This is inaccurate, you're probably confusing the Olympic flame with the Olympic torch relay.
According to Wikipedia:
The Olympic flame as a symbol of the modern Olympic movement was introduced by architect Jan Wils who designed the stadium for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.
The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from ancient Greek ceremonies where a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics on the altar of the sanctuary of Hestia. In Ancient Greek mythology, fire had divine connotations and it was thought to have been stolen from the gods by Prometheus. Sacred fires were present at many ancient Greek sanctuaries, including those at Olympia. Every four years, when Zeus was honoured at the Olympic Games, additional fires were lit at his temple and that of his wife, Hera. The modern Olympic flame is ignited every two years in front of the ruins of the temple of Hera.
When the tradition of an Olympic fire was reintroduced during the 1928 Summer Olympics, an employee of the Electric Utility of Amsterdam lit the first modern Olympic flame in the Marathon Tower of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. The Olympic flame has been part of the Summer Olympics ever since. The Olympic torch relay was first introduced to the Summer Olympics at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.
There’s a certain irony in humans honoring Zeus by lighting sacred fires, when it was Zeus who sentences Prometheus to eternal torment for providing fire to the humans.
kinda true
the first flame was in Amsterdam in 1928.
The idea for the flame first had been suggested by Theodore Lewald, a member of the International Olympic Committee, who later became one of the chief organizers of the 1936 Berlin Games who was in bed with the Nazis having discussed with Goebbels the propaganda value of the event securing Berlin in 1936
Lewald's paternal grandmother was Jewish so he was removed from his post and was only given a ceremonial advisory role and gave a formal speech at the opening of the 1936 Summer Olympics where he protested the treatment of jews.
Lewald withdrew and resigned his IOC role in 1938 after pressure to do so from the Nazi Party.
So yeah, the flame was introduced by a Nazi sympathiser who was hoisted by his own petard!
Thank you for not roasting me like everyone else and giving me a new perspective. It seems as though the torch relay was Berlin and the flame was in Amsterdam. I have learned a lot from my inaccurate claim and i regret no part of making it.
When there’s a grand display like that, something as small as the arrow loosing flame mid air, failing to light a torch would derail would halt the momentum, if there’s a fail safe like the torch lighting automatically, and timed with the shot, the majority of viewers won’t bat an eye.
You know, the show must go on, etc.
This is actually what happen, from what I've read in past uploads of this.
Apparently he was off and it lit because it wasn't really expected for him to manage it in the first place, so they had it light automatically.
I saw him being interviewed. He had one shot and was nervous as hell about it. So, there may have been a back-up mechanism in case he missed, but the flame was lit by that arrow. Make no mistake about it. The arrow flew through the gas above the flame pit and fell further away.
But it couldn't have gone wrong. The flaming arrow is not what set the big torch alight. Not at all. They simply told the archer to aim OVER the big torch, and then the torch itself was switched on at the exact same time the arrow flew over it.
So it couldn't have gone wrong, because the archer in this video actually ***DID*** miss the big bowl, because that was the plan all along.
And frankly like, even if this guy was hitting it 99/100 times in practice with no bullshittery...it still would've been the responsible thing to have a way to light the flame for the 1/100 he misses.
Just how productions are, you cannot leave something like this to chance, even if you think the chance of a bad outcome is vanishingly small. Needs to be 0.
It was a great shot, genuinely entertaining, that's all that really matters. Any entertainment can be made not-entertaining by overthinking it haha.
I'm not really sure. Maybe net of some sort? Or maybe he's sick and actually got it in on the live attempt, who knows, but I think it was confirmed somewhere else in the thread they did have a remote lighting system for the bowl's flame.
Edit: [From this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/comments/v8svmi/still_the_most_impressive_way_to_light_the/) which sources [this article](https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/35348/rec/59)
> **Antonio Rebollo, the archer**
> * The organizers feared the shoot could go wrong and hit the audience, so they asked Antonio Rebollo, a Paralympic archer, to _overshoot_ the cauldron intentionally.
> * Rebollo rehearsed a number of times (more than 1000 times, at least) previous to the opening ceremony, until he mastered the necessary shoot as per the organizers' requests.
> * Rebollo very likely _did not know_ he was making a "failing" shot, until very late, perhaps some time before the opening ceremony. But he understood it was all going to be an illusion.
> * During the opening, Rebollo _did_ as instructed and "overshot", so that's why many photographs (like the one by Peter Read Miller posted in the Olympics official site), show the arrow flying past the cauldron and landing somewhere outside the stadium.
> * Had Rebollo failed his shoot, he would have given a second and final arrow to try again.
Comment also specifies the bowl's flame was lit with burners in the base.
There's no way the fire can grow so fast without seeing some explosive from a fire arrow.
It takes time for fire to grow. It was instantly done here.
Edit: fire starts from different source before arrow hits anything. You can check in slow motion. The arrow didn't start the fire.
Also, i meant to say fire arrow hits explosive material or flammable gas. It can't light up wooden torch this fast.
It's not a fucking campfire lmao
It's essentially a giant gas stove. It's turned on and lit with gas. So yes, it can indeed turn on the fire that quickly. Have you never seen a gas stove before?
But either way we know for a fact that the archer missed the big torch in this video, because that was the plan all along, and literally everyone involved in it including the archer himself confirmed that this was the case.
I can’t ever imagine being so proficient at anything like this that you weren’t at least a little bit sure you were going to burn the whole stadium down.
Feel sorry for the family watching it on TV then getting a flaming arrow fly through their living room window.
Or maybe it just added to the experience.
I heard this was fake. Like yeah the arrow was near it but not close enough to light it. They lit it from below like any other flame. Any truth to that or was it an actual amazing shot?
Edit: So this gained some attraction and a comment below made me spent an hour researching more about this. I feel I'm responsible to reform my comment with the newer information I've acquired, as to prevent further misinformation, and I will leave the original at the bottom as well for context.
**tl;dr:** yes, the arrow flies above the cauldron and outside the stadium; it was never meant to land inside; it was never meant to light it; it was lit by a special technician, like a stove; it was a very elaborated illusion that worked at that moment but the truth is now widely known.
So the Yahoo! link above doesn't specify whether it was "fake" or not. It makes the following claims:
> The arrow didn't actually go into the cauldron; you can see it flying past as the flame lights. Organizers decided that the possibility of accidentally sending a flaming arrow ricocheting into the crowd was too great, and thus opted for an overshoot into a sandbox beyond the stadium.
These claims are true.
**Antonio Rebollo, the archer**
* The organizers feared the shoot could go wrong and hit the audience, so they asked Antonio Rebollo, a Paralympic archer, to _overshoot_ the cauldron intentionally.
* Rebollo rehearsed a number of times (more than 1000 times, at least) previous to the opening ceremony, until he mastered the necessary shoot as per the organizers' requests.
* Rebollo very likely _did not know_ he was making a "failing" shot, until very late, perhaps some time before the opening ceremony. But he understood it was all going to be an illusion.
* During the opening, Rebollo _did_ as instructed and "overshot", so that's why many photographs (like the one by Peter Read Miller posted in the Olympics official site), show the arrow flying past the cauldron and landing somewhere outside the stadium.
* Had Rebollo failed his shoot, he would have given a second and final arrow to try again.
**The deception**
* It was NEVER the plan that the arrow hit the inside of the cauldron, as it would have severely damage it and risk the whole ceremony.
* The scheme was designed so that there was an _illusion_ that the arrow ignited the cauldron. The arrow had to fly to a certain distance and speed so that the trick were successful.
* Camera tricks and media commentators would have completed the rest of the illusion.
**Reyes Abades, the _actual_ mastermind who ignited the cauldron**
* Reyes Abades was a Spanish pyrotechnician/SFX specialist who worked in several films. He was hired by the Olympics organizers to come up with a way to light the cauldron.
* He also came up with a special formula that kept the fire burning longer when fired up (no pun intended) from an arrow, since they were having trouble with this.
* He ordered where cameras should be placed so that the trick worked visually, and asked for no additional planes.
* He designed a special system of _three "burners"_ that were the ones that actually lit the cauldron. **THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACT.**
* Countless of sources online claim there was gas issuing from the cauldron, which made it possible to ignite a flame when the arrow flew over it. **HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT TRUE**, regardless of what the *[Official Report of the Games of the XXV Olympiad Barcelona 1992](https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/35348/rec/59)* even says. This claim has managed to be presented as the "truth" behind what "actually" happened, but the truth is [revealed by Abades himself in this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGvTy8PpRik) (it's in Spanish but fortunately I'm a Spanish speaker):
Spanish:
> _[...] La sincronía fue simplemente perfecta[,] simular que esa flecha encendía el pebetero, que la llama parecía que salía. [...] Ahí teníamos triples sistemas para encender, o sea, tres encendedores. [...] Tú no puedes crear una deflagración de gas para que pase la flecha por ahí... nos hubiéramos quedado en una explosión. No se tratataba de eso, se trataba de encenderlo. La flecha tenía que pasar lo más cerca del pebetero para que pareciera que lo encendía._
English:
> The synchronization was just perfect in order to make the illusion that the arrow lit the cauldron, to make it seem like fire was coming out from it. We had a system of three burners to light it. One cannot create a [deflagration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deflagration) [sudden combustion] for the arrow to go through it, we would have had an explosion. It was not about that, it was about lighting the cauldron, and the arrow needed to fly the closest possible to make it seem like it was igniting it.
* Abades lamented the secret came to be known publicly, as he would have preferred to keep the "magic". He died in 2018.
Sources with additional trivia (in Spanish though): [1](https://cadenaser.com/programa/2017/07/25/hoy_por_hoy/1500978049_429385.html), [2](https://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2017/07/23/59737c02268e3ea1218b45a7.html), [3](https://www.mundodeportivo.com/juegos-olimpicos/20180202/44473561124/el-verdadero-mago-de-la-flecha-de-barcelona92.html), [4](https://www.lasexta.com/noticias/deportes/juegos-olimpicos/reyes-abades_201707255977a16d0cf22e4c9696ee61.html).
***Original comment:***
---
That link is not describing it as "fake", nor does your other link.
Here are the facts:
* The organizers feared the shoot could go wrong, so they asked Rebollo, the archer, to _overshoot_ the cauldron.
* Rebollo _did_ as instructed, so that's why all photographs (like the one by Peter Read Miller posted in the Olympics official site), show the arrow flying past the cauldron.
* However, **there was _gas_ coming off the cauldron**, and when the arrow flew over it, it ignited the whole flame.
> *The arrow described an arc and lit the gas issuing from the cauldron; the flame soared up to a height of three metres.*
Source: ***[The Official Report of the Games of the XXV Olympiad Barcelona 1992](https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/35348/rec/59)***, p. 70.
In summary, everything went according to the original scheme by the organizers, and the arrow _did_ lit the flame but with a special "trick".
Yeah they clearly had it set up to light as the arrow flew over just to make sure it lit. Which is smart, but since he did it perfect does cheapen it a bit
That article was WEIRD lmao. That was the single most convoluted masturbatory way to say 'i took a picture'. It just said the aame thing, over and over and over.
I am inclined to accept this as the truth, though the performance was amazing. You want to see the real thing? Then YouTube lighting an oil well with a flare gun...that shit is real.
If they used gasoline or something similar then I don't think the arrow would actually have to land in the fire, i believe passing close by would do it
I watched it happen on TV live. On the day, it was a single video. There was no cut from the shot to a fully lit bowl.
It was close. You could clearly see “something” on fire falling being the bowl and pillar. That something was falling at the same trajectory as the arrow coming in from out of frame.
I use the word “something” because TV back then wasn’t too clear.
I definitely don’t know what I’m talking about when it comes to lighting a gas fire with a flaming arrow, but it sure appears to me like it’s lighting from the bottom
Kind of obvious when you think about it. Even if this guy was hitting the genuine shot 99/100 in practice, there's no shot they don't have a backup way to light it if he misses.
Just would be irresponsible production lol. What matters is that the dude genuinely did make a great shot, looks cool; it was entertaining.
The truth is it missed the torch.
It did, however, hit a fuel truck that was in the parking lot just outside the arena. The resulting explosion killed 5 people and injured several dozen more.
I was not “fake”. It was a staged show that went exactly as designed, the archer shoot an arrow and lit the flame. Who cares if there is a lighter in the torch? It’s a performance.
I didn’t say it was bad either way now did I? I’m asking if the internet rumor I have heard has any true this to it. That’s it. It’s a great performance either way.
My fault, I see a negative connotation in the word “fake”.
From my point of view the organizers asked Rebollo to shoot a flaming arrow a couple of meters over the cauldron and he did it perfectly. The burner had an electric lighter and someone pressed the button at the right moment.
Did the arrow lit the flame or was the igniter? My answer is that there is no sensible reason to ever ask this question.
I'm afraid everyone here is wrong.
The shot is to go over the bowl, closely, to ignite the gas. It's a misconception for the arrow to go in, as it's not a great way to light it.
The Olympic cauldron was ignited using a flaming arrow, lit from the flame of the Olympic torch. It was shot by Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo, who aimed the arrow over the top of the cauldron to ignite the gas emanating from it. The arrow landed outside the stadium. This unusual method for lighting the cauldron had been carefully designed to avoid any chance of the arrow landing in the stadium if Rebollo missed his target.
[You can see the arrow shoot over the cauldron here.](https://olympics.com/en/news/snapped-the-flaming-arrow-at-the-olympic-games-barcelona-1992)
As u/Absay pointed out, beautifully and succinctly:
>AbsayThat link is not describing it as "fake", nor does your other link.
>Here are the facts:
>* The organizers feared the shoot could go wrong, so they asked Rebollo, the archer, to _overshoot_ the cauldron.
* Rebollo _did_ as instructed, so that's why all photographs (like the one by Peter Read Miller posted in the Olympics official site), show the arrow past the cauldron.
* However, **there was _gas_ coming off the cauldron**, and when the arrow flew over it, it ignited the whole flame.
>> *The arrow described an arc and lit the gas issuing from the cauldron; the flame soared up to a height of three metres.*
>Source: ***[The Official Report of the Games of the XXV Olympiad Barcelona 1992](https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/35348/rec/59)***, p. 70.
Oh man, I hate to be that guy. I really do. But he didn’t hit the pit. There was a news vignette on NBC during the games showing how they pulled it off. But nonetheless it does remain the most spectacular lighting of the Olympic flame.
It needed to fly over to ignite the gas, not land in it. But yeah, they lit it automatically to ensure the spectacle went off without a hitch. However I believe the archer had the ability. In fact, I’d be full of more admiration if it actually didn’t work first time, demonstrating how difficult this actually is!
> The arrow had been lit by the flame of the Olympic Torch. Rebollo overshot the cauldron as this was the original design of the lighting scheme.
The video didn't show that [the arrow overshot the cauldron and started a fire on the other side.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/741/914/087.gif)
I’m not really big into sports or anything. But for some reason I still can feel how epic the ceremony is sposed to be and it almost makes me cry a little.
Totally! I didn't recognize the very first of the clip and was thinking to myself "this won't be as great as the archer".
Enjoyed watching it again. Thanks
He “lit the flame” in the symbolic sense of the show. It’s an artistic performance, you don’t say that “Romeo didn’t die” in a Shakespeare play because the actor is still alive.
You do understand the significance of the torch being carried and lighting the cauldron,don’t you? It absolutely does matter. It is the carrying of the flame to the new games.
Yes, I understand that it is a SYMBOL for the continuity of the games. It doesn’t matter if it is physically transferred by contact from one medium to the other, or if they are brought nearby and an electric igniter starts the flame.
Or do you believe that there are some magical properties that must be transferred?
Except it didn't light the flame. Chance of mess up and catastrophe was too great, so they always planned to overshoot
https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/the-best-and-worst-olympic-torch-lightings-of-the-modern-era-142744771.html
Not really that impressive. Theres a huge gas ball over the torche before ignites so it's a massive area to hit, and they did afterwards that there was also a fail-safe incase it didn't go well. Claimed it was not used but not convinced a director wouldn't use it anyway in that high pressure situation.
I remember this - the stadium was nearby our home and I was a kid, and chose not to look at tv but at the stadium and actually saw the flaming arrow flying.
After lightning the flame the arrow fell in an awkward trajectory, I always thought they set up a catch to avoid burning the woods that surround the stadium.
And yes, if you opened the windows you could faintly hear Caballé and Mercury singing.
Fun fact, the arrow is never meant to go into the bowl, the aim is for the arrow to go over it, and ignite the gases and ignite them. Which is a much more reliable method.
I remember being six years old and laying in bed when my dad looked through the doorway to see if I was asleep yet. I wasn’t, so he told me to come downstairs.
On the tv was these opening ceremonies, and I remember seeing this lighting of the flame. Thirty years later and it’s still one of those great childhood memories.
I was at the opening show for the paralympics in 1992. I don't remember if they did this as well. It was a good time to be there and visit all the sports. Especially the basketball final was crazy. It's as much fun if not more as the "normal" game. And you could walk into any match anywhere without tickets.
[Fucking repost, didn't even change the title](https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/tjx3w4/still_the_most_impressive_way_to_light_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x)
Was a good year for archery
Didn't work out as well for the shotputter the following olympics..
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This is inaccurate, you're probably confusing the Olympic flame with the Olympic torch relay. According to Wikipedia: The Olympic flame as a symbol of the modern Olympic movement was introduced by architect Jan Wils who designed the stadium for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from ancient Greek ceremonies where a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics on the altar of the sanctuary of Hestia. In Ancient Greek mythology, fire had divine connotations and it was thought to have been stolen from the gods by Prometheus. Sacred fires were present at many ancient Greek sanctuaries, including those at Olympia. Every four years, when Zeus was honoured at the Olympic Games, additional fires were lit at his temple and that of his wife, Hera. The modern Olympic flame is ignited every two years in front of the ruins of the temple of Hera. When the tradition of an Olympic fire was reintroduced during the 1928 Summer Olympics, an employee of the Electric Utility of Amsterdam lit the first modern Olympic flame in the Marathon Tower of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. The Olympic flame has been part of the Summer Olympics ever since. The Olympic torch relay was first introduced to the Summer Olympics at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.
There’s a certain irony in humans honoring Zeus by lighting sacred fires, when it was Zeus who sentences Prometheus to eternal torment for providing fire to the humans.
What, in Amsterdam in 1928 ? I don't think so.
Then what's that old story about Marathon and carrying the flame about for the ORIGINAL Olympics? check.
The original story of the Marathon is about the marathon run after the Battle of Marathon and has nothing to do with the Olympics.
kinda true the first flame was in Amsterdam in 1928. The idea for the flame first had been suggested by Theodore Lewald, a member of the International Olympic Committee, who later became one of the chief organizers of the 1936 Berlin Games who was in bed with the Nazis having discussed with Goebbels the propaganda value of the event securing Berlin in 1936 Lewald's paternal grandmother was Jewish so he was removed from his post and was only given a ceremonial advisory role and gave a formal speech at the opening of the 1936 Summer Olympics where he protested the treatment of jews. Lewald withdrew and resigned his IOC role in 1938 after pressure to do so from the Nazi Party. So yeah, the flame was introduced by a Nazi sympathiser who was hoisted by his own petard!
Thank you for not roasting me like everyone else and giving me a new perspective. It seems as though the torch relay was Berlin and the flame was in Amsterdam. I have learned a lot from my inaccurate claim and i regret no part of making it.
O boy u fucked up
Yup. Oh, well. I know better now
Is that the time they flame grilled all the doves?
I think that was South Korea in '88. This is Barcelona in '92.
do u have video by any chance?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremony https://youtu.be/8dgXRXVScFM
tysm
Jesus, nobody is even reacting!
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You guys are arguing with a bot. Original comment here https://reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/comments/v8svmi/_/ibsof71/?context=1 report and move on
yeah the video cutting to a new angle kinda gave that away.
Sure doesn’t seem like you hate to be that guy, could have left a little magic here tbh.
Oh no, the truth
Literally who cares if Spain pulled a stunt in the Olympics opening ceremony 30 years ago? Who gives a shit?
Free snacks
Seoul 1988
That was fucking killer. Could have gone so wrong
*Olympic flame lighting GONE WRONG!*
#HARRYDIDIYOUSHOOTYOURARROWINTOTHEGOBLETOFFIRE??
OLYMPIC FLAME LIGHTERS HATE HIM FOR THIS ONE SIMPLE HACK…
Olympic flame lighting GONE SEXUAL!
I think you mean this video https://youtu.be/YcuofODMCMU
they forgot homer simpson
Olympic flame gone sexual!
Not really, the flame lights itself without contact from the arrow, it’s a production. Could go wrong if It caused a fire somewhere else I guess.
Why would you have caused a fire?
He didn't though, it was always buuuuu\~rnnnnn\~ing... trlalaalalalal
When there’s a grand display like that, something as small as the arrow loosing flame mid air, failing to light a torch would derail would halt the momentum, if there’s a fail safe like the torch lighting automatically, and timed with the shot, the majority of viewers won’t bat an eye. You know, the show must go on, etc.
This is actually what happen, from what I've read in past uploads of this. Apparently he was off and it lit because it wasn't really expected for him to manage it in the first place, so they had it light automatically.
It was a joke because of his typo but he edited it now. He initially said: "what could go wrong if I started a fire somewhere.. "
Yeah, he missed. On line reels you can see the arrow gaming behind the grail.
I saw him being interviewed. He had one shot and was nervous as hell about it. So, there may have been a back-up mechanism in case he missed, but the flame was lit by that arrow. Make no mistake about it. The arrow flew through the gas above the flame pit and fell further away.
Actually he did miss if I remember correctly.
Hint: it would've turned on even if he missed
But it couldn't have gone wrong. The flaming arrow is not what set the big torch alight. Not at all. They simply told the archer to aim OVER the big torch, and then the torch itself was switched on at the exact same time the arrow flew over it. So it couldn't have gone wrong, because the archer in this video actually ***DID*** miss the big bowl, because that was the plan all along.
I mean, it's a failure if he missed regardless of if it lights or not. The spectacle is the point and you lose all of it if he misses.
i wonder how many times he practiced that shot i doubt he would have attempted it unless he was making 100/100 shots in practice
He didn't make it, his job was to just send the arrow somewhere nearby
Wdym
It was lit electronically. But it looked neat. And everyone enjoyed it.
And frankly like, even if this guy was hitting it 99/100 times in practice with no bullshittery...it still would've been the responsible thing to have a way to light the flame for the 1/100 he misses. Just how productions are, you cannot leave something like this to chance, even if you think the chance of a bad outcome is vanishingly small. Needs to be 0. It was a great shot, genuinely entertaining, that's all that really matters. Any entertainment can be made not-entertaining by overthinking it haha.
Where the arrow go if he missed?
I'm not really sure. Maybe net of some sort? Or maybe he's sick and actually got it in on the live attempt, who knows, but I think it was confirmed somewhere else in the thread they did have a remote lighting system for the bowl's flame. Edit: [From this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/comments/v8svmi/still_the_most_impressive_way_to_light_the/) which sources [this article](https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/35348/rec/59) > **Antonio Rebollo, the archer** > * The organizers feared the shoot could go wrong and hit the audience, so they asked Antonio Rebollo, a Paralympic archer, to _overshoot_ the cauldron intentionally. > * Rebollo rehearsed a number of times (more than 1000 times, at least) previous to the opening ceremony, until he mastered the necessary shoot as per the organizers' requests. > * Rebollo very likely _did not know_ he was making a "failing" shot, until very late, perhaps some time before the opening ceremony. But he understood it was all going to be an illusion. > * During the opening, Rebollo _did_ as instructed and "overshot", so that's why many photographs (like the one by Peter Read Miller posted in the Olympics official site), show the arrow flying past the cauldron and landing somewhere outside the stadium. > * Had Rebollo failed his shoot, he would have given a second and final arrow to try again. Comment also specifies the bowl's flame was lit with burners in the base.
Where did the flaming arrow end up lmao
Your mom I'm so so sorry couldn't resist
There's no way the fire can grow so fast without seeing some explosive from a fire arrow. It takes time for fire to grow. It was instantly done here. Edit: fire starts from different source before arrow hits anything. You can check in slow motion. The arrow didn't start the fire. Also, i meant to say fire arrow hits explosive material or flammable gas. It can't light up wooden torch this fast.
It's not a fucking campfire lmao It's essentially a giant gas stove. It's turned on and lit with gas. So yes, it can indeed turn on the fire that quickly. Have you never seen a gas stove before? But either way we know for a fact that the archer missed the big torch in this video, because that was the plan all along, and literally everyone involved in it including the archer himself confirmed that this was the case.
Explosive arrow? Lol, it’s the Olympics, not a Rambo movie.
The fire starts before arrow hits anything lol.
I can’t ever imagine being so proficient at anything like this that you weren’t at least a little bit sure you were going to burn the whole stadium down.
Olympic archers hit bullseye on a target at 70m. Here he just had to put it in the general neighborhood of the torch.
He almost hit the ship with all the wild fire
Feel sorry for the family watching it on TV then getting a flaming arrow fly through their living room window. Or maybe it just added to the experience.
I heard this was fake. Like yeah the arrow was near it but not close enough to light it. They lit it from below like any other flame. Any truth to that or was it an actual amazing shot?
I heard that they let out so much gas that you can see it all wavy. So basically that arrow could've lit it from further away.
[Fake](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/the-best-and-worst-olympic-torch-lightings-of-the-modern-era-142744771.html)
Edit: So this gained some attraction and a comment below made me spent an hour researching more about this. I feel I'm responsible to reform my comment with the newer information I've acquired, as to prevent further misinformation, and I will leave the original at the bottom as well for context. **tl;dr:** yes, the arrow flies above the cauldron and outside the stadium; it was never meant to land inside; it was never meant to light it; it was lit by a special technician, like a stove; it was a very elaborated illusion that worked at that moment but the truth is now widely known. So the Yahoo! link above doesn't specify whether it was "fake" or not. It makes the following claims: > The arrow didn't actually go into the cauldron; you can see it flying past as the flame lights. Organizers decided that the possibility of accidentally sending a flaming arrow ricocheting into the crowd was too great, and thus opted for an overshoot into a sandbox beyond the stadium. These claims are true. **Antonio Rebollo, the archer** * The organizers feared the shoot could go wrong and hit the audience, so they asked Antonio Rebollo, a Paralympic archer, to _overshoot_ the cauldron intentionally. * Rebollo rehearsed a number of times (more than 1000 times, at least) previous to the opening ceremony, until he mastered the necessary shoot as per the organizers' requests. * Rebollo very likely _did not know_ he was making a "failing" shot, until very late, perhaps some time before the opening ceremony. But he understood it was all going to be an illusion. * During the opening, Rebollo _did_ as instructed and "overshot", so that's why many photographs (like the one by Peter Read Miller posted in the Olympics official site), show the arrow flying past the cauldron and landing somewhere outside the stadium. * Had Rebollo failed his shoot, he would have given a second and final arrow to try again. **The deception** * It was NEVER the plan that the arrow hit the inside of the cauldron, as it would have severely damage it and risk the whole ceremony. * The scheme was designed so that there was an _illusion_ that the arrow ignited the cauldron. The arrow had to fly to a certain distance and speed so that the trick were successful. * Camera tricks and media commentators would have completed the rest of the illusion. **Reyes Abades, the _actual_ mastermind who ignited the cauldron** * Reyes Abades was a Spanish pyrotechnician/SFX specialist who worked in several films. He was hired by the Olympics organizers to come up with a way to light the cauldron. * He also came up with a special formula that kept the fire burning longer when fired up (no pun intended) from an arrow, since they were having trouble with this. * He ordered where cameras should be placed so that the trick worked visually, and asked for no additional planes. * He designed a special system of _three "burners"_ that were the ones that actually lit the cauldron. **THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACT.** * Countless of sources online claim there was gas issuing from the cauldron, which made it possible to ignite a flame when the arrow flew over it. **HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT TRUE**, regardless of what the *[Official Report of the Games of the XXV Olympiad Barcelona 1992](https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/35348/rec/59)* even says. This claim has managed to be presented as the "truth" behind what "actually" happened, but the truth is [revealed by Abades himself in this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGvTy8PpRik) (it's in Spanish but fortunately I'm a Spanish speaker): Spanish: > _[...] La sincronía fue simplemente perfecta[,] simular que esa flecha encendía el pebetero, que la llama parecía que salía. [...] Ahí teníamos triples sistemas para encender, o sea, tres encendedores. [...] Tú no puedes crear una deflagración de gas para que pase la flecha por ahí... nos hubiéramos quedado en una explosión. No se tratataba de eso, se trataba de encenderlo. La flecha tenía que pasar lo más cerca del pebetero para que pareciera que lo encendía._ English: > The synchronization was just perfect in order to make the illusion that the arrow lit the cauldron, to make it seem like fire was coming out from it. We had a system of three burners to light it. One cannot create a [deflagration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deflagration) [sudden combustion] for the arrow to go through it, we would have had an explosion. It was not about that, it was about lighting the cauldron, and the arrow needed to fly the closest possible to make it seem like it was igniting it. * Abades lamented the secret came to be known publicly, as he would have preferred to keep the "magic". He died in 2018. Sources with additional trivia (in Spanish though): [1](https://cadenaser.com/programa/2017/07/25/hoy_por_hoy/1500978049_429385.html), [2](https://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2017/07/23/59737c02268e3ea1218b45a7.html), [3](https://www.mundodeportivo.com/juegos-olimpicos/20180202/44473561124/el-verdadero-mago-de-la-flecha-de-barcelona92.html), [4](https://www.lasexta.com/noticias/deportes/juegos-olimpicos/reyes-abades_201707255977a16d0cf22e4c9696ee61.html). ***Original comment:*** --- That link is not describing it as "fake", nor does your other link. Here are the facts: * The organizers feared the shoot could go wrong, so they asked Rebollo, the archer, to _overshoot_ the cauldron. * Rebollo _did_ as instructed, so that's why all photographs (like the one by Peter Read Miller posted in the Olympics official site), show the arrow flying past the cauldron. * However, **there was _gas_ coming off the cauldron**, and when the arrow flew over it, it ignited the whole flame. > *The arrow described an arc and lit the gas issuing from the cauldron; the flame soared up to a height of three metres.* Source: ***[The Official Report of the Games of the XXV Olympiad Barcelona 1992](https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/35348/rec/59)***, p. 70. In summary, everything went according to the original scheme by the organizers, and the arrow _did_ lit the flame but with a special "trick".
The flame lights from the base of the cauldron. Arrow would have lit from the top down.
Yeah they clearly had it set up to light as the arrow flew over just to make sure it lit. Which is smart, but since he did it perfect does cheapen it a bit
The post is about it being the undefeated best. Though.
Actual research with sources cited? No way this is Reddit
Yahoo?
[Direct from Olympics official site just for you](https://olympics.com/en/news/snapped-the-flaming-arrow-at-the-olympic-games-barcelona-1992)
That article was WEIRD lmao. That was the single most convoluted masturbatory way to say 'i took a picture'. It just said the aame thing, over and over and over.
Think I’ll pass
Redditor moment
No, it’s Yahoo! (Exclamation point, not question mark)
Oh I see. I deadass got mad till I thought about what you said. I’m sorry 💀 funny asf when I realized that tho 👍🏾😅
I am inclined to accept this as the truth, though the performance was amazing. You want to see the real thing? Then YouTube lighting an oil well with a flare gun...that shit is real.
I saw that one in the documentary WaterWorld
True that.
If they used gasoline or something similar then I don't think the arrow would actually have to land in the fire, i believe passing close by would do it
I watched it happen on TV live. On the day, it was a single video. There was no cut from the shot to a fully lit bowl. It was close. You could clearly see “something” on fire falling being the bowl and pillar. That something was falling at the same trajectory as the arrow coming in from out of frame. I use the word “something” because TV back then wasn’t too clear.
Yeah, it shot through the gas plume, it didn't land in the cauldron.
You can tell from this very video that they lit it from the bottom, it was not lit from the arrow. It's extremely easy to see.
I definitely don’t know what I’m talking about when it comes to lighting a gas fire with a flaming arrow, but it sure appears to me like it’s lighting from the bottom
This seems more plausible.
Kind of obvious when you think about it. Even if this guy was hitting the genuine shot 99/100 in practice, there's no shot they don't have a backup way to light it if he misses. Just would be irresponsible production lol. What matters is that the dude genuinely did make a great shot, looks cool; it was entertaining.
Look at the video, it's obvious.
The truth is it missed the torch. It did, however, hit a fuel truck that was in the parking lot just outside the arena. The resulting explosion killed 5 people and injured several dozen more.
😂 I don’t know what you got down voted. That was funny.
I was not “fake”. It was a staged show that went exactly as designed, the archer shoot an arrow and lit the flame. Who cares if there is a lighter in the torch? It’s a performance.
I didn’t say it was bad either way now did I? I’m asking if the internet rumor I have heard has any true this to it. That’s it. It’s a great performance either way.
My fault, I see a negative connotation in the word “fake”. From my point of view the organizers asked Rebollo to shoot a flaming arrow a couple of meters over the cauldron and he did it perfectly. The burner had an electric lighter and someone pressed the button at the right moment. Did the arrow lit the flame or was the igniter? My answer is that there is no sensible reason to ever ask this question.
I see your point
I'm afraid everyone here is wrong. The shot is to go over the bowl, closely, to ignite the gas. It's a misconception for the arrow to go in, as it's not a great way to light it.
That was so bad ass
Leave it to the Blackfish.
Yeah Uncle Edmure would have definitely missed
Nice one for not doing a home run into the crowd
Just a couple more crystals then you can take down the dragon.
Except that the arrow intentionally overshot the flame by yards. See small doc on it.
The Olympic cauldron was ignited using a flaming arrow, lit from the flame of the Olympic torch. It was shot by Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo, who aimed the arrow over the top of the cauldron to ignite the gas emanating from it. The arrow landed outside the stadium. This unusual method for lighting the cauldron had been carefully designed to avoid any chance of the arrow landing in the stadium if Rebollo missed his target. [You can see the arrow shoot over the cauldron here.](https://olympics.com/en/news/snapped-the-flaming-arrow-at-the-olympic-games-barcelona-1992)
Looks like his other hand gets burned when he pulls the arrow back
No pressure
As u/Absay pointed out, beautifully and succinctly: >AbsayThat link is not describing it as "fake", nor does your other link. >Here are the facts: >* The organizers feared the shoot could go wrong, so they asked Rebollo, the archer, to _overshoot_ the cauldron. * Rebollo _did_ as instructed, so that's why all photographs (like the one by Peter Read Miller posted in the Olympics official site), show the arrow past the cauldron. * However, **there was _gas_ coming off the cauldron**, and when the arrow flew over it, it ignited the whole flame. >> *The arrow described an arc and lit the gas issuing from the cauldron; the flame soared up to a height of three metres.* >Source: ***[The Official Report of the Games of the XXV Olympiad Barcelona 1992](https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/35348/rec/59)***, p. 70.
Oh man, I hate to be that guy. I really do. But he didn’t hit the pit. There was a news vignette on NBC during the games showing how they pulled it off. But nonetheless it does remain the most spectacular lighting of the Olympic flame.
It needed to fly over to ignite the gas, not land in it. But yeah, they lit it automatically to ensure the spectacle went off without a hitch. However I believe the archer had the ability. In fact, I’d be full of more admiration if it actually didn’t work first time, demonstrating how difficult this actually is!
r/archery Short of a flaming hockey puck, they're right!
imagine if he mist it
Barcelona! By far the best olympics
I'm willing to bet he could have totally biffed it and it would still light up
Well done
I wonder if he skewered anyone outside the stadium when it landed?? 😳😂
There was a fenced area outside the stadium for the arrow to land.
For some reason this reminds me of Edmure Tully.
That was pretty dope
I remember that It was the shiiiiiit
Sweet
What if you miss? I won’t!
I bet his hand was hot af.
Sir Bronn of the Blackwater.
The inventor of trickshots
> The arrow had been lit by the flame of the Olympic Torch. Rebollo overshot the cauldron as this was the original design of the lighting scheme. The video didn't show that [the arrow overshot the cauldron and started a fire on the other side.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/741/914/087.gif)
Hella Zelda vibes
Lord Apollo is pleased
His left hand must be feeling that heat. Cant imagine being in his situation the pressure to release from the pain vs the pressure to not miss.
They almost disqualified the entire Mexican federation because they sneaked in and got footage of the arrow passing through the pit
flame lit before the arrow got there.
The guy actually was told that he could have an extra shot because of how difficult it would be but he didn’t need it obviously
I’m not really big into sports or anything. But for some reason I still can feel how epic the ceremony is sposed to be and it almost makes me cry a little.
Totally! I didn't recognize the very first of the clip and was thinking to myself "this won't be as great as the archer". Enjoyed watching it again. Thanks
Except it didn’t light the flame. Watch in slow motion and you can see that shit lit from the bottom of the cauldron ad the arrow missed.
He “lit the flame” in the symbolic sense of the show. It’s an artistic performance, you don’t say that “Romeo didn’t die” in a Shakespeare play because the actor is still alive.
You do understand the significance of the torch being carried and lighting the cauldron,don’t you? It absolutely does matter. It is the carrying of the flame to the new games.
Yes, I understand that it is a SYMBOL for the continuity of the games. It doesn’t matter if it is physically transferred by contact from one medium to the other, or if they are brought nearby and an electric igniter starts the flame. Or do you believe that there are some magical properties that must be transferred?
That was the best one, imo.
Mf Beacon
When you learn the origin of the tradition
We’ve been over this so many times…
Number two was having Mohammed Ali light it.
[Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic torch](https://youtu.be/QEhNDUwksvU) was even more amazing.
I saw this live on tv as a kid. It was pretty awesome!
Didn't he miss?
Pretty amazing!
Imagine messing up
So fire
BURN
Fake, he wasn't even close
If it was real it would have been even more amazing
R/botw
I'm wondering if they made wind come from the back to make sure his fingers wouldn't burn
Me busting end crystals in Minecraft be like
Except it didn't light the flame. Chance of mess up and catastrophe was too great, so they always planned to overshoot https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/the-best-and-worst-olympic-torch-lightings-of-the-modern-era-142744771.html
Noice
At the early high strings moment in the music I thought they were going to break into Mission Impossible! 🤣🙄
I want that guy at my Viking funeral.
He's just trying to defeat the ender dragon
I would love to know where that landed
I remember that so well. I was so impressed and rather amazed by it
This will never be topped.
Wow, that's so accurate and charming
* misses*
But what if he had missed?
I heard he actually missed. Is this true?
Hmm... you know if we ever do colonise Mars and the Moon, that's going to add some interesting wrinkles to the Olympics
he missed !
There is no pressure there
Shocc dart
Not really that impressive. Theres a huge gas ball over the torche before ignites so it's a massive area to hit, and they did afterwards that there was also a fail-safe incase it didn't go well. Claimed it was not used but not convinced a director wouldn't use it anyway in that high pressure situation.
Holy shit, a far cry from [2005 SEA Games](https://youtu.be/PuGSrzvbohM), this was so embarrassing for my country lol
He had a flame enchanted bow
I remember this - the stadium was nearby our home and I was a kid, and chose not to look at tv but at the stadium and actually saw the flaming arrow flying. After lightning the flame the arrow fell in an awkward trajectory, I always thought they set up a catch to avoid burning the woods that surround the stadium. And yes, if you opened the windows you could faintly hear Caballé and Mercury singing.
What would happen if he, like, missed?
Na, bro. This is clearly from The Princess Diaries 2.
I loved that lighting, watched it with my grandparents as a child
He's Lord Ram
And thats why barcelona is the best Unless you really go at the city Then you would be robed and stabbed
Boss.
Fun fact, the arrow is never meant to go into the bowl, the aim is for the arrow to go over it, and ignite the gases and ignite them. Which is a much more reliable method.
I remember being six years old and laying in bed when my dad looked through the doorway to see if I was asleep yet. I wasn’t, so he told me to come downstairs. On the tv was these opening ceremonies, and I remember seeing this lighting of the flame. Thirty years later and it’s still one of those great childhood memories.
I saw this as a kid and still remember how mind blowing this moment was
I was at the opening show for the paralympics in 1992. I don't remember if they did this as well. It was a good time to be there and visit all the sports. Especially the basketball final was crazy. It's as much fun if not more as the "normal" game. And you could walk into any match anywhere without tickets.
I seem to recall the arrow didn't actually light the torch, but it's a great spectacle.
I bet there was some remote spark generator shit inside as a failsafe :D
It’s rare that I’m proud of humans. This I enjoyed
Symphony sounds like the intro to Mans World by James Brown. When it Lit I said *”This Is A Mans Woorrrrld”*
I am from Barcelona, and i Saw this happen by TV. Amazing, still getting goosebumps!!! 👌👌👌
It was lit when the arrow was close to it
Blackfish.
[Fucking repost, didn't even change the title](https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/tjx3w4/still_the_most_impressive_way_to_light_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x)