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The Olympic Cauldron


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Could it be a "camp fire?" At the centre of BC Place there could be a "camp fire" at the centre of the stadium... It would make sense to have something linked to nature, since that seems to be the main theme of the graphic identity/look of the Games.

I love your campfire idea.

campfire.jpg

Edited by stirthesoul
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2. I think the jumbotron screen(s) inside will do the job of transitioning a bigger lighting outside AND the fireworks to the 60,000 or so people inside BC Place on 2/12!!

They're going to have 360 degree projectors for both the roof and the spectators...I think there's a good chance that will be used instead of the the two jumbotrons.

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Those things pictured above ^ - there's now one at BC Place.

So I'm guessing it will be a hidden and rising cauldron like Calgary and Sydney. I think I prefer those the most. You don't know what to expect and there's a heightened sense of drama about it.

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Those things probably are exactly what they look like - signage and nothing more.

I really like the campfire idea too. It's very thematic, but not too out or literal there like a burning tipi or a flame-breathing phoenix (as some people expected to see on top of the Bird's Nest).

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Those things pictured above ^ - there's now one at BC Place.

So I'm guessing it will be a hidden and rising cauldron like Calgary and Sydney. I think I prefer those the most. You don't know what to expect and there's a heightened sense of drama about it.

Guys, those things are only signposts. That's why also BC Place got one, too. And how hidden exactly is a cauldron if it's already there for everyone to see for a couple of weeks, but only covered with cloth?

And furthermore, if that really was a cauldron -- how many of those would VANOC still construct? I mean, we already have one inside BC Place, one at the Convention Centre -- and now a third one in the same city? And not to forget: Even a fourth one, namely the same kind of structure built in the Olympic Village about which some of you speculated a couple of weeks ago? This would lead to an absolute cauldron overkill. And that's why I'm absolutely certain that there'll be no more than two cauldrons in Vancouver itself: namely the one inside BC Place and the one at the Convention Centre.

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Here's my take on the cauldron(s):

1. THe inside one in BC Place: I don't think it will be so grand that it will dominate the evening's proceedings. I think it will be of a certain SAFE size that will fulfill the "cauldron" requirement and will also be the continuing image for the Awards Ceremonies.

2. I think the jumbotron screen(s) inside will do the job of transitioning a bigger lighting outside AND the fireworks to the 60,000 or so people inside BC Place on 2/12!!

And that's all? Come on, one might expect a little bit more from someone who wrote such an elaborate book also on cauldrons and their lighting mechanisms. ;)

What do you expect -- how will the cauldrons of Vancouver be lit? And how will the cauldron inside BC Place look like in your opinion (since we already got an impression of how the outside cauldron probably will look like)?

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I think I was misunderstood above. I've never believed those structures to be anything more than signs. The cauldron I'm talking about is the main one at BC Place.

My prediction is that it will be a white wavy cube shaped object similar to the mini-cauldrons used in the torch relay. It will be about 3m x 3m x 3m and will be hidden in the pit at the centre of the stadium floor. In the moments before the flame arrives in the stadium, a dry ice fog with glowing lights will begin to cover the area where the cauldron is hidden. A revered Canadian athlete (Barbara Ann Scott or Nancy Greene) will be the first to enter the stadium, torch in hand, and they will hand it off to successive generations of Canadian Winter Olympians. Several duos will get the honour, and in keeping with the custom of Montreal and Calgary, it will be duos. Just before it is passed to the final runners (Sale and Pelletier, perhaps?), members of Canada's gold medal winning men's and women's hockey teams will form an honour guard and tap their sticks along the path as the final runners swerves their way to the centre of the stadium. Finally, a single soul will emerge from the dark and the light and the fog and the torch will be handed to a final set of hands. The flame will be lit in a very simple way as the final carrier touches the torch to the fog (which is quickly pushed away by the gas venting from the cauldron) and the flame will be lit, small at first, then growing larger as cauldron rises slowly from the pit. It will burn for the duration of the Games, at which point in the closing ceremony, the process will be almost reversed...the cauldron will slowly sink back into the pit, the flame dying and the fog will finally appear to extinguish it.

The End.

Oh...and the flame will be lit by either someone instantly recognizable by Canadians or by an aboriginal youth.

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I think I was misunderstood above. I've never believed those structures to be anything more than signs. The cauldron I'm talking about is the main one at BC Place.

My prediction is that it will be a white wavy cube shaped object similar to the mini-cauldrons used in the torch relay. It will be about 3m x 3m x 3m and will be hidden in the pit at the centre of the stadium floor. In the moments before the flame arrives in the stadium, a dry ice fog with glowing lights will begin to cover the area where the cauldron is hidden. A revered Canadian athlete (Barbara Ann Scott or Nancy Greene) will be the first to enter the stadium, torch in hand, and they will hand it off to successive generations of Canadian Winter Olympians. Several duos will get the honour, and in keeping with the custom of Montreal and Calgary, it will be duos. Just before it is passed to the final runners (Sale and Pelletier, perhaps?), members of Canada's gold medal winning men's and women's hockey teams will form an honour guard and tap their sticks along the path as the final runners swerves their way to the centre of the stadium. Finally, a single soul will emerge from the dark and the light and the fog and the torch will be handed to a final set of hands. The flame will be lit in a very simple way as the final carrier touches the torch to the fog (which is quickly pushed away by the gas venting from the cauldron) and the flame will be lit, small at first, then growing larger as cauldron rises slowly from the pit. It will burn for the duration of the Games, at which point in the closing ceremony, the process will be almost reversed...the cauldron will slowly sink back into the pit, the flame dying and the fog will finally appear to extinguish it.

The End.

Oh...and the flame will be lit by either someone instantly recognizable by Canadians or by an aboriginal youth.

Sounds good or sane to me.

{Am dealing with so many other issues these days, so I can't be dreamin' grandiose lighting schemes...besides which I think the whole indoor set-up kinda limits lighting m.o.'s. But they'll think of something that'll work. I mean Atkins is getting paid enuf to think of something unique; I'll let him have a go at it. )

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Ceremonies in an indoor stadium....a no no

I think as well that you'll have to eat those words after the ceremony. In fact, it could become one of the most impressive opening ceremonies in Winter (or even overall) Olympic history. Remember that with the help of BC Place's roof, there are many stunning projections possible. They could turn the whole stadium, for example, into an aquarium or into another setting. The whale projections on the rim of the Birds Nest's roof were impressive as well, but it could still get bigger and better.

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....they seem kinda an odd proportion and location for a signpost. I mean once you can read it you are there.

The lettering is sort of small in proportion to the post, and not easy to read from afar???

Well, that is not necessarily the purpose of a signpost. Just think of that kind of sign:

2970141866_c436c0467a.jpg?v=0

I mean, you can also read those only when you are there. And nevertheless, it's useful. So a signpost is not necessarily there to guide you the whole way from afar to the venue, but simply to state: "Here you are. Welcome to the Olympic Village."

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I think as well that you'll have to eat those words after the ceremony. In fact, it could become one of the most impressive opening ceremonies in Winter (or even overall) Olympic history. Remember that with the help of BC Place's roof, there are many stunning projections possible. They could turn the whole stadium, for example, into an aquarium or into another setting. The whale projections on the rim of the Birds Nest's roof were impressive as well, but it could still get bigger and better.

Well, we've already been told to not expect something that would beat Beijing but rather that at the end of the ceremony we will be saying "wow, that was amazing". The words of John Furlong.

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Well, we've already been told to not expect something that would beat Beijing but rather that at the end of the ceremony we will be saying "wow, that was amazing". The words of John Furlong.

But they'll use projections, right? Of course they won't beat Beijing in terms of man power -- but you can create "wow" moments also with only one or even no person on the field. In this context, I just think of the DNA helix or the projections made on the fragments of the Cycladic head in Athens.

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But they'll use projections, right? Of course they won't beat Beijing in terms of man power -- but you can create "wow" moments also with only one or even no person on the field. In this context, I just think of the DNA helix or the projections made on the fragments of the Cycladic head in Athens.

Lots of projections. I think the Ceremonies will be heavily dependent on projections and the digital arts.

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Lots of projections. I think the Ceremonies will be heavily dependent on projections and the digital arts.

One of the most disappointing things that I have found on Gamesbids as it pertains to the upcoming Vancouver Olympics is that there is no real "wow" factor here. And I think it has to do with the fact that you are not getting any real insight into the games. You cannot believe how exciting it was to get the first glipmses, rumors and tidbits on Gamesbids about the Beijing Olympics! That's what makes this website so great in the first place. Secrecy wasn't on overkill as it is so obviously here with Vancouver. Indeed, my anticipation was heightened! Vancouver, at this stage seems like an anticlimax to me and that would be tragic if it turned out to be so.

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One of the most disappointing things that I have found on Gamesbids as it pertains to the upcoming Vancouver Olympics is that there is no real "wow" factor here. And I think it has to do with the fact that you are not getting any real insight into the games. You cannot believe how exciting it was to get the first glipmses, rumors and tidbits on Gamesbids about the Beijing Olympics! That's what makes this website so great in the first place. Secrecy wasn't on overkill as it is so obviously here with Vancouver. Indeed, my anticipation was heightened! Vancouver, at this stage seems like an anticlimax to me and that would be tragic if it turned out to be so.

second that.......I have a good feeling about the stadium and opening, but I'd love to get some inside scoop. B)

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It's fine to say it's boring in the meantime because it kinda is, but will it really be anitclimatic? Will it be anticlimactic for everything to be revealed at once, for everything to be a complete surprise and unexpected. Things aren't climatic when they're stretched out weeks before the real deal.

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