The elaborate cauldron lit at the London Olympics opening ceremony has been extinguished while it is relocated to another part of the stadium, AFP confirmed on Monday.

The Olympic cauldron -- which traditionally burns for the entirety of each Games -- was seen unlit within the Olympic Stadium at 11.14pm (2214 GMT) late Sunday.

Jackie Brock-Doyle, director of communications for the London Olympics organisers confirmed to AFP the cauldron had been put out in order to allow it to be moved to a different part of the venue.

"The cauldron has been put out while we move it to another part of the stadium," Brock-Doyle told AFP.

The Olympic flame -- a symbol of the Olympic Games movement -- would be kept burning in a lantern used during the torch relay until the cauldron was relit later on Monday, she added.

The cauldron was positioned in the centre of the Olympic Stadium before being lit by seven young athletes in the climax to last Friday's opening ceremony.

The position of the cauldron -- and the fact that the flame will not be visible from outside the stadium even after it is repositioned -- has attracted criticism.

At most past Olympics, the burning cauldron has been clearly visible from the outside of the main stadium.

People gather around the Olympic Flame after the cauldron in the Olympic Stadium is lit during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, on July 27. The cauldron has been extinguished while it is relocated to another part of the stadium, AFP confirmed on Monday.

【新聞快訊】

當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間7月27日晚，2012年倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)的開幕式在倫敦碗傾情上演，當(dāng)時(shí)奧運(yùn)會(huì)主火炬坐落于“倫敦碗”的正中央。為了向1948年倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)致敬，同時(shí)也是避免主火炬影響到即將到來的田徑賽事，組織者決定將主火炬轉(zhuǎn)移到“倫敦碗”的大鐘旁邊。不過，據(jù)法新社發(fā)自倫敦的最新報(bào)道稱，在這一工程的實(shí)施過程中，主火炬居然熄滅了。

按照正常的邏輯，奧運(yùn)會(huì)主火炬應(yīng)該在整個(gè)賽會(huì)期間一直保持點(diǎn)燃的狀態(tài)。不過法新社言之鑿鑿的表示，英國當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間周日晚23：14，倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)的主火炬卻熄滅了。倫敦奧組委傳媒總監(jiān)布洛克-道伊爾在接受法新社記者采訪時(shí)表示，“為了將主火炬遷移到‘倫敦碗’的另外一個(gè)位置，我們不得不將其熄滅?！?/p>

當(dāng)然，按照道伊爾的說法，圣火其實(shí)并未徹底熄滅，她對(duì)法新社記者說道：“象征著奧林匹克運(yùn)動(dòng)的奧運(yùn)火種，將暫時(shí)被保存在火炬?zhèn)鬟f時(shí)曾經(jīng)使用過的火種盒內(nèi)。等待遷移工程完工以后，主火炬將會(huì)被再次點(diǎn)燃?！?/p>

實(shí)際上，這并非是本屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)主火炬第一次引來外界非議。在開幕式中，主火炬處于“倫敦碗”的正中央，加之其本身高度有限，因此從“倫敦碗”場(chǎng)外，人們無法看到神圣的主火炬。即便是在此次遷移位置之后，人們依舊無法從場(chǎng)外看見主火炬熊熊燃燒的情景。在過往的絕大多數(shù)奧運(yùn)會(huì)中，人們能夠從主體育場(chǎng)外輕易的看到主火炬，倫敦主辦方的這一設(shè)計(jì)，招致了外界的一致批評(píng)。