Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
You undoubtedly remember the scene Friday night as Wayne Gretzky was about to light the outdoor cauldron for the Olympic flame. There were a lot of (mostly invited) cheering fans and good feelings in the air.
If you go there today, the scene isn't quite the same, as the cauldron has been fenced in.
While Vancouver organizers say this isn't a result of the protests and rioting in downtown Vancouver Saturday, their reasoning for keeping the public away from the flame isn't terribly convincing.
"Given that this is a legacy cauldron, it was important to put the cauldron in its permanent home on the Jack Poole Plaza beside the new Convention Centre, a major city landmark," said a statement from David Guscott, executive vice-president of celebrations for the committee.
"A significant amount of infrastructure was needed to make this the cauldron's permanent home where people could enjoy it for years oceanside as part of the waterfront redevelopment for long after the Games. This location, coincidentally also helped us to keep it secret and protected during installation."
While that statement addresses the past and the future pretty well, it says nothing about the present. It's a complete non-answer.
Members of the media have had far easier access to the flame than the public, which contrasts with recent Games, like Calgary '88 and Salt Lake 2002, where outdoor cauldrons were built to enhance the Olympic experience for fans.
Expect the International Olympic Committee to address this issue.
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