The flame will stay in stadium to avoid attracting tourists

Olympic organisers clarified last night that the Olympic cauldron will not be made available...

Olympic organisers clarified last night that the Olympic cauldron will not be made available for public viewing and will be kept in the stadium. The Locog, through chairman Sebastian Coe, said that the cauldron ‘was not created to be a tourist attraction’. 

These comments were met with criticism from members of the public who had hoped to see the famed flame. 

The cauldron, which is made of steel and copper, was lit by seven young athletes nominated by former Olympics during the opening ceremony last Friday. At previous Olympics, the cauldron was burned in view of the public. For London 2012, however, it will remain inside the stadium. This means that only those who have tickets to see the events held at the venue, such as the track and field events, will be able to see the flame. 

Lord Coe was able to justify this year’s setup: “It is partly keeping with what we did in 1948,” he said referring to the last time that the Olympics were held in London. In the 1948 games, the flame was also placed inside the stadium, in contrast to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2000 Sydney Games when the Olympic flame was perched on top of the respective stadiums used. 

The British public therefore has to be content seeing the initial singular flame as it journeyed around the UK during the torch relay, which lasted 70 days.