Rio Olympics: Will there be 1 flame, or 2?

Rio Olympics: Will there be 1 flame, or 2?

Published Feb. 27, 2015 12:18 p.m. ET

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) The biggest mystery at the opening ceremony of most Olympics is who lights the cauldron that holds the flame.

The 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro are offering a second unknown: Will there be one flame, or two?

Speaking Friday on the sidelines of the IOC executive board meetings, Carlos Nuzman, head of the organizing committee a decision's not been made.

"Nothing has been decided,'' Nuzman said. ''I think we need to open the question, discuss the points and then make a decision.''

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Under normal conditions, the Olympic cauldron would burn only at the Maracana Stadium, the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies. But Rio is using another stadium in the city for track and field, and that may also require the presence of the symbolic flame.

Leonardo Caetano, head of ceremonies for the Rio, raised the question earlier in the week in an interview.

International Olympic Committee officials have been in Rio this week monitoring progress on the games, and also holding an executive board meeting.

South America's first Olympics open Aug. 5. 2016.

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