Andrew Mulligan, Sky TV, wearing his Marmot Mountain Down Jacket checks out the now uninterrupted view of the Olympic cauldron.
After initial access issues viewers are now able to take photos of this unique and symbolic structure from a nearby rooftop affording an unobstructed view of the cauldron in its waterfront location. They also have greater access at street level, while maintaining the necessary security perimeter of the Main Media Center, with the safety fence in front of the cauldron being moved forward so that viewers can stand closer to the cauldron. The fencing includes a viewing window stretching 30 metres at an average eye level height.
Photos without fencing – the perfect solution!
Cauldron Facts
The Cauldron of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
• The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games cauldron is located in downtown Vancouver and set against the scenic backdrop of the majestic snow-capped North Shore Mountains and the waters of Burrard Inlet.
• Thanks to a legacy partnership between Terasen Gas Inc. and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), the waterfront cauldron will remain at its location as a permanent legacy and reminder of the 2010 Winter Games.
• It was designed by David Atkins, producer of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, on behalf of the VANOC to reflect one of the themes of the Olympic Opening Ceremony: “fire in ice.”
• The cauldron was lit by Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky at the conclusion of the spectacular Olympic Opening Ceremony at BC Place on February 12, 2010. Gretzky is the all-time record holder for goals scored in the National Hockey League (NHL) and was executive director of the Team Canada gold medal-winning men’s hockey team at the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Games.
• The cauldron will remain lit for the duration of the Olympic Winter Games. It will also be used for the Paralympic Winter Games, which officially begin on March 12, 2010.
• The cauldron is located on the west side of the International Broadcast Centre at Jack Poole Plaza at 1055 Canada Place. Poole, the founding chairman of VANOC’s board of directors, passed away in October 2009 just hours after the Olympic Flame was lit in Greece signalling the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.
• The cauldron stands nearly 10 metres high and 12 metres wide. Each of the four arms of the cauldron is 16.5 metres long and 1.2 metres wide.
• The waterfront cauldron is an exact replica of the one lit indoors at BC Place during the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
• It is made of steel clad with polycarbonate and furnace glass. Parabolic mirrors have been installed
behind the cladding to give it a crystalline “ice” effect.
• The cauldron weighs approximately 33,600 kilograms in total (the arms weigh 7,500 kg each and the centre crystal weighs 3,600 kg).
• The steel and glass pieces were made locally in British Columbia, the Host Province of the Games.
• Each piece of glass is custom built and is unique.
• The cauldron was assembled on site over a period of approximately one month.
• The cauldron burns natural gas, the same fuel source used for the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games cauldron.
• The footprint of the Olympic cauldron(s) is based on the total amount of fuel expected to be consumed. It is estimated to be approximately one per cent of the direct footprint of the 2010 Winter Games (1,100 tonne of CO2) that VANOC is offsetting.
• Offsetters, the Official Carbon Offsetter of the 2010 Winter Games, equates one tonne of CO2 as the same weight as:
- Five four-man bobsleds, excluding crew (bobsleds are 210 kg each)
- 25 skeleton sleds (40 kg each)
- 52 curling rocks (19.1 kg each)
- 6,135 ice hockey pucks (163 grams)
Sky TV chooses Marmot to keep it's crew warm and dry during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
