After 26 years as an enduring symbol of the B.C. Summer and Winter Games, a torch that was traditionally lit 100 days before each event began has been snuffed out because of global warming.
by Mark Hume
VANCOUVER -- After 26 years as an enduring symbol of the B.C. Summer and Winter Games, a torch that was traditionally lit 100 days before each event began has been snuffed out because of global warming.
B.C. Games Society President and CEO Kelly Mann announced yesterday there will be a 20-minute torch ceremony at the opening and closing ceremonies, but the main flame will not be lit for this summer's event, starting in Kelowna next week, which will attract some 3,700 athletes, coaches and officials.
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"This torch comes from a different era. We've had it for a long, long time. We fired this thing up 26 years ago. There was a different mindset then about burning fossil fuels," Mr. Mann said. "Now if something is out in public, burning and burning and burning for no apparent reason, other than just to raise attention to the fact the Summer or Winter Games are in a community, people began to question that. And so we were listening to that [criticism]."
He said despite the great symbolic importance of the flame, officials didn't have a hard time making the decision.
Article continues at The Globe and Mail.
