Olympic Torch Goes Out During Relay, Prompting Worries Ahead of Sochi Olympics (VIDEO)
During a ceremony on Sunday Russian President Vladimir Putin lit the Olympic flame in the famed Red Square, but in what may be seen as a bad sign for the Olympic Games the Olympic torch went out before being relit.
The torch was actually lit last week in Greece and flown to Moscow before the torch makes its tour across Russia. The torch was extinguished when the torch bearer went through a tunnel that leads into the Kremlin
Video shows a man, presumably a presidential security guard, standing along the route who then took out a lighter and the relit the torch.
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The president of the Sochi organizing committee revealed on Twitter that the problem was due to a control valve on the torch that was not fully open.
The torch will traverse the country during the 39,000 miles starting in the western part of Kaliningrad then going to the Bering Strait near Alaska before heading back to Sochi ahead of the games that will start on Feb. 7.
The torch is an iconic symbol for the Olympic Games with thousands of torch bearers participating in the relay. There are an estimated 14,000 torch bearers will help move the torch leading up to the Olympic Games that will have more than 130 stops along the route.
The Olympics have also been the subject of controversy due to the country's recently enacted laws regarding homosexuals.
In light of the controversy the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that the organization had received confirmation from Russian officials that LGBT athletes and attendees would not be affected by the new law.
"The Games themselves should be open to all, free of discrimination, and that applies to spectators, officials, media and of course athletes. We would oppose in the strongest terms any move that would jeopardize this principle," it said. "To that end, the IOC has received assurances from the highest level of government in Russia that the legislation will not affect those attending or taking part in the Games," read a statement published by the IOC.
