With less than 50 days to go until the start of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, the location of the Olympic cauldron has been confirmed.

I wrote in February about the growing speculation regarding the location of the Olympic cauldron, and in late April it was revealed that the cauldron will be outside the stadium.

In my February article I highlighted the issues around the placement of the Rio cauldron; the fact that the Maracanã stadium is only going to be used for the opening and closing ceremonies, and the football finals. Having the cauldron in this stadium would leave the flame burning out of view for much of the Olympics.

Clockwise from top left;
Rio’s Olympic Park, under construction in early 2015, at Barra da Tijuca (Image: Tania Rêgo / Agência Brasil, Wikimedia Commons)
2014 Carnival at the Sambadrome, venue for the marathon finish line (Image: Ben Tavener, Wikimedia Commons)
Maracanã Stadium (Image: Arthur Boppré, Wikimedia Commons)
Engenhão Stadium (Image: Dodoedo, Wikimedia Commons)

The solution, as in Vancouver which hosted an indoor opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics in 2010, is to place the flame in a public area where everyone can see it. The Praça Mauá (Plaza Maua) area of Rio de Janeiro is a rejuvenated port area with large open spaces and a historic church, the Candelária Church.

Maya Plaza (Image: Mariordo, Wikimedia Commons)

The cauldron will be lit in the Maracanã during the opening ceremony, but then transferred to its permanent home near Plaza Maua. According to a Washington Times report, Rio’s mayor Eduardo Paes thinks having the cauldron near the city centre “democratises” access to the cauldron. The Plaza Maua area is also going to host large outdoor screens where fans can watch the sporting action from the city centre.

Rio’s Olympic Park is in a coastal area known as Barra da Tijuca, about 45 kilometres from the city centre. The Maracanã stadium is close to the centre, while Plaza Maua is five kilometres away.

Rio de Janeiro. Olympic Park is at Barra da Tujica, highlighted to the bottom left. Maracanã is highlighted in the top centre, and Plaza Maua area is to the right of that, indicated by a red spot. (Image: Google)

Details about the cauldron design, lighting method and final torchbearer are still under wraps – stay tuned for updates as these are revealed.

What sort of cauldron would you like to see? Comment below!