The
Olympic symbols are the icons, flags and symbols used by the International Olympic Committee to promote the Olympic Games. Some — such as the flame, fanfare, and theme — are more prevalent during Olympic competition, but others, such as the flag, can be seen throughout the year.
Olympic emblem
The five Olympic rings represent the five continents and were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920.
The emblem of the Olympic Games is composed of five interlocking rings (blue, yellow, black, green, and red respectively) on a white field. This was originally designed in 1913 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. These five rings stand for passion, faith, victory, work ethic and sportsmanship. Upon its initial introduction, de Coubertin stated the following in the August, 1913 edition of
Revue Olympique:
The emblem chosen to illustrate and represent the world Congress of 1914: five intertwined rings in different colours - blue, yellow, black, green, 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.
Flag
All olympic flags have an emblem. Created by Pierre De Coubertin in 1914. "The Olympic flag [...] has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the centre: blue, yellow, black, green and red [...] This hidesign is symbolic ; it represents the five inhabited continents of the world, united by Olympism, while the six colors are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the present time." (1931)
Textes choisis II, p.470.
Flame and torch relay
Months before the Games are held, the Olympic Flame is lit on a torch, with the rays of the Sun concentrated by a parabolic reflector, at the site of the Ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. The torch is then taken out of Greece, most often to be taken around the country or continent where the Games are held. The Olympic torch is carried by athletes, leaders, celebrities and ordinary people alike, and at times in unusual conditions, such as being electronically transmitted via satellite for Montreal 1976, or submerged underwater without being extinguished for Sydney 2000. On the final day of the torch relay, the day of the Opening Ceremony, the Flame reaches the main stadium and is used to light a cauldron situated in a prominent part of the venue to signify the beginning of the Games. Then it is left to burn throughout the Games till the Closing Ceremony, when it is extinguished to signify the end of the Games. Only twice has the Olympic Flame actually been carried over more than one continent, i.e. Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, the latter of which had actually involved all six inhabited continents.
Kotinos
The
kotinos is an olive branch intertwined to form a circle. To be crowned with this wreath was the award that the athletes of the ancient Olympic Games competed for. However, this was not their only reward; usually the athlete was rewarded with a generous sum of money by his hometown. At Athens 2004 the kotinos tradition was renewed, although in this case it was bestowed together with the gold medal. Apart from its use in the awards-ceremonies, the kotinos was chosen as the 2004 Summer Olympics emblem.
Olympic salute
The Olympic salute is a variant of the Roman salute: the right arm and hand are stretched and pointing upward, the palm is outward/downward. It looks like the Hitler salute, albeit with the arm aiming higher.
The greeting is visible on the official posters of the games at Paris 1924 and Berlin 1936. Also famous is the French and Canadian teams entering the Olympic stadium in Berlin, 1936 with their arms raised. In the Leni Riefenstahl picture Olympia this scene was captured, and afterwards led to repeated misinterpretations suggesting that the French delegation was greeting Hitler.
Since the Second World War the greeting has been banned because of the Nazi-reference, although no official statement on this is known.
Criticism
The Olympic Movement is very protective of its symbols; among other things, it claims an exclusive copyright on
any arrangement of five rings, irrespective of alignment, color or lack thereof, as well as to any use of the word
Olympic. They have taken action against numerous groups seen to have violated this trademark, including the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based band The Hopefuls (formerly The Olympic Hopefuls), Awana Clubs International, a Christian youth ministry who used the term for its competitive games, and Wizards of the West Coast, publisher at the time of the IOC's complaint of the card game
Legend of the Five Rings and others. But a few companies have been successful in using the Olympic name, such as Olympic Paint, which even has a paintbrush in the form of a torch as its logo.
See also:
Modern Olympics movement
- The Olympic Anthem: played during the opening and closing ceremonies of Olympic Games and on certain other occasions
- The Olympic Flame: a flame burning day and night for the duration of the Olympic Games.
- The Olympic motto, in Latin: "Citius, Altius, Fortius"; which means, "Faster, Higher, Stronger".
- The Olympic Order: an award conferred by the International Olympic Committee
- The Olympic Creed: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
- The Olympic emblem: the emblem of every edition of the Olympic Games, usually combining the Olympic Rings with some elements representing the host city or country and its culture.
- The three Olympic pillars: sport, environment, culture.
Olympics
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