The Olympic Flame & the Today Show

It was such a beautiful day, I couldn't pass up the chance to snap a couple of pictures of the Olympic Flame on top of the Bird's Nest. I did a little research on the history of the flame and this is what I have found:

From Wikipedia:
"The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, when a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and it has been part of the modern Olympic Games ever since.

The Olympic Torch today is ignited several months before the opening celebration of the Olympic Games at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. Eleven women, representing the roles of priestesses, perform a ceremony in which the torch is kindled by the light of the Sun, its rays concentrated by a parabolic mirror.

The Olympic Torch Relay ends on the day of the opening ceremony in the central stadium of the Games. The final carrier is often kept secret until the last moment, and is usually a sports celebrity of the host country. The final bearer of the torch runs towards the cauldron, often placed at the top of a grand staircase, and then uses the torch to start the flame in the stadium. It is considered a great honour to be asked to light the Olympic Flame. After being lit, the flame continues to burn throughout the Olympics, and is extinguished on the day of the closing ceremony.

Since the first Olympic games celebrated in the modern time, the Olympic Torch has become symbol of the peace between the continents (as well as the Olympians, that share this role in our modern celebration)."
In addition to the beautiful weather, I got to spend a few minutes at the set of the Today Show as they began their live broadcast from Olympic Park this evening (this morning, back in the US).