A star is born: Olympic cauldron becomes downtown Rio's latest must-see attraction
Kinetic sculpture by Anthony Howe delights tourists and residents opposite Candelária church in city centre
Olympic cauldron at sunset: the spectacular artwork moves in the wind and glitters in the sunlight (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)
In a city that is not short on sights, a new attraction has been attracting thousands of visitors and residents in downtown Rio de Janeiro.
Since the lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony on Friday (5 August), this extraordinary artistic creation by American sculptor Anthony Howe has become a star of social media and selfies in its own right.
The Olympic flame is encased in the cauldron in a artwork by Anthony Howe (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)
As with many of Howe's kinetic sculptures, the wind plays a large part in the work. The sculpture, which spans 12 metres (40 foot) in diameter, moves gracefully yet powerfully in the wind, with spirals representing life. Howe's vision was to replicate the sun, using movement to mimic its pulsing energy and reflection of light.
Marcelo Lopes: "Rio has surprised me with this sculpture" (Photo: Rio 2016/Saulo Pereira Guimarães)
Visitors to the site, opposite the 19th century neoclassical church of Candelária in the huge Olympic Boulevard live site, are delighted by the interplay of light and wind. "It really makes a difference to the cauldron," said Carolina Farias, who came to have a look during her lunch break.
Many workers in downtown Rio used their lunch break to visit the cauldron (Photo: Rio 2016/Saulo Pereira Guimarães)
"I didn't understand until now how it stayed moving all the time," said retail worker Jorge Luis, whose shop in the region has seen a massive rise in footfall since Friday.
The contemporary artwork is located opposite historic Candelária church in central Rio (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)
