2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron
The 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron was used for the Olympic flame during the Summer Olympics and Paralympics of London 2012. The cauldron was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and described as "one of the best-kept secrets of the opening ceremony": until it was lit during the Olympics ceremony, neither its design and location, nor who would light it, had been revealed. For the Olympics it consisted of 204 individual 'petals', and for the Paralympics 164, one for each competing nation.
The cauldron
Detail of the Olympic cauldron showing the 'petals'
The Olympic cauldron at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, opening out prior to being extinguished
The Canadian Olympic team entering the stadium with a girl carrying Canada's petal for the cauldron
The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony starts the Olympic torch relay, which formally ends with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The flame then continues to burn in the cauldron for the duration of the Games, until it is extinguished during the Olympic closing ceremony.
The Marathon Tower at the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium, where a symbolic flame burned in 1928
Lighting the olympic flame in a dress rehearsal in Greece, using the sun's energy
Olympic torch relay, 1952
Olympic torch relay, 1996