Jump to content

London 2012 Olympic Cauldron...


Recommended Posts

@ Davey

What do you think about the cauldron only being visible in the stadium and not to the wider public in the Olympic Park?

I couldn't care less, after all they've presented a cauldron that will not be permanent, that even if it were visible from the top of the stadium or orbit tower it would never be taken down and placed as a sculpture somewhere in the park, simply due to the temporary nature of the cauldron.

People can bitch and moan, but the organizers chose not to do 1 or even 2 outdoor cauldrons to represent the other 2 London Olympics (which if they did should be temporary as well).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 3.1k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I love the cauldron, love the lighting, but surely there is no getting away from the fact that the positioning of the cauldron goes in conflict with the whole concept of these Games.

If the LOCOG can try to make us believe that the design of the logo, what is really an event branding, was made so to include the youth - how can they pretend that visually seeing the logo up close (or the lack of seeing it up close) is no biggie. I would have thought going up and being able to physically see the cauldron would be more powerful than the design of the logo or understanding how the jagged shards of a design process is there to reflect a new generation. I dunno, just seems odd to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still dislike the final torchbearers, being the youth and would have preferred just 5. Sir Steve Redgrave, 1 from Northern Ireland, 1 from Scotland, 1 From Wales and another from England, represented by 4 past Olympians (perhaps nominated from their peers shown in the stadium), then once the cauldron is assembled, it would begin to "move" from the centre and head towards the Glastonbury Tor, firmly planting itself in there (forget the video screen and scoreboard, I'm sure those installed for the ceremony would suffice).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

totally agree with you Matty - Generations are Inspired by looking up at the Olympic flame burning in the park during the games. Plus we are in day 3 and so far its just sat in that stadium, when thousands of people per day are in the Olympic Park.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a small thing, I think the lighting would have been visually better and quicker if they had spaced themselves out around the petals, instead of being all on one side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The stadium in Rio (Maracanã Stadium) will be also used for football matches.

That's awesome. A bit different. It opens up the possibility of other summer venues being used for ceremonies in he future: imagine a water spectacular at the rowing venue or the aquatic venue!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^^ I think this will roll thousands of page here in GB after London 2012...

There are people really against this "novelty" in Rio...

At least after all the new-news London is introducing, British (from the North of Scotland to Falkland Islands) will be more nice with Brazilians here about this very theme...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brazil's cauldron will be simple, it will be the same concept as the 2007 Pan American games, except that it will be fully realized as a cauldron that is lit on the ground, then moving towards the roof and placed permanently (games wise) on the roof of Maracana Stadium.

This gets me thinking - what will the Paralympic cauldron be like? since the olympic one will be dismantled?

It'll probably be the same petal concept, but with fewer petals, maybe even placed on where it should end up at the end (one of the stadium ends).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The most beautiful couldron lighting, stunning and symbolic design. London has done it how it wanted to do it. If people have a view on how it should be done that really isnt Londons problem.

That seems to be Seb Coe's attitude as well: "The cauldron isn't for the fans."

As for the manner of the lighting and the symbolism of the design -- some people will like it, some people won't. I don't think that's the issue here.

The issues are:

1.) people cannot see the cauldron

2.) the cauldron was intentionally extinguished and relit.

These are not stylistic problems or aesthetic problems. Do any design you want. Light it however you want. Those choices are optional and there will be as many opinions about them as there are people. However, there must be some objective "givens." One of those is that the Olympic flame is the climax of the ceremony and the symbol that the Games are taking place. As a result, it should be publicly visible and it should not be put out and relit. I really don't think that's too much to ask.

It's London's right to pick any logo they want, develop any Look they want, structure the ceremonies however they want. I do not think it should have been LOCOG's prerogative to hide the cauldron from public view or to intentionally put out the flame and relight it. In addition to members of the media, there are a great many individuals who agree with that statement. Consequently, it has already become "London's problem" -- as you say.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^^ Well they did the same for Vancouver, and they didn't even have to move the indoor cauldron.

What's more scandalous is when the Montreal cauldron went out and some guy just re-lit it with his lighter.

Apples and oranges, Vancouver may have been extinguished but it was relit at the permanent cauldron outside minutes later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I noticed how windy London can be. Maybe wind and the unpredictability of the weather there could be a factor in the choosing of the site of the cauldron. Montreal's weather can be as unpredictable as well.

In the 1952 games the cauldron at the opening cemeony was down on the ground when lit like London and there was another one at the top. Back then the cauldron in 1952 on the ground went out and the top one was lit for the reminder of the games.

Different things happen in different games. No two Olympic games are ever the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I noticed how windy London can be. Maybe wind and the unpredictability of the weather there could be a factor in the choosing of the site of the cauldron. Montreal's weather can be as unpredictable as well.

In the 1952 games the cauldron at the opening cemeony was down on the ground when lit like London and there was another one at the top. Back then the cauldron in 1952 on the ground went out and the top one was lit for the reminder of the games.

Different things happen in different games. No two Olympic games are ever the same.

Except the burner technology being employed these days makes for cauldrons designed for all weather conditions including extreme weather, so it is unlikely it would go out. Even if you look at the torches over the past 5 olympics very few get extinguished unintentionally.

The issue here, as Athensfan pointed out is the visibility and intentional extinguishing of the flame. In addition vancouver the indoor cauldron was not extinguished until well after the external cauldron had been lit. And in winter olympics it can maybe be argued having a cauldron in a highly visible location away from the stadium makes sense as no events apart from the ceremonies happen there but no excuse at summer olympics.

(sochi being an exception as it has a main olympic park with key venues and thus will probably have a stadium cauldron visible in the park)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brazil's cauldron will be simple, it will be the same concept as the 2007 Pan American games, except that it will be fully realized as a cauldron that is lit on the ground, then moving towards the roof and placed permanently (games wise) on the roof of Maracana Stadium.

It'll probably be the same petal concept, but with fewer petals, maybe even placed on where it should end up at the end (one of the stadium ends).

I have a clue that the cauldron in Rio will be place in the roof, since the beggining.

For 2007, the plan was to place the sun in the middle over the the picth, but it was not done because of many reasons, but one of them - the roof of Maracana was so old that it would be impossible to put anything (even light) there.

After even a judicial dispute, Maracana roof was demolished...

A clue?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought it was because of cost concerns and technical details. I'm sure Pan Am organizers back in 2007 didn't want an embarrassing moment where the cauldron is lit, then begins to ascend to the roof, only to be stopped halfway, or malfunction at some point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought it was because of cost concerns and technical details. I'm sure Pan Am organizers back in 2007 didn't want an embarrassing moment where the cauldron is lit, then begins to ascend to the roof, only to be stopped halfway, or malfunction at some point.

Several reason prevented the Sun in the middle of the Maracana (cost, technical difficulties and the age of the roof were among them).

I remember clearly the interview of Rosa Magalhães, the director of the ceremony saying "the idea was too place the sun in the middle of Maracana, over the pitch, but we give up, because it would cost zillions..." (something near to this, she said)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unless I'm much mistaken, the cauldron, now that it has been moved to the bell end, will not be visible from the Orbit tower. I asume this is intentional, as anything else would represent an extraordinary failing in the overall design of the Olympic Park. Finding it truly unbelievable that this level of incompetence prevailed, I can only assume this is indeed by design - in which case it surely adds insult to injury.

Lord Coe's dismissive attitude to hundreds of thousands of paying spectators, branding them as tourists whose money he did not want to spend on an attraction for them to see, is I feel the biggest Gaffe of the Games so far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not just the cauldron that got moved. The Olympic flag has been lowered and flagpole relocated to the opposite side of the track? (if you look at the images on BBC and news.daylife.com the flag has yet to be 're-raised'. Since when did all this tempering with these key symbolic objects begin? This is so unfortunate and most certainly a first!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...