Olympic Cauldron - Vancouver's 2010 Flame
Photo: popejon2 from Paddington, Australia, CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
A stop on Vancouver Cruise Day Walk, a free self-guided tour.
The tall, leaning structure of white pillars rising from a pool in front of you is the cauldron that burned through the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. When the games opened in February 2010, hockey great Wayne Gretzky rode through the rainy streets in the back of a pickup truck to light this outdoor flame, and crowds gathered on this plaza for days to see it.
The square is named Jack Poole Plaza after the businessman who led Vancouver's bid to host the games. The cauldron has stayed here ever since as a permanent memorial and is still lit for special occasions.
Nearby, look for Digital Orca, a sculpture by Vancouver artist Douglas Coupland that turns a killer whale into a pile of chunky pixel blocks, as if it had leapt straight out of an old video game. Behind you, the glass Vancouver Convention Centre West building has a living green roof planted with native grasses.
Getting here: From Canada Place, walk west along the waterfront promenade for about 5 minutes to the plaza with the tall white cauldron.
Did you know?: The plaza honours Jack Poole, who headed the 2010 bid committee; he died in 2009, just months before the games he helped win.
Photo op: Stand at the edge of the reflecting pool to frame the cauldron with the harbour and mountains behind it.
Nearby: Restrooms and food inside the Vancouver Convention Centre when it is open.
More on Wikipedia: Jack Poole Plaza · 2010 Winter Olympics · Wayne Gretzky · Douglas Coupland
Stops on this tour
- Canada Place - The Ship with Sails
- Olympic Cauldron - Vancouver's 2010 Flame
- Coal Harbour Seawall - Floatplanes and Yachts
- Lost Lagoon - A Lake That Was Once the Sea
- Stanley Park Seawall - A Lifetime of Stonework
- Brockton Point Totem Poles - Carved Stories
- Nine O'Clock Gun - The Cannon That Tells Time
- Waterfront Station - Where the Railway Ended
- Gastown Steam Clock - Whistles on the Hour
- Gaoler's Mews - Vancouver's First Jail
- Maple Tree Square - Where Gastown Began
- Canada Place Promenade - Back on Board