We're coming up on 14 months to go until Vancouver, and those who laid out hundreds for VIP ticket packages are finding it difficult to find places to stay. The recently-held Beijing Olympics featured no problems with hotel shortages due to the Chinese government's highly restrictive visa rules, but the recent Olympic tradition of skyrocketing lodging costs will return when the Winter Games commence in February 2010.

Also, the Olympic year 2008 is coming to a close. For those in the United States (or with a web proxy) looking to get back on "the bus" and relive as much of the Beijing Games as possible: the revolutionary free on-demand service that offers thousands of hours of international-feed broadcasts will be shutting down on December 31. You have one month left.

Watching the events of four months ago may remind you of one of the few failures of Beijing 2008, and probably the difference between "remarkable games" and "the best ever." The events were technically sold out, but pictures sent around the world showed thousands upon thousands of empty seats. The International Olympic Committee is taking steps to make sure this doesn't happen again, with the added challenge of a global financial crisis that, if it lasts, will surely depress ticket sales for London 2012. Last week, IOC and LOCOG officials met in London to mull over lessons learned from Beijing.

As has been the case over the past month, the biggest news about the Olympics has had less to do with sports and is primarily concerned primarily with financial matters, in the midst of a global economic downturn. Falling oil prices have hurt the Russian economy, which could end up impacting plans for the Sochi 2104 Winter Games. The organizers of London 2012 are scrambling to change venues for certain sports and having difficulty finding available funds as the credit markets remain tight.

The Olympic Delivery Authority and developer Lend Lease Corp. haven't secured bank financing for the 1 billion-pound Olympic Village, a 3,000-apartment complex where athletes will stay during the games, and a 400 million-pound broadcast center to be built by a group led by Carillion Plc.

2012: But it's not all gloom and doom in England as the countdown to the next Summer Games goes on. Tessa Jowell, the minister in charge of Games preparation, maintains London 2012 will be "economic gold in a time of economic need." And one of the country's greatest exports, rock music, will play as key a role in the Opening Ceremony that it did in the preview in Beijing two months ago. Reportedly, the Rolling Stones will play the open, along with David Bowie, Elton John, Phil Collins, Sting and others -- creating the largest rock supergroup in history. Mick Jagger will be 69 years old when the Games begin.

Another week goes by, technically the eleventh of the 29th Olympiad if you prefer that type of calendar. Vancouver 2010 is just over 15 months away, and in less than a year (October 2, 2009, to be exact) the IOC will name a 2016 host at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen. Word comes that Mexico will stage its own mini-Olympics (presumably with the blessing of the International Olympic Committee) to coincide with its bicentennial. And don't forget about the inaugural Summer Youth Olympic Games over 12 days in August 2010, one of IOC president Jacques Rogge's favorite pet projects. Those will be held in Singapore.

2016: Those four finalists -- Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo -- are ramping up their bids for the long home stretch. Due to IOC anti-corruption measures put in place after the Salt Lake 2002 bid scandal, IOC members cannot make official visits to any of the aspirant cities. So the organizing committees have to pack up and proclaim their cases around the world, at places like the upcoming Africa National Olympic Committee secretary generals' conference in Kampala, Uganda.

The countdown to Vancouver 2010 is now just over 480 days, but there are always developments in the Olympic world. Here's the latest.

Nearly two months after China's Olympics, one of the host city's successful environmental experiments will be duplicated going forward. The smog that has covered Beijing since its rapid industry boom disappeared during the second week of the Games, thanks in large part to efforts to curb pollution by keeping half of the city's 3.3 million cars off the road. The city will fine drivers 100 yuan (US $14.70) if they break new rules that aim to keep one-fifth of automobiles off the road each weekday. For instance, cars with license plates ending in 1 or 6 must stay off the local highways.

With under 500 days until Vancouver 2010 and the London 2012 countdown moving past the 1400-day point, here's what's going on in the world of the Games this week.

LONDON 2012: Since the Closing Ceremony in Beijing, there have been major seismic shifts in the world financial markets, with credit dissolving and fortunes lost around the globe. These dynamics also affect the world of the Olympics, and the staging of future Games. The organizers of the next summer event four years from now are considering scaling back a bit, and with banking collapses as background, London's Olympic Board will meet this Thursday to discuss matters including privatization of some construction projects. The BBC's Mihir Bose explains: