NY20??

Am I missing something? It didn't seem like there was a "global cauldron race" until London claimed that they didn't want to be part of it. Sydney's and Salt Lake's weren't very big. Good size if you ask me. Athens' made a lot sense in its stadium as it was designed by the roof's architect. Very harmonious. Torino's had to be so tall in order to be seen from inside and outside a stadium that closed throughout those Games except for the ceremonies. Beijing's was big... but that was Beijing. And it actually didn't seem that big from outside the Bird's Nest. Vancouver needed a second cauldron outside enclosed BC place to avoid exactly what London is going through right now. And I don't think that design was particularly excessive or unnecessarily big. Good size to be a photo backdrop. Of course cauldrons in general have definitely become bigger and more show-y since decades ago, but so have the Games at large.

They were posted on Tumblr.

Haha that made me laugh. Though I would say Athens showed up Sydney first with its big bowing cauldron.

I imagine on the ground level. On the stage it would get in the way of spectators. But surely the heat might be too much for peopel above it even if its not directly in front of them? I suppose they have everything figured out though. We'll see.

As a piece of attrative design, this cauldron really only works from its dead-center looking bottom-up. So that's to say that it dosen't work. From every other angle, it looks like a bunch of tightly packed trees in the winter whose tops are on fire.

*does not burn very elegantly

As far as cauldron designs go, I would put this one under "ok". Not as terrible as Torino's, but not as fantastic as Salt Lake's. I do think it would've looked wonderful in a high, prominent position "blossoming" and retracting throughout the Games. Too bad that's not going to happen. And the flame itself is awkwardly shaped on top of it and does burn very elegant like say Sydney's did. The lighting itself lacked drama and monumentality. In this department, Sydney and Barcelona can breath easy for another two years.

Shoutout to everyone who screamed, "ticket = cauldron!" You guys were right, etc. It's a nice cauldron. Looked stunning from underneath when it was coming together. But the actual lighting was underwhelming. I mean, 5 "pedals" are lit and suddenly the other 199 are ignited as well? How does that work?

Has it been mentioned here that the choice of the final torchbearer was "a unanimous decision?" Reported by a correspondent on NBC Nightly News...

Well, yeah. But that wasn't the point.

Apparently NBC's Meredith Viera saw the lighting rehearsal and says that, "if they pull it off, it will go viral within minutes. It's fantastic." Hype hype hype!

I couldn't hold my nerve and had to come back in here. So it looks like it is indeed inside the stadium somewhere and will stay there? Well, I'll be honest and say it's hard for me to imagine a truly spectacular lighting for a cauldron that'll remain inside or even a cauldron design that somehow aesthetically makes sense inside the stadium. Seoul's was simple and classically shaped so it worked. Heatherwick's will probably be very sculptural and conceptual... Will that look good right in the middle of an 'athletics' environment? Regardless, this is still very intriguing. Less than 24 hours now!

Haven't read the last two pages of this thread now that we got some concrete news. So bye, everyone! Enjoy!

Looking back at the Beijing cauldron thread, someone posted images of that cauldron being tested in the early morning hours of August 5th. That Ceremony was of course three days later on the 8th........ *Correction. It was the 6th, Beijing time. You can see that thread here:

Someone should keep an eye on that webcam from now till Friday night. Surely they'll test the cauldron at some point before then and a screenshot can be taken and the beans finally [somewhat] spilled.

True, of course. But do you think it would rise diagonally towards the direct northern end of the stadium? Seems hard to imagine a structure that would be able to do that without vertical supports and be high enough to be seen from inside the stadium.

The problem with that spot is that it's on the northwestern side of the stadium so a tall cauldron standing there wouldn't be in view of the VIP's on the west side. I think there's a good chance the cauldron is underneath the Tor. It would of course be ceremony-only as it can't sit on the stands throughout the games, and the only problem I see with it is that it might be too close underneath the fabric roof / ceremony rigging criss crosing the stadium to be safe. But I do think, at this point, it's a good guess. Adrian could've debunked that location thinking that it would only be the site of the Tor and nothing more.

There are external stairs on the back side of the stadium (the west side or VIP side). You can see them here: http://a8.sphotos.ak...039272049_n.jpg

It's as if people don't know that they can start new threads. My god. Honestly. It's annoying logging onto the forum and finding that this thread has had a spurt growth in pages and in turn reasonably expecting some new, interesting cauldron development only to find the continuation of some stupid argument that no one will ever win. Irritating.

I'm not sure about the gold(?) umbrella-like things, but the black structure behind them next to the stadium are simply external stairs leading to the stadium's upper bowl. They've always been there as you can see in older pictures of that side of the stadium But I agree, those umbrella-like things are suspect. We need closer, clearer pictures.

So they're basically launching the complete font used on the logo?

*concerned, not considered Ahh ok. I imagine that one was a bit of a mystery too for some time.

Are the media really ever considered about cauldrons and their location or how they're going to be lit? You always get your op-ed pieces run on host cites' local papers speculating about who may be the one to light the cauldron or about the ceremony in general, but I've never seen a story speculating about the cauldron itself. Any examples for London's (or any previous host for that matter)?

Which I suppose is the same thing. But I doubt the guy was trying to deceive anyone. It's highly unlikely the Orbit is the spot.