The Olympic Cauldron Had To Be Relit

Traditionally, the cauldron burns for the entirety of the games.

1. This is the Olympic cauldron on Friday night. Seven young athletes lit it while an estimated one billion people watched.

Image by Gallo Images / Getty Images

2. This is the Olympic cauldron on Sunday. The flame was extinguished so the cauldron could be moved.

Image by - / Getty Images

3. It took 80 hours to move the 204 copper pots and steel pipes.

Image by - / Getty Images

4. But the actual flame never went out. It was transferred to a miners’ lamp, and carried by 1948 torchbearer Austin Playfoot.

Image by Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

5. Moving the cauldron has broken tradition and drawn criticism.

Image by Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

6. Traditionally, the flame burns undisturbed in its cauldron for the entirety of the Olympic games.

Image by Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

7. The flame is also usually visible to the general public. But the London cauldron will only be seen by spectators inside the stadium. (A video feed will broadcast it on screens throughout the Olympic park.)

Image by Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

8. The relighting procedure was unceremonious for everyone but Austin Playfoot, who ran with the torch earlier this year in Guildford, England.

Image by Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

9. He told AFP: “When I ran with the Olympic Flame in Guildford I never thought I would get this close to the Cauldron, it brought me to tears when it lit up.”

Image by Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

10. At least he had a small audience.

Image by Jae C. Hong / AP