism of taking the flag is important.

"There are many people with disabilities who have e-mailed me and said this is really quite a profound moment for them as well as for me and other people with disabilities in Canada," said Sullivan.

To solve Sullivan's problem, engineers and volunteers in Vancouver designed a three-angled flag-holder to mount on the armrest of his wheelchair. Sullivan says it had to be designed for a number of scenarios.

"That's one big flag. If the wind takes it, do I end up on my face or falling off the edge of the stage?" he said.

When IOC president Jacques Rogge hands him the flag, Sullivan plans to move his motorized wheelchair back and forth, to get the flag to wave.

"I don't want to just take the flag. I want to have a little drama around it, too," he said.

Sullivan says one of the biggest challenges was finding a private spot in Vancouver to practise the flag-waving. He says he often ended up in empty parking lots at unusual hours.