London's Cauldron Will Be Outside Stadium

[Rob2012]

Thanks to Jerseyboi on skyscrapercity for spotting this:

http://planning.london2012.com/upload/publ...01%20(2268).pdf

http://planning.london2012.com/upload/publ...03%20(2269).pdf

So, a very tall structure (between 70-150m high) outside the stadium, high enough so everyone inside the stadium can see it? Built correctly it could be a fantastic monument on its own alongside the stadium. And knowing this, how could they light it??

Is anyone feeling creative enough to have a go at photoshopping this pic?

[IceNarcissus]

It should be nice if it's very tall. I liked Torino's setup a lot. Even though the lighting was distant it was still cool.

[mr.x]

And knowing this, how could they light it??

lol, maybe another flying stunt??? a troll from Harry Potter shooting a giant bow and arrow into the cauldron???

[Kenadian]

Shoot a laser at it. Or throw a flaming javelin. Or just do it the old fashioned way. The kids don't know about that style and retro will be cool in 2012.

[Lord David]

Clearly it will be stolen by the good Doctor in the last stages of the relay prior to entering the stadium and lit up a la 1948 style.

[Michelle]

I don't believe the stadium will look like that. hasn't it recently been redesigned with a more technical roof and lighting system?

[kevzz]

Thanks to Jerseyboi on skyscrapercity for spotting this:

http://planning.london2012.com/upload/publ...01%20(2268).pdf

http://planning.london2012.com/upload/publ...03%20(2269).pdf

So, a very tall structure (between 70-150m high) outside the stadium, high enough so everyone inside the stadium can see it? Built correctly it could be a fantastic monument on its own alongside the stadium. And knowing this, how could they light it??

Is anyone feeling creative enough to have a go at photoshopping this pic?

Brilliant! I love the idea of the cauldron outside the stadium. Not only can it be more monumental in scale, it also allows park visitors to experience the flame up close too. And it also represents that the Olympic flame is not 'owned' by the ahtletic stadium only, but shared by all the sports and venues of the Games.

Imagine the commotion and photograph taking opportunity at the base of the cauldron structure if it is designed to be a sculptural tower.

London 2012 is starting to really look like a very unique and original Games!

[The_Torch]

I don't believe the stadium will look like that. hasn't it recently been redesigned with a more technical roof and lighting system?

Yes I do believe this is the updated 'final' design of the London 2012 stadium. I much prefer it to the original.

The fact that the 2012 Cauldron will be outside the stadium, will allow more scope in terms of design and architecture. There seems to be lots of space for something wonderful to be created.

The flame has always been 'Stadium' focused, mainly because that's where the Opening Ceremonies are held. By externalising the Cauldron, surely one quarter of the stadium will not be able to see the tower or flame? They will have a canopy above them and the tower will be behind them.

Very interesting. The British press will be all over this story like a rash. They will do whatever it takes to ensure they can scoop an exclusive. Sadly, a tower that large is a tad difficult to hide.

[Olympian2004]

Why do some here behave as if a cauldron tower is a sensational invention?

Torino already had one, and Atlanta sort of had one, too. Not to forget Helsinki which had two cauldrons -- one in the stadium and one on that large tower next to the Olympic Stadium as well.

I for my part are not too much of a fan of cauldron towers -- I like it better when the athletes can compete directly beneath the flame in the Olympic Stadium. And a cauldron tower like in Torino always makes the flame look so distant from the stadium, as if it doesn't really belong to the Games. But of course, a cauldron tower offers the chance of providing a very impressive lighting ceremony, depending on the mechanism.

London will certainly not copy Torino's fireworks concept. It would be too soon and thus too obviously copied.

I think we can also rule out another soaring final torch bearer, only four years after Beijing.

They also won't send an athlete running up to the top of the tower. I recently saw pictures of Hannes Kolehmainen climbing those endless stairs in Helsinki's tower in 1952. Poor guy.

But they could have fuses leading from the stadium's roof or even the stadium's infield up to the cauldron. And maybe there, they could have five fuses for five final torch bearers from five continents. There are few cities in the world which are so appropriate for a global cauldron lighting as the "melting pot" London.

Or are there rather unconventional lighting mechanisms we haven't thought of yet?

[The Tower Bridge Fox]

Yes I do believe this is the updated 'final' design of the London 2012 stadium. I much prefer it to the original.

The fact that the 2012 Cauldron will be outside the stadium, will allow more scope in terms of design and architecture. There seems to be lots of space for something wonderful to be created.

The flame has always been 'Stadium' focused, mainly because that's where the Opening Ceremonies are held. By externalising the Cauldron, surely one quarter of the stadium will not be able to see the tower or flame? They will have a canopy above them and the tower will be behind them.

Very interesting. The British press will be all over this story like a rash. They will do whatever it takes to ensure they can scoop an exclusive. Sadly, a tower that large is a tad difficult to hide.

It wont be a tower it will be a sculpture.

[kevzz]

Why do some here behave as if a cauldron tower is a sensational invention?

Torino already had one, and Atlanta sort of had one, too. Not to forget Helsinki which had two cauldrons -- one in the stadium and one on that large tower next to the Olympic Stadium as well.

I for my part are not too much of a fan of cauldron towers -- I like it better when the athletes can compete directly beneath the flame in the Olympic Stadium. And a cauldron tower like in Torino always makes the flame look so distant from the stadium, as if it doesn't really belong to the Games. But of course, a cauldron tower offers the chance of providing a very impressive lighting ceremony, depending on the mechanism.

London will certainly not copy Torino's fireworks concept. It would be too soon and thus too obviously copied.

I think we can also rule out another soaring final torch bearer, only four years after Beijing.

They also won't send an athlete running up to the top of the tower. I recently saw pictures of Hannes Kolehmainen climbing those endless stairs in Helsinki's tower in 1952. Poor guy.

But they could have fuses leading from the stadium's roof or even the stadium's infield up to the cauldron. And maybe there, they could have five fuses for five final torch bearers from five continents. There are few cities in the world which are so appropriate for a global cauldron lighting as the "melting pot" London.

Or are there rather unconventional lighting mechanisms we haven't thought of yet?

Sorry I didnt research carefully before I post but you are right, Torino has an external cauldron tower too.

Perhaps the sculptural tower can be constructed first without the cauldron top. Ala Sydney, the cauldron top is hidden somewhere and only revealed during the ceremony, where it will somehow make its way to the tower and crown the top of it. This way, the surprise/ final act/ cauldron design can still be kept a secret.

Or is there a chemistry / physics way of parting the particles of a fire into lightning or transport fire with air? Not very good in science but just thinking of a very scientific way to change the property of fire in a way to make it move through air.

[NY20??]

The flame has always been 'Stadium' focused, mainly because that's where the Opening Ceremonies are held. By externalising the Cauldron, surely one quarter of the stadium will not be able to see the tower or flame? They will have a canopy above them and the tower will be behind them.

It won't be the first time a good amount of people in the stadium won't have a view of the cauldron - half or more of paying spectators don't have a view of Beijing's cauldron, and some people in Sydney's and Torino's stadium didn't have a view of the cauldron either.

Unless you have a Seoul-type set-up (which I doubt would work here considering that London's stadiums has one of "tightest bowl" ever or whatever) or a hanging cauldron above the field (which the Chinese didn't even go for), you just can't avoid some people being left out in stadiums which such dominating roofs.

[savas]

Thanks to Jerseyboi on skyscrapercity for spotting this:

http://planning.london2012.com/upload/publ...01%20(2268).pdf

http://planning.london2012.com/upload/publ...03%20(2269).pdf

So, a very tall structure (between 70-150m high) outside the stadium, high enough so everyone inside the stadium can see it? Built correctly it could be a fantastic monument on its own alongside the stadium. And knowing this, how could they light it??

Is anyone feeling creative enough to have a go at photoshopping this pic?

I was thinking about the Cauldron.. i didnt got an idea about the torch itself but i had the perfect idea for the lighting!!

----------------

Actually i like the idea of a Caulrdon outside the Stadium. It should be something elegant,.. not too massive.. More like a sculpture then a tower..

[Stu]

I was thinking about the Cauldron.. i didnt got an idea about the torch itself but i had the perfect idea for the lighting!!

Perfect!

[its a bid of magic]

...and it could be lit with the backing music of supercalifragilisticexpialidotious, but let's hope the cauldron outside the stadium will be far from being quite atrocious.

[Victor Mata]

That circular metal structure above the roof could be some sort of rail so the cauldron would move in circles above the stadium and everyone inside it would see it through the transparent roof. It would move clockwise as a reference to the Big Ben

[baron-pierreIV]

Or are there rather unconventional lighting mechanisms we haven't thought of yet?

Well,

1. The Final runner/athlete has to come into the stadium and be seen by one and all;

2. And then somehow, the flame must be TRANSFERRED to the Cauldron. SO it's either:

i. a direct touch (i.e., Lillehammer, Sydney, Nagano) or

ii. via some interim mechanism.

Other than the arrow thing (been there; done that); an outside tower-cauldron really poses problems for a dramatic Lighting.

So maybe, as pictured above, Mary Poppins comes in; Peter Pan shows up & grabs it from her; she knocks him on the had with her umbrella -- but then Harry Potter shows up and lights it!!

[seamus21514]

If I remember correctly, Athens was going to have a similar outside tower done by Calatrava, but it was too costly. I think something akin to Albertville or SLC would work well.

[savas]

yes,... The first concept was for the cauldron to get lit outside the stadium but the IOC refused to this as it cant be allowed for a ceremonial part to happen outside the olympic stadium.

I think the Cauldron has to have a memorial character. As the Olympic Stadium itself is for the largest part a temporary venue it would be great if the cauldron could remain as a whole. I have an idea which i will illustrate later...

[Ripley]

yes,... The first concept was for the cauldron to get lit outside the stadium but the IOC refused to this as it cant be allowed for a ceremonial part to happen outside the olympic stadium.

I think the Cauldron has to have a memorial character. As the Olympic Stadium itself is for the largest part a temporary venue it would be great if the cauldron could remain as a whole. I have an idea which i will illustrate later...

I think some kind of funky bowl which is lit in the stadium and then is magically transported to the tower. A bit like Sydney, but higher and further away. Wonder if they could light the burner on a hot air balloon and transport the flame up that way? Might loose some of the momentum/drama waiting for the baloon to inflate and the wind woud have to be blowing in the right direction. I suppose it could be a recipe for disaster....

[Mr Tickle]

Decided to have a go at designing some cauldron ideas. The first one is a tower like a giant fin with the cauldron at the top, below is a separate section with floor to ceiling windows allowing studio space for broadcasters like the pagoda at Beijing, giving amazing views across the park.

[Mr Tickle]

The second takes the Skylon Tower as inspiration. The tower was a sculpture at the heart of the Festival of Britain, done after the war to raise the countrys spirits and used as a catalyst to regenerate the country. The tower was taken down at the end but there is talk of re building it as its such a big piece of our history. I say re-build it and make it the cauldron as it is at the heart of regenerating London.

[Mr Tickle]

Shot at 2008-08-15

[rav3n]

Good but, that wouldnt be too much overnationalistic again O__O? besides the cauldron looks pretty boring in my humble opinion.

[NY20??]

Good but, that wouldnt be too much overnationalistic again O__O? besides the cauldron looks pretty boring in my humble opinion.

I think what you see in those plans is just a place mark for the cauldron basically - not the final design.