Built in secret, Olympic cauldron now sits as one of Vancouver’s most iconic landmarks

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — It was an iconic moment in Vancouver’s history: 10 years ago Wayne Gretzy arrived on the back of a truck at Jack Poole Plaza. He walked up to the cauldron, put his torch onto the structure and lit the flames, officially opening the Olympic Games in 2010.

“So when it was lit it became, other than maybe the Gastown Steam Clock, the number one downtown landmark in Vancouver,” Former President and CEO of Tourism Vancouver Rick Antonson said.

At 10 metres tall and weighing in at 33,600 kilograms, the cauldron was the centrepiece of the Games.

But rewind six months before the ceremony, and  the design and engineering of this landmark was an Olympic effort in itself. According to the company contracted to build the cauldron, the one that now stands at B.C. place was supposed to replicate the one that was set up in B.C. Place – you may remember it, the one that malfunctioned during the Opening Ceremony.

“The committee wanted it to be a lot narrower on the base and taller, but the position of the base and eventually where it was going to be was on top of a mezzanine, so engineering wise we had to spread the cauldron out,” Tom Hamilton, vice president and COO of Axton inc. explained.

The cauldron that now sits at Jack Poole Plaza was also meant to be a surprise, so the next challenge was putting it in its place in downtown Vancouver, without anyone knowing.

“We had to sign a secrecy agreement where we couldn’t tell anybody what we were doing. It left here at 2:00 a.m. in the morning, and we had to have permits because it was over size, so it went out at two o’clock in the morning and it arrived at 4:00 a.m. on site,” Hamilton added.

Antonson said the structure was, indeed, a total surprise for everyone.

“Everybody in Vancouver got to touch something about the Olympics,” he said.

At least that’s what they expected. But the real surprise was the chain-link fencing that surrounded the cauldron during the Games, preventing anyone from actually getting close to it.

“I think it kinda destroys the Olympic security with all this security and fences,” one person told CityNews Vancouver back in 2010.

“You can’t even take a picture without the fence in it, it’s kinda a little upsetting,” another said.

“Cauldrongate,” as it was known, became a PR nightmare for the Vancouver Organizing Committee. Eventually, VANOC was persuaded to move the fence closer to the cauldron and create viewing windows for the public to take pictures from.

Only after the Games ended were the fences removed, allowing the cauldron to become an established part of the Olympic legacy and a major Vancouver tourist attraction.

It’s now used to host special events, but at a cost $6,400 for four hours, turning the flames on is rare. Regardless, a lack of flames doesn’t seem to stop tourists and locals alike from visiting it everyday.

“So it continues to this day to draw visitors, and residents, just passers by, so in that way, that particular landmark was a success,” Antonson said.