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The Cauldron


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Never a fan of these firework type lighting where one flame sets off several flames that sets off another. Wasn't ideal too it being lit outside the stadium, but preferable to the solution in Vancouver and indead London - although I thought they would at least light it in the stadium and then the flame go outside the stadium.

Also didn't like how summer Olympians dominated the final six torchbearers. We know how one allegedly got the job, but I'd have thought Russia had enough Winter Olympic heroes to make up more than 2 of the final 6. Heck, even Team GB could just about find six Winter Olympic medalists to light the flame.

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It wasn't anybody here expected, but I found it simple, veri Turin 2006, but beautiful. I think we overestimate how to lit the cauldron since the Catalonians found an original way to do it. I bet PyeongChang 2018 will go back to the traditional lighting à la Seoul or Nagano (I loved both of them).

One thing many were right was the music by Stravinsky.

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Just finished watching and that cauldron thing was dull, just dull. Someone else described it as watching an elderly couple on a walk in the dark, that sounds like a good definition.

Just finished watching myself now too. After having read your comment beforehand I saw the lighting, I agree - when you're talking about their walk outside the stadium, but at least that wasn't as long as I feared. On the other hand, I did like just before that as the final two were going through the ranks of the performers in the hangars, who were all obviously hyped and happy and proud, It added that human element and spontaneous touch that wasn't much there before in the ceremony, IMO.

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Just finished watching myself now too. After having read your comment beforehand I saw the lighting, I agree - when you're talking about their walk outside the stadium, but at least that wasn't as long as I feared. On the other hand, I did like just before that as the final were going through the ranks of the performers in the hangars, who were all obviously hyped and happy and proud, It added that human element and spontaneous touch that wasn't much there before in the ceremony, IMO.

Yes, true. When the final pair finally got there, it was like they stepped on to the moon, or somewhere which had closed for the night, desolate, empty and disconnected from the usual surrounding crowds and atmosphere at the ignition podium.

Has anyone heard any reaction from stadium audience bloggers about what they felt about being disconnected from the pivotal moment of the OC?

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At least there's no chainlink fence around it. I don't get why VANOC couldn't put in the reflection pool underneath the cauldron right from the start and gotten rid of that damned fence. Oh well, all in the history books now.

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Why couldn't they just designed a cauldron that could be climbed? And have the 2 final torchbearers climb towards the top? Only to have the little girl revealed and have all 3 of them light the cauldron?

During this long climb, they could have had the past Olympics bit, read out in Russian. Maybe even have the stairs' steps light up one after the other, even possibly had performers stand on each step with those iconic Olympic horns, giving an Olympic salute or something like that.

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Umm, the flame (and cauldron) is supposed to be visible outside the stadium. The fact that they opted to make the stadium indoor prevented this. Rather than making 2 cauldrons, they went with one.

Is that a requirement in the Olympic Charter or Host City Contract ?

London's stadium floor cauldron was not visible to anyone outside the stadium unless they were watching it on tv.

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Is that a requirement in the Olympic Charter or Host City Contract ?

London's stadium floor cauldron was not visible to anyone outside the stadium unless they were watching it on tv.

Well, Montreal and Seoul cauldrons couldn't be seen either from outside the Olympic Stadia. I think it's a matter of fashion according to organising committees.

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I too thought the cauldron lighting was a bit anti-climatic after the cool stars/sports segment.

It is also the first time I ever remember the community cauldron being used to light the main cauldron. (makes me wonder if there was another plan that had to be scrapped, ie the the current lighting was a plan b.) Even then a little more effort could have been made to make the the gas jets look like they actually took the 'olympic flame' from the community cauldron to the cauldron rather than an obvious auto-ignition ala torino.

I also expected the cauldron plaza to be absolutely packed with people, its seemed, like others have said, more like an empty carpark.

I am not sure if vancouver's solution of the indoor cauldron was ideal either, but contrary to what has been said a few forum pages ago, I am pretty certain the IOC mandates that the cauldron lighting must be lit in view of those attending the opening ceremony, not that it must be viewable externally (hence london). So if anything, there must have been special dispensation this time to not have the lighting in the stadium.

Realisitcally it may have not made sense to have two cauldron's in sochi as the interior and exterior cauldrons would have been so close to each other. In Vancouver, due to the distance between them, an no clustered olympic park, it probably made more sense.

Interestingly there was a CBC interview with John Furlong (fmr VANOC Head) - he seemed to suggest the original plan was not a pick up truck but a hot air balooon basket carrier by a helicopter. <- not sure how I feel about this either, but interesting.

Unfortunately, with the venue complications in Rio will only mean things are going to get even messier for cauldron purists.

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I agree. When it comes down to it, it's all about what's going to look good on television when the networks break to commercial or show aerial shots of the Olympic Park. London failed in this regard, regardless of how "emotional" and "touching" the lighting was. For that reason, London is one of the worst cauldrons in recent memory in my opinion.

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I agree. When it comes down to it, it's all about what's going to look good on television when the networks break to commercial or show aerial shots of the Olympic Park. London failed in this regard, regardless of how "emotional" and "touching" the lighting was. For that reason, London is one of the worst cauldrons in recent memory in my opinion.

Look, I just want the thing to be visible. I don't care if it's lit by a Phoenix, a missile, an arrow or just a handheld torch, but it's got to be clearly visible.

I completely wholehartedly agree.........

(but reserve the right to overanalyse also :P)

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