Space Torch to Light Sochi 2014 Olympic Cauldron

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has announced that the Cauldron at the Sochi 2014 Opening Ceremony of the XXII Olympic Winter Games will be lit using the Torch that travelled to outer space during the Olympic Torch Relay. The lighting of the Olympic Cauldron is traditionally the highlight to the Opening Ceremony and the identity of the torchbearer lighting the flame is traditionally a well-kept secret. Each host country of the Games strives to make the lighting ceremony the most spectacular and memorable.

The London 2012 Olympic Cauldron was made from 205 copper vessels in a shape resembling petals on long stems. The parts of the cauldron were lit by seven young British athletes. The petals were then raised, forming the huge cauldron with a single flame. After the completion of the Games, the Olympic team of each participating country took its petal home in memory of the Games' unforgettable moments.

The Flame of the 2010 Games in Vancouver was set ablaze at the BC Place arena at the end of the Opening Ceremony. The flame resembled a huge bonfire, where 16-meter crystals made of steel and covered with a special compound burned. The "Olympic bonfire" represented the main theme of the Opening Ceremony for the Games in Vancouver - the unity of ice and flame.

During the Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games in Beijing of 2008, the country's Olympic champions from various years passed the Olympic flame in a sequence. Having gone around the entire stadium, the flame lit the Olympic cauldron.

For more information contact: Press Service for the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee

sochi2014.com | media@sochi2014.com | +7 495 984 2014

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