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For many fans, the Olympic Games truly begin only when the Olympic cauldron is lit. This flame is the most powerful symbol of the entire event. The tradition starts in Greece, the home of the ancient games. From there, the flame travels on a long journey known as the torch relay. Finally, it arrives at the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony. The moment the main cauldron ignites is often a beautiful and exciting highlight. While many lightings are memorable, some have been truly surprising or unusual. Here are four of the most unusual torch lightings in Olympic history.
Viewers know that the Olympic Games truly begin when the Olympic cauldron is lit. After all, it's a symbol of the Games for everyone to see during the duration of competition with a flame originally lit in Greece, the home of the ancient games, before traveling in a torch relay to reach the Olympic Cauldron.
The torch lighting at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, was one of the most dramatic events ever. Instead of having a person simply walk up to a cauldron, officials chose a special and risky method. They selected a Spanish Paralympian archer named Antonio Rebollo to light the flame. His job was to shoot a flaming arrow. The arrow needed to fly through a stream of gas being released from a cauldron high above the stadium.
This was a very dangerous plan. Rebollo had to be extremely precise. If he missed the stream of gas, the cauldron would not light at all. Also, he could not let the flaming arrow land in the crowd of people. To keep everyone safe, planners had Rebollo aim to overshoot the cauldron completely. The plan was for the arrow to land safely in a sandbox placed outside the stadium walls.
On the night of the ceremony, Rebollo took aim and fired. The flaming arrow soared through the air, passed perfectly through the gas, and ignited the giant cauldron. The arrow then continued its arc and landed safely in the sandbox, just as planned. It was a stunning and unforgettable moment that changed how people viewed the ceremony.