Olympic Rings
Pierre de Coubertin is said to have found the original five-rings symbol engraved on an altar-stone unearthed at Delphi. The colorful Olympic rings are one of the most widely recognized symbols in the world today.
Origin and History
![Altar-stone unearthed at Delphi.](/uploads/7/5/6/1/7561928/600999012.jpg)
The founder of the modern Olympic games, Pierre de Coubertin, wanted to memorialize the 20th anniversary of the revival of the Olympic games. He decided to create the emblem and also the banner to present at the 1914 Paris Congress of the Olympic Movement. For his design, Coubertin chose a five-ring symbol that came from an altar-stone discovered at Delphi. The number five refers to the five continents. He chose six colors (white, red, yellow, green, blue and black) because each flag of the countries that were part of the Olympic movement contain at least one of those colors. The Paris Congress in 1914 was so taken with the design that they adopted it as the official logo of the Olympic movement. The new symbol was began to use at the 1920 games in Antwerp, Belgium. It was here that the rings became the official Olympic symbol.
About the rings
![The five Olympic rings represent the five continents involved in the Olympics and were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games. They stood for five regions that participated at Antwerp, 1920.](/uploads/7/5/6/1/7561928/966411631.png)
The symbol of the Olympic Games is composed of five interlocking rings, colored blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field. This was originally designed in 1912 by de Coubertin. Upon its initial introduction, de Coubertin stated the following in the August, 1912 edition of Revue Olympique:
The emblem chosen to illustrate and represent the world Congress of 1914...: five intertwined rings in different colors - blue, yellow, black, green, and red - are placed on the white field of the paper. These five rings represent the five parts of the world which now are won over to Olympism and willing to accept healthy competition.
The five rings represent the five continents of the world, but a prevalent post-facto interpretation has tied specific colors to specific continents:
• Blue representing Europe
• Black representing Africa
• Red representing America
• Yellow representing Asia
• Green representing Australia (Oceania)
In his article published in the "Olympic Revue" the official magazine of the International Olympic Committee in November 1992, the American historian Robert Barney explains that the idea of the interlaced rings came to Pierre de Coubertin when he was in charge of the USFSA, an association founded by the union of two French sports associations and until 1925, responsible for representing the International Olympic Committee in France: The emblem of the union was two interlaced rings (like the vesica piscis typical interlaced marriage rings) and originally the idea of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung because for him the ring meant continuity and the human being.
According to De Coubertin the ring colors with the white background stand for those colors that appeared on all the national flags of the world at that time.
The 1914 Congress had to be suspended because of the outbreak of World War I, but the symbol (and flag) were later adopted. They would first officially debut at the Games of the VII Olympiad in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920.
The symbol's popularity and widespread use began during the lead-up to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Carl Diem, president of the Organizing Committee of the 1936 Summer Olympics, wanted to hold a torchbearers' ceremony in the stadium at Delphi, site of the famous oracle, where the Pythian Games were also held. For this reason he ordered construction of a milestone with the Olympic rings carved in the sides, and that a torchbearer should carry the flame along with an escort of three others from there to Berlin. The ceremony was celebrated but the stone was never removed. Later, two British authors Lynn and Gray Poole when visiting Delphi in the late 1950s saw the stone and reported in their "History of the Ancient Games" that the Olympic rings design came from ancient Greece (see above). This has become known as "Carl Diem's Stone". This created a myth that the symbol had an ancient Greek origin. The rings would subsequently be featured prominently in Nazi images in 1936 as part of an effort to glorify the Third Reich.
The current view of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is that the symbol "reinforces the idea" that the Olympic Movement is international and welcomes all countries of the world to join. As can be read in the Olympic Charter, the Olympic symbol represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games. However, no continent is represented by any specific ring. Prior to 1951, the official handbook stated that each colour corresponded to a particular continent: blue for Europe, yellow for Asia, black for Africa, green for Australasia and red for America (North and South considered as a single continent); this was removed because there was no evidence that Coubertin had intended it.
Despite misconceptions, the black ring may not be simply swapped out for a white ring if the symbol is placed on a dark-colored background. The rings may be produced in either an interlocking or solid version. The solid version may be produced only for single colour reproduction in the following colours: blue, yellow, black, green or red from the Olympic Rings, or white, grey, gold, silver or bronze. The interlocking version may be produced in any of the aforementioned colours, or in full colour. Reproduction on a dark background is limited to monochromatic yellow, white, grey, gold, silver or bronze. Full colour on a dark background is strictly forbidden.
The emblem chosen to illustrate and represent the world Congress of 1914...: five intertwined rings in different colors - blue, yellow, black, green, and red - are placed on the white field of the paper. These five rings represent the five parts of the world which now are won over to Olympism and willing to accept healthy competition.
The five rings represent the five continents of the world, but a prevalent post-facto interpretation has tied specific colors to specific continents:
• Blue representing Europe
• Black representing Africa
• Red representing America
• Yellow representing Asia
• Green representing Australia (Oceania)
In his article published in the "Olympic Revue" the official magazine of the International Olympic Committee in November 1992, the American historian Robert Barney explains that the idea of the interlaced rings came to Pierre de Coubertin when he was in charge of the USFSA, an association founded by the union of two French sports associations and until 1925, responsible for representing the International Olympic Committee in France: The emblem of the union was two interlaced rings (like the vesica piscis typical interlaced marriage rings) and originally the idea of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung because for him the ring meant continuity and the human being.
According to De Coubertin the ring colors with the white background stand for those colors that appeared on all the national flags of the world at that time.
The 1914 Congress had to be suspended because of the outbreak of World War I, but the symbol (and flag) were later adopted. They would first officially debut at the Games of the VII Olympiad in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920.
The symbol's popularity and widespread use began during the lead-up to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Carl Diem, president of the Organizing Committee of the 1936 Summer Olympics, wanted to hold a torchbearers' ceremony in the stadium at Delphi, site of the famous oracle, where the Pythian Games were also held. For this reason he ordered construction of a milestone with the Olympic rings carved in the sides, and that a torchbearer should carry the flame along with an escort of three others from there to Berlin. The ceremony was celebrated but the stone was never removed. Later, two British authors Lynn and Gray Poole when visiting Delphi in the late 1950s saw the stone and reported in their "History of the Ancient Games" that the Olympic rings design came from ancient Greece (see above). This has become known as "Carl Diem's Stone". This created a myth that the symbol had an ancient Greek origin. The rings would subsequently be featured prominently in Nazi images in 1936 as part of an effort to glorify the Third Reich.
The current view of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is that the symbol "reinforces the idea" that the Olympic Movement is international and welcomes all countries of the world to join. As can be read in the Olympic Charter, the Olympic symbol represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games. However, no continent is represented by any specific ring. Prior to 1951, the official handbook stated that each colour corresponded to a particular continent: blue for Europe, yellow for Asia, black for Africa, green for Australasia and red for America (North and South considered as a single continent); this was removed because there was no evidence that Coubertin had intended it.
Despite misconceptions, the black ring may not be simply swapped out for a white ring if the symbol is placed on a dark-colored background. The rings may be produced in either an interlocking or solid version. The solid version may be produced only for single colour reproduction in the following colours: blue, yellow, black, green or red from the Olympic Rings, or white, grey, gold, silver or bronze. The interlocking version may be produced in any of the aforementioned colours, or in full colour. Reproduction on a dark background is limited to monochromatic yellow, white, grey, gold, silver or bronze. Full colour on a dark background is strictly forbidden.