2012 London Olympics Cauldron by Thomas Heatherwick (video)

by Agis F.

The London 2012 Olympics cauldron designed by Thomas Heatherwick, is composed from 204 petals (each representing a competing nation), as we saw it at opening ceremony.

Images screen capture from video

The stems rise upwards and converge to form ‘one great flame of unity’, representing the peaceful coming together of the different nations for the Olympic Games.

“The petals are copper and the entire structure is about 8.5 metres tall, the rods which make up the stem of the cauldron are made of stainless steel with a heat and acid treatment that makes it a colour called ‘bad black’, which is slightly blue. The cauldron weighs 16 tonnes, far less than the one lit in beijing four years ago, which weighed 300 tonnes.” - Daily Mail