Designed by renowned British designer Thomas Heatherwick, the London 2012 cauldron represented every participating nation through a series of handmade copper elements, known as ‘petals’, with one created for every country taking part in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Each National Olympic Committee and each National Paralympic Committee will receive their copper piece by the end of the year. Heatherwick Studio’s vision was that there would not be a large cauldron left after the 2012 Games. Instead, each of the copper petals was to be offered to each country as a memento of their incredible sporting achievements.

During the Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games the 204 petals for the Olympic cauldron were carried into the Stadium as part of the parade by young people from East London who accompanied each competing nation. The young people placed the petals on the cauldron before it was lit and raised into its upright position. During the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony the 164 petals representing each nation were pre-set before the parade of nations and prior to the spectacular cauldron lighting sequence.

Over the last three months, Yorkshire based company Stage One who manufactured the cauldron has cleaned up the petals under the guidance of Heatherwick Studio.  Today, the distribution of the 204 petals representing each Olympic nation and the 164 petals representing the Paralympic nations begins with the help of UPS the Official Logistics Supporter of the London 2012 Games.

Each petal is housed in a beautiful presentation box, also designed by Heatherwick Studio. The first petal to be presented today by Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG is to the British Olympic Association (BOA).  Olympian David Hemery will receive the petal on behalf of the BOA. Tomorrow, Paul Deighton, LOCOG CEO will present Tim Reddish of the British Paralympic Association (BPA) with their petal. The second set of petals to be delivered will be to Brazil and they will be presented during the forthcoming knowledge transfer debrief organised by the Rio de Janeiro Organising Committee in mid November where LOCOG representatives will pass on their learnings to future host and candidate cities.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson will hand deliver the third set of petals to Indian representatives during his visit to the country on a tour to promote London at the end of November. The other competing nations will receive their petals from that point onwards and before the end of the year.

Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: ‘I am delighted to conclude the story of the cauldron by presenting each National Olympic Committee and each National Paralympic Committee with the copper petal that represented the achievements of their teams at the 2012 Games. Each petal is an iconic symbol of each nation's participation in the London Games and a fitting final gift from London to the world.’

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: 'The unfurling of London's brilliantly conceived Olympic and Paralympic cauldron was undoubtedly one of the most spine-tingling highlights of the Games.  
 
'These beautifully crafted petals will act as a perpetual symbol of friendship to all those who came to our city this summer. It will be a real honour for me to hand deliver the petals destined for India later this month.'

Andy Hunt, Chief Executive of the BOA and Chef de Mission for London 2012, commented: ‘The lighting of the cauldron is a defining moment of the Opening Ceremony, and the manner by which the cauldron was lit in London will be one of the enduring images of the 2012 Games. I am delighted that the BOA, as host National Olympic Committee, is the first to receive this permanent representation of the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games.’

BPA Chairman, Tim Reddish, said: ‘To receive this petal from Paul Deighton in front of our National Paralympic Committee is a fitting end to a wonderful summer of sport. LOCOG put on a superb Paralympic Games and we are grateful for all that they did to advance the Paralympic movement here in the UK. We will treasure the petal as a reminder of the fantastic ten days that saw the Paralympic Games come home and the nation take ParalympicsGB to their hearts.’



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Notes to editors:  
For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com.

London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.
LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.
There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery.



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