Olympic cauldron extinguished so it can moved to new position within stadium but only those with tickets will get to see it

• Cauldron is put out temporarily as it is moved from the centre of the stadium
• Austin Playfoot, 82, relights the flame with the aid of a cherry picker
• LOCOG chief Sebastian Coe says flame is not a 'tourist attraction' despite being symbol of the Olympics

By Louise Eccles and Adam Shergold

The Olympic cauldron was extinguished last night as the flame was relocated to another part of the stadium.
The flame's cauldron, a symbol of the Olympic movement, is supposed to burn for the entirety of the Games but organisers have confirmed it was put out temporarily so the 28ft high structure could be moved to the edge of the stadium.
This revelation will add to controversy about the location of the flame, which is only visible to those who have tickets to events in the main stadium.

The Olympic cauldron after the flame had been extinguished last night. It was put out about 9pm and re-lit in its new position at 7.50am this morning

Torchbearer Austin Playfoot, 82, who was also in the 1948 torch relay, re-lights the cauldron this morning after it was moved to the edge of the Olympic Stadium

LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe said last night that the cauldron was 'not created to be a tourist attraction' and would not go on public view.

The steel and copper Thomas Heatherwick-designed cauldron was lit by seven young athletes at the opening ceremony on Friday, at the culmination of a 70-day torch relay which covered 8,000 miles and all corners of Britain.

 

It was extinguished at 9pm last night and re-lit at 7.50am this morning, after the flame was kept burning in a miners' lamp overnight. It will take 80 hours to ready the stadium for athletics events.
It now stands at the southern end of the stadium, ahead of the finish line for the 100m and in the same place where a giant bell marked the start of the Opening Ceremony.
Jackie Brock-Doyle, director of communications for the organising committee, said: 'The cauldron has been put out while we move it to another part of the stadium.'
She added that the flame would be kept burning in a lantern, also used during parts of the torch relay, and the cauldron relit on Monday morning.

Giant cranes move in to move the cauldron from the centre of the Olympic stadium, where it was lit during Friday night's Opening Ceremony

The decision to have the cauldron inside the stadium for the duration of the Games is controversial, with organisers saying it is not designed to be a 'tourist attraction'

It was nearly midnight when the cranes moved into position to move to cauldron

Austin Playfoot, 82, re-lit the cauldron on Monday with the aid of a cherry picker

The honour went to 82-year-old Austin Playfoot from Elstead in Surrey, who was a torchbearer at the 1948 London Olympic Games.
Back then, he ran 1.8 miles with the flame through Guildford, but here he was aided by a cherry picker.
Mr Playfoot described his role as an 'honour', adding: 'When I ran with the Olympic Flame in Guildford I never thought I would get this close to the Cauldron, it brought me to tears when it lit up.
'It will be an incredible inspiration to the competing athletes here at the heart of the Olympic Park in the Stadium.'
It is not the first time the cauldron has been concealed from public view. It was not open to the public in 1948, the last time the Games were staged in London.

Tradition dictates that the Olympic cauldron is kept burning for the entire duration of the Games

The new position of the cauldron will ensure track and field athletics events can take place in the stadium

And a fierce row erupted at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics when organisers fenced off the cauldron and positioned security guards in front of it, preventing large numbers of visitors a look at it.
After a backlash from Canadians, officials were forced to remove some of the protection and allow more visitor-friendly access.
The cauldron is made up of 204 steel pipes and individually designed copper petals inscribed with each country's name.
Its designer Mr Heatherwick said: 'There is the precedent of the 1948 Games of the cauldron set within the stadium, to one side with the spectators, and with the technology we now have that didn’t exist in 1948 it can be shared with everyone in the Olympic Park with screens.

'We felt that sharing it with the screens reinforced the intimacy within it. If it had been a huge beacon lifted up in the air it would have had to be bigger, and would have somehow not met the brief that we discussed with Danny Boyle of making something that was rooted in where the people are.'

The cauldron is to be dismantled after the Games and each of the copper petals will be returned to the competing 204 National Olympic Committees to keep.

In the last London Olympics in 1948, the flame was kept burning inside Wembley Stadium for the whole of the Games

In the last London Olympics in 1948, the flame was kept burning inside Wembley Stadium for the whole of the Games

Day three of the Olympics started in perfect fashion for Great Britain as Katherine Grainger (front) and Anna Watkins won their heat of the double sculls in an Olympic Record time. The double world champions set a time of six minutes 44.33 seconds, smashing the previous record by five seconds. Grainger and Watkins, who are the clear favourites for a gold medal, are now unbeaten in 22 races. Grainger has three consecutive Olympic silver medals, but on this form, she is likely to be on top of the podium at Eton Dorney after the final on Friday

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