The glass and steel cauldron that will cradle the Olympic flame during the 2002 Winter Games has been unveiled at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, one month before the opening ceremony.
Mitt Romney, the president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee says the cauldron is much different than those of the past. He called it "a beautiful piece of art." The $2 million cauldron's twisting base contains 738 pieces of triangle-shaped glass, and will be visible throughout the city.
In keeping with the Game's theme of "Light the Fire Within," the flame will be visible as it climbs through the core of the cauldron, which resembles spiraling ice. Water will cascade down the glass sides, and the flame will emerge through shimmering water into the 3.6 meter cauldron. But who will light the cauldron remains a well-guarded secret. Once lit, the flame will burn until it is extinguished during the February 24 closing ceremonies.