2000 Summer Olympics cauldron 2000 Summer Olympics cauldron The 2000 Summer Olympics cauldron is a heritage-listed former Olympic flame holder and now fountain at Cathy Freeman Park, near the corner of Olympic Boulevard and the Grand Parade, Sydney Olympic Park, Cumberland Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was originally designed by Michael-Scott Mitchell for the 2000 Summer Olympics with the design of the re-presentation in Cathy Freeman Park by Tzannes Associates. It was built from 2000 to 2010 by Engineers Tierney and Partners with the assistance of LUSAS Civil and Structural. It is also known as Olympic Cauldron at Sydney Olympic Park, The Cauldron,
Olympic flame it is considered to be a great honor to light the Olympic cauldron, and similarly it has become a tradition to select notable athletes to conduct this part of the ceremony. After being lit, the flame in the Olympic cauldron continues to burn throughout the Games, until the day of the closing ceremony and celebration, when it is finally put out, symbolizing the official end of the Games. The first well-known athlete to light the cauldron in the stadium was ninefold Olympic Champion Paavo Nurmi, who excited the home crowd in Helsinki in 1952. In 1968, Enriqueta Basilio became the