London 2012 unveils Olympic Torch design
The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) today unveiled a prototype of the London 2012 Olympic Torch that will be carried by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers on its journey across the UK this summer.
It has been designed by internationally-acclaimed designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, in partnership with Basildon-based product engineers Tecosim and Coventry-based manufacturers The Premier Group.
The Torch stands 800mm high, and has a gold colour finish that embraces the qualities of the Olympic Flame.
At 800mm high and weighing just 800g, the Torch is one of the most lightweight in the history of the Olympic Movement. Its gold-coloured form is perforated by 8,000 small cut-out circles, representing the 8,000 Torchbearers and their stories of personal achievement. The circles, which run the length of the Torch, will also offer a unique level of transparency – allowing people to see right into its heart – and help keep the Torch cool.
The triangular design has been inspired by the multiples of three identified across the vision and delivery of the Olympic Games. These include the three Olympic Values of respect, excellence and friendship; the fact the UK has hosted the Olympic Games three times; and the vision for the London 2012 Olympic Games to combine three strands of work – sport, education and culture.
'Integral to the design are the 8,000 circles, a lasting representation of the Torchbearer stories of personal achievement or contribution to their local community that will be showcased with every step of the Relay.'
Designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby explained: 'As designers, this is quite simply the best project going: to design an icon for the Games. We have worked hard to develop a Torch that celebrates the Relay, and reflects the passion for London and the Olympic Games. We wanted to make the most of pioneering production technologies and to demonstrate the industrial excellence available in the UK – it's a Torch for our time.'
The LOCOG ‘Moment to Shine’ Torchbearer nomination campaign aims to find 2,012 inspirational members of the public to carry the Olympic Flame on its 8,000 mile journey across the UK this summer.
2012 Olympic Torch Relay
The Torch Relay has been a mainstay and a beloved part of the Games since ancient times, going back to the original Olympic Games in Greece. A very precise ritual for the lighting of the Flame is followed at every Games. It is lit from the sun’s rays at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, in a traditional ceremony among the ruins of the home of the ancient Games.
After a short relay around Greece, the Flame is handed over to the new Host City. The Flame is then delivered to the Host Country, where it is transferred from one Torchbearer to another, spreading the message of peace, unity and friendship. It ends its journey as the last Torchbearer lights the cauldron at the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in the Olympic Stadium, marking the official start of the Games.
2012 London Olympic Opening Ceremonies
Sheep, horses, chickens and a cricket match to appear in the Olympic opening ceremony.
THE OLYMPIC opening ceremony will feature 70 sheep, a dozen horses, various chickens and sheep dogs, a model of Glastonbury, a village cricket team and the athletes will be forced to parade around a running track done up to resemble the M25, according to artistic director Danny Boyle.
He lifted the lid on plans for the ceremony at an east London studio and unveiled a model of the pastoral scene that will mark the start of the Games next month.
Boyle's vision also includes giant maypoles, ploughs and clouds supplying artificial rain, if required. The extravaganza will also feature two "mosh pits" at either end of the stadium.
The show, entitled ‘Green and Pleasant’, has been inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest, but will be scored by electronic dance act Underworld.
"Boyle's quirky sense of humour is evident in the ideas for the ceremony," says The Daily Telegraph. "Boyle said he hoped that the show would be unveiled like putting a puzzle together, with the main puzzle being the site and method of lighting the [Olympic] cauldron. However, nowhere on the model of the set is there a clue to the cauldron's location."
"While the show will open with a rural pastoral vision that evokes William Blake and Jerusalem, it is expected to evolve to take on a more urban hue. Boyle said he would not reveal how the 'puzzle fits together' as the show evolved."
The Independent reports: "The show is expected to be a celebration of Britishness and British history, but not, no doubt to the relief of many of London's Olympic guests, a full compendium of the last thousand years."
However, that has not stopped the Daily Mail getting excited about some of the historical events that will be featured. Earlier this week it proudly trumpeted: "Britain's triumph over Nazi Germany will be commemorated during a patriotic opening ceremony at the Olympics next month."
The plans promoted a mixed response from commenters on the internet. Some welcomed the unusual ideas but others likened the concept to the cringeworthy scene from Spinal Tap, in which dwarves dance around a tiny polystyrene model of Stonehenge.
On 12 June’s unveiling gave the first glimpse of what a billion TV viewers and more than 80,000 stadium spectators, athletes, performers and guests can expect when the curtain draws back on the July 27 opening, a three-hour crescendo to all the effort and millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money that has gone into hosting the Games. Oscar-winning Mr Boyle, whose movie creations include Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting, said the ‘green and pleasant land’ theme was chosen ‘because it is something we are really proud of’.
Hang on though. Doesn’t that line in Jerusalem refer only to England’s green and pleasant land? ‘Each of the nation’s four countries is represented by a maypole topped with the national flower,’ organisers quickly pointed out.
These could clearly be seen on the model that went on show yesterday. Likewise, a geographically diverse cast of 120 live animals auditioned from across the land.
Unveiling a handful of details of his vision for the first time with exactly six months to go until the ceremony, Boyle said it would not match the jaw-dropping scale and expense of Beijing in 2008 but would aim to repeat the humanity of Sydney in 2000, which earned the sobriquet "the people's Games".
His chosen title, Isles of Wonder, was inspired by a speech in The Tempest. "It is about the wondrous beauty of Caliban's island and his deep, deep devotion to it," explained Boyle.
Stephen Daldry, the Billy Elliot director who is overseeing the artistic vision for all four ceremonies for the Olympics and Paralympics, said it encapsulated the "heritage, diversity, energy, inventiveness, wit and creativity that defines the British Isles".
He said the theme of The Tempest would run through the opening and closing ceremonies for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games: "It is a journey that will celebrate who we are, who we were and indeed who we wish to be."
Previous opening ceremonies have proved iconic and embarrassing in equal measure, but Daldry said the live sense of "jeopardy" was one of the things that made them exciting.
The method of the lighting of the Olympic flame, expected to arrive by water after its 8,000-mile journey around the UK, will be among them.
Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Take That and ballerina Darcey Bussell are among those rumoured as potential participants.
The biggest bell ever cast in Europe has been commissioned to hang at one end of the stadium and will be rung at 9pm to signal the point at which the world will tune in to watch the opening ceremony.
Boyle said that the use of a giant bell in his production of Frankenstein at the National Theatre last year had helped persuade him to incorporate it into the ceremony.
After the Games, it will be moved to the Olympic Park – where on Friday the finished Athletes Village was handed over by the Olympic Delivery Authority – where Boyle said he hoped it would "ring for hundreds of years".
Boyle said that for one sequence, all the performers had been recruited from the NHS and local schools. "It is something that we are really proud of. It celebrates something unique about this country," he said.
The four ceremonies will feature a total of 15,000 performers and 25,000 costumes and Daldry equated the task to producing 165 West End musicals at the same time.
Rick Smith and Karl Hyde from dance group Underworld will provide the soundtrack for the opening ceremony. Boyle joked that they would compose marching music at 120bpm in order to speed up the athletes' procession around the stadium. Organisers have promised to avoid the lengthy waits and overruns of previous ceremonies and finish by midnight.
A film of rehearsals involving 15,000 performers across four ceremonies gave a few further clues to how the event will unfold: ballet dancers, painters, huge "zorbing" balls that could roll over the crowd, BMX displays, lasers and cyclists with wings all featured. A total of 900 schoolchildren from the six Olympic boroughs will be involved.
The government recently agreed to provide organisers with an extra £41m from the £9.3bn public sector funding package to double the budget for the Games ceremonies, justifying it by saying it was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to promote the UK and boost tourism.
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "We are absolutely clear this is one of the biggest events that will happen in this country in our lifetimes. We do not underestimate the massive responsibility that entails. We see it as a huge opportunity to profile everything we're proud of in the UK."
