Via the Washington Post:
Russia rolled out a red carpet, on Red Square, for the Olympic flame on Sunday and another red carpet for the man who made the big bet on Russia as host for the Winter Games next year in Sochi: President Vladimir Putin. The flame, which would later choose the wrong moment to show its fickle side, entered from stage left, held modestly in a brass lamp. Putin, striding through the Kremlin’s Savior Gate down a cloth-covered walkway lined with snapping-to-attention flag-bearers holding the standards of all of Russia’s 83 regions, came in from stage right. Two runners then lit a hand-held torch from the bigger flame and carried it toward the Kremlin. A handover took place just outside the red brick walls of Moscow’s fortress and seat of power, and then the new runner, Shavarsh Karapetyan, 60, a one-time champion swimmer, disappeared out of sight through the Savior Gate — but not before the flame had unceremoniously blown out. A cigarette lighter quickly got it started again.
Prometheus, the trickster? Karma? Or perhaps our Magic Gay Spells at work. They’re not for just tornadoes/hurricanes/floods anymore.
Pure and simply said: it’s a start that will signify the games…… failure!
I don’t think you are suppose to relight it with a cigarette lighter. The tradition is that a lantern is lit by the sun in Greece, flown to the Olympic location and then the fist torch is lit with that lantern. If it goes out there is suppose to be a person with that lantern nearby to relight it. I am not the brightest person on the planet but I don’t think they had cigarette lighters 2,500 years ago. The Russians blow it yet again. Lets hope that it proves to be bad Karma and the games will have no snow and will be a total disaster.