Olympic torch lighting ceremony looks phallic

The highlight of the Opening Ceremony of any Olympics is the moment the torch is lit, marking the official start of the games.

The lighting ceremony is often the pinnacle of a meticulously planned event with which the host nations hope to be written into the history books. 

And the lighting of the torch at the 2018 Winter Games was definitely one to remember, but probably not for the reasons South Korea had hoped.   

The extendable entrapment which rose from an icicle-clad mound, and carried the Olympic flame to the large cauldron, bore an uncanny likeness to a human phallus.

The flame was lit by South Korea’s Olympic heroine Kim Yu-Na, who enthralled the crowds in Vancouver where she won Olympic figure skating gold in 2010.

She was handed the torch at the top of an ice chute and sent the flames shooting up to the cauldron, as the Games were declared officially open.

Social media users were quick to point out the similarities with the male genitalia, with Twitter users branding it ‘phallic’.

Starting off alright: The icicle cauldron has been lit by a torchbearer during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea

Oh wow: The flame is carried via an extending construction which shot out towards the cauldron at the top of the stadium

Oh wow: The flame is carried via an extending construction which shot out towards the cauldron at the top of the stadium

That’s one way to show off: The burning rings made its way towards the cauldron at an angle 

Climax: Reaching the top, the long tube of fire ensured that the cauldron could be lit

Setting off the fireworks: The construction shot up to the cauldron, and then retreated after lighting the fire

Setting off the fireworks: The construction shot up to the cauldron, and then retreated after lighting the fire

Reactions: Several people took to Twitter to point out the very phallic-looking lightning ceremony

Reactions: Several people took to Twitter to point out the very phallic-looking lightning ceremony



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk