London 2012 Olympics: golden torch revealed
London 2012 Olympic Games organisers have revealed the Olympic torch, which resembles an expensive, designer cheesegrater, but have admitted defeat in their attempts to make it as energy efficient as possible.
Despite tremendous efforts to make the flame of the torch energy efficient as possible, London organising committee chairman Seb Coe said today: ''We didn't get there''.
Coe said the organisers ran out of time to incorporate a flame using less carbon, developed from a fuel based on elephant grass, but that the work behind the scenes to use green energy would benefit futureOlympic Games hosts.
Shaun McCarthy, chairman of he Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 (the body overseeing the ''green'' claims of the Games) said such an excuse was unacceptable.
“We respect the need to make sure that any solution must be 100 per cent safe and reliable, but we are disappointed that Locog and their partner EDF Energy have failed in their objective to deliver a low-carbon Olympic torch.
''The carbon contribution of this initiative may have been relatively small, but the power of the message across the globe would have been highly significant. The Olympic torch is a universal symbol of the Games, and a low-carbon torch would have been an unequivocal demonstration of London’s commitment to a truly sustainable Games.
''The promise of a low-carbon torch was made in 2007 and so the excuse of 'we ran out of time' is not acceptable.''
The torch, which has 8,000 holes in its gold coloured aluminium frame, representing the runners who will transport the Olympic flame for 70 days around the UK and Ireland, is adorned with a discreet London 2012 logo.
Its three sides represent the three London Olympics: London 1908, London 1948 and London 2012 as well as the Olympic motto higher, faster, stronger. It will be powered by the same technology as previous torch relays, using a mixture of butane and propane gas.
The torch is still undergoing weather testing to ensure it withstands the rigours of the British summer.
It was designed by the East London studio of Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.
Osgerby said he wanted to make the design, which weighs 800 grams and stands 800mm high, ''physically light and visually light''. He claimed the design resembled a piece of sporting equipment.
''We didn't want it trophy-like,'' he said.
