|
They snuff it out. Yes, we know, it sounds like heresy, especially in light of the fact that the flame is treated like royalty during its journey to the games, but it's the plain truth. How did we figure this out? Here's our own little Olympic torch relay: We searched on "olympic flame history" and immediately came across two interesting sites. The first, a photo galley of the May 2000 torch-lighting ceremony in Greece, implied that the torch is usually lit from the "direct rays of the sun," rather than some ever-burning lantern on Mt. Olympus. The second site, The
Olympic Museum, offered an entire section devoted to the Olympic Flame and Torch Relay. There we found confirmation of the torch-lighting routine -- "the lighting of the Olympic Flame is carried out during a solemn ceremony which takes place every two years in the ancient Olympic stadium in Olympia, in the Peloponnese region in Greece." The Olympic Museum also included a great resource showing the designs of Olympic Torches through the years. So, we'd learned how and where the flame is lit, and how it makes its way to the Olympic games, but we still had no idea when the flame is doused. That is, until we thought to search
on "olympic flame closing ceremony." Bingo. The results provided a link to the official Olympic Charter*, which details how the closing ceremony must end: A fanfare then sounds; the Olympic flame is extinguished, and while the Olympic anthem is being played, the Olympic flag is slowly lowered from the flagpole and, unfurled horizontally, carried out of the arena, followed by the flag bearers. A farewell song resounds. And so it is until the games begin again...
* Unfortunately, that page is no longer available.
|
