Provo » It was the grand climax of Stadium of Fire and America's Freedom Festival.
But, in fact, the solemn spectacle was a bit of star-spangled sleight of hand.
The 90-by-150-foot American flag that had been carried on the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium for many memorable years was finally retired, seemingly consigned to the flames of liberty, with the patriotic audience standing at reverent attention.
But instead of going up in a blaze of Old Glory, the flag -- like the one that Francis Scott Key wrote the anthem about -- was still there and would actually be destroyed later.
The crowd of 50,000 didn't know that Provo Fire Marshal Lynn Schofield deemed it unsafe to burn the nylon banner inside the arena.
"It would not be practical to burn a flag of that size in that setting," he said.
Show producer Brad Pelo insisted the flag retirement was a solemn celebration of American principals and was not intended to deceive.
During the show, Old Glory was hung between two cranes at the southeast corner of the stadium.
Near the end of the production, an emotional Glenn Beck cited U.S. Flag Code -- which recommends disposing of worn flags by fire -- and the stars and stripes were lowered by a military honor guard that marched it across the field.
At a replica of the Statue of Liberty's torch, the banner apparently was loaded into a round caldron. Flames leapt skyward as Beck made a tearful farewell.
To those watching, it appeared Old Glory was slowly being consumed by fire inside the metal container.
In fact, the flag --- which also draped Salt Lake City's Wells Fargo Building during the 2002 Winter Games -- will be burned in a private ceremony later.
Pelo defended the apparent deception and suggested that those pointing out the subterfuge are detracting from the ceremony and its celebration of American ideals.
The flag code doesn't necessarily require that a flag be consigned to the flames to decommission it. It could be buried or have its stars cut out, rendering it common cloth.
Pelo said the cast and crew knew well in advance that the flag would not be burned, as the retirement was rehearsed several times.
While the large flag that flies at the Macey's store in Provo is routinely burned at the festival's annual flag retirement ceremony, Fire Marshal Schofield said this flag was twice as large. There was a risk that it would burn out of control and endanger the large crowd on hand.
While the stadium routinely fills with smoke and soot from the fireworks, the fumes from the nylon flag would be hazardous to people's lungs and eyes, he added.
Pelo echoed the explanation, saying the program was designed with safety in mind. "We learned our lesson years ago when Alan Osmond set off a million firecrackers," Pelo said.
To get into the records book, Osmond, a founder of Stadium of Fire, got the idea in 1989 to detonate 1 million firecrackers. The resulting fireball -- which resembled a mushroom cloud from a nuclear blast -- ascended 2,000 feet into the air and reportedly singed TV personality Fred Willard's eyebrows.
