In 1992 how was the Olympic Flame lit?

In 1992, how was the Olympic Flame lit? At the Barcelona Olympics, the cauldron was ignited with a burning arrow shot by Spanish Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo. During the opening ceremony, Rebollo fired the flaming arrow over the cauldron, creating one of the most memorable lighting moments in Olympic history.

The arrow was lit from the Olympic flame carried into Barcelona, preserving the ceremony’s symbolic link between the torch relay and the stadium cauldron. The cauldron’s design used gas rising from it, which the arrow ignited as it passed overhead. The arrow itself continued beyond the stadium rather than landing in the bowl.

This is sometimes described as the arrow “lighting the flame,” although the precise mechanics were more controlled than the dramatic television image suggested. The 1992 Games were held in Barcelona from July 25 to August 9, and Rebollo remains the only Paralympian to have lit an Olympic cauldron.