Hey! Where did you get that Olympic banner?

Organisers of the Winter Olympics have faced a huge problem in trying to give Salt Lake City a festive feel in the run-up to the Games -- the locals have been stealing Olympic banners for souvenirs.

While organisers delayed putting the finishing touches to the decorations until the last few days before the Games open on Friday, they had put up the banners a little earlier.

But International Olympic Committee marketing director Michael Payne said on Sunday: "They were all getting stolen.

"This is nothing new. It has happened at previous Games. But the organisers were taken aback by how popular they (the decorations) have been. But you can't have the world's greatest party without getting dressed."

What the IOC marketing department calls the "look of the Olympic city" has becoming increasingly important at recent Games.

The 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney were a huge success in image terms -- an important factor for the sponsors and television companies, which pay billions of dollars for the rights to the Games.

The illuminated Olympic rings attached to Sydney Harbour Bridge were a major marketing success.

Salt Lake plans to repeat the exercise and has constructed huge rings on a mountain outside the city. The lights are expected to be turned on in the run-up or during Friday's opening ceremony.

Salt Lake organisers have also introduced major changes to medal ceremonies.

They will be held at a city centre plaza and, for the first time, the medals will be handed out in reverse order, starting with the bronze.

The aim is to give more drama to the ceremony and let it gain momentum with the presentation of the gold medal as its climax.

Different bands have also been booked to provide free musical entertainment around the ceremonies.

In the past the winner received the gold medal ahead of the silver and bronze medallists and stood on the podium alone before the other two competitors were given their medals.

The change is controversial as some former Olympians believe it is important for the Olympic champion to have the glory of standing on the podium alone.

But the IOC backed a proposal by its athletes commission to experiment with the new format and will decide after Salt Lake whether to adopt it for future Olympics.