Festive Road was commissioned in 2019 to create a Paralympic Heritage Cauldron for Stoke Mandeville, the spiritual home of the paralympic movement.
On 19th August 2021 they were finally able to mark the start of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics with the traditional ceremony at Stoke Mandeville and the Cauldron was a key part of the event. The Cauldron will also be used for all future summer and winter ceremonies at Stoke Mandeville.
The design takes into account ideas produced by young people who participated in workshops in 2019. We used symmetry and asymmetry as tools to achieve balance in the design - not only to create a more aesthetically pleasing effect, but to also reflect life and, in particular, the human body.
The almost full length flame was an idea that came from the children who took part in the workshops - in particular the option to be able to light the cauldron from the bottom.
The shape and overall look were responding to the requirement in the original brief for a classic, stylish, timeless look.
This is a link to the ceremony which was broadcast by Channel 4 News: Tokyo 2020: Paralympic heritage flame lit at Stoke Mandeville Stadium – Channel 4 News
