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Olympic Games emblem five rings. The meaning of the Olympic rings and the history of the Olympics

The Olympic Games are among the most anticipated and rated sporting events in the world. Their main attribute is easily recognizable - five multi-colored rings. How did it come about? What do the Olympic rings mean?

We can investigate this issue in the following main aspects:

The history of the appearance of the Olympic rings

The considered symbol of the Games first became known to the general sports community in 1920. Since then, he has invariably accompanied every Winter or Summer Olympics. Officially, the rings are used as an element of the flag, based on a white cloth, which has long been associated with the denial of war and peace. As you know, in Ancient Greece, during the Olympic Games, which became the direct prototype of modern ones, all hostilities between the warring policies (whose representatives then conducted peace negotiations in Olympia) ceased.

The idea of ​​complementing the white flag associated with the world with multi-colored rings belongs to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the very man who invented at the end of the 19th century to hold world competitions, the history of which dates back to ancient times. In 1913, the craftsmen of the Bon Marche atelier, located in Paris, made the first example of the Olympic flag. It was presented to the public in 1914 at the Sorbonne during the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Olympic movement revived by Pierre de Coubertin.

The original plan was to use the five-ring flag at the 1916 Games. But by that time, the First World War had broken out, as a result of which it was impossible to hold competitions. However, already at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, the new symbols were presented as official.

The interlacing of five multi-colored rings is a concept invented by Pierre de Coubertin, according to some sources, influenced by the attributes of the Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques, USFSA, headed by the famous figure himself. The fact is that the emblem of this institution consisted of two rings (red and blue), which were brought together.

It can be noted that the USFSA emblem was part of the logo structure of the French International Committee (Le Comité français interfédéral, CFI), which later became the French Football Federation. Below is an example of placing the corresponding element on the clothing of athletes.

The USFSA symbolism denoted the formation of the Union by two separate associations operating in France - the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Course a Pied and the Comité pour la Propagation des Exercises Physiques). In turn, the blue and red colors in the USFSA attribute were influenced by the corresponding shades present in the national French flag.

At the same time, there is another version - according to which Pierre de Coubertin created the Olympic symbol in a familiar form, having seen images similar to it on ancient Greek objects.

The semantic content of the main Olympic attribute

What is the meaning of the five Olympic rings used as the main attribute of the modern Games?

Historians associate the fact that there are exactly 5 rings on the Olympic flag with the desire of Pierre de Coubertin to unite the symbols of several nations at once on a common white cloth. So, yellow and blue colors designated Sweden (the same shades are present on the national flag of this Scandinavian country); blue and white - the United States and several European countries, on the official attributes of which, respectively, the indicated colors are; yellow and red - Spain, Brazil, Australia, China and Japan. Remembering what the flags of these countries look like, we will see that they have yellow or red elements - and in the case of Spain, both.

Subsequently, the symbolism of the Olympics in terms of the shades of the 5 rings received additional interpretations. Let's consider them in more detail.

The above interpretation of the 5 Olympic rings as reflecting the competitive unity of world nations was considered the main one until 1951 - until the International Olympic Committee decided that the corresponding elements of the flag of the Games should be associated not with countries, but with continents. By the way, back in 1931, Pierre de Coubertin, as evidenced by some sources, expressed the need to interpret the semantic content of 5 rings in this way.

True, the founder of the modern Olympic movement did not specify which continent each of the rings should correspond to. At least there is no generally accepted public information that would unequivocally reflect the opinion of Pierre de Coubertin on this matter.

According to the unofficial interpretation of the correspondence of the marked elements of the Olympic flag to the continents, blue stands for Europe, yellow for Asia, black for Africa, green for Australia, red for America, North and South at the same time. More widespread, however, is the version according to which the indicated shades of the Olympic rings are present in one way or another on the national flag of any country in the world.

In general, the color scheme and the mutual arrangement of the rings do not change when the corresponding attribute of the Games is used within the framework of the competition. But sometimes it is possible to adapt them to the thematic concepts used by the organizers of the Olympics. For example, at the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in Sochi in 2014, the rings were decorated in the form of identical white snowflakes - one of them, as you know, was not revealed at a crucial moment due to technical reasons. At the same time, there was a plexus between them, and a similar condition for the use of the Olympic symbol in question is considered, as many experts believe, uncontested, mandatory in all cases.

At the same time, the one-color performance of the Olympic rings is practiced quite often: for example, in the manufacture of souvenirs, the layout of various thematic bulletins and the media. At the same time, the IOC has no public objections to such formats for using the main attribute of the Games. According to sports historians and experts, this may indicate the adherence of this organization to the idea of ​​the unity, equality of world nations, regardless of the likely interpretations of the meaning of flowers in the Olympic rings.

Olympic Games Symbol

The Olympic rings have rightfully taken one of the most worthy places among the Olympic symbols. Five multi-colored rings, most often on a white background, intertwine and form a single whole, symbolizing a world-class sporting event. Five rings emblem

Hides the deepest meaning, which consists in the very concept of sport as such. It contains the idea of ​​universal popularization of the Olympic movement, equality of each participating country, fair treatment of the athlete, healthy competition. For the first time, the symbol of the Olympic rings made its debut at the 1914 Olympic Games, held in Belgium.

But who was the inventor of this symbol? What does it actually mean? There are two main opinions on this matter.

According to one version, recognized even by the Olympic Charter, the origin of the symbol of the Olympic rings it is customary to associate with the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin. It was on his initiative and development that 5 multi-colored rings were depicted on the Olympic flag. It happened in 1912. Intertwining with each other, they formed two rows. The top row consists of blue, black and red rings, the bottom row of yellow and green. Number five symbolizes five parts of the world, each of which corresponds to a specific color. Blue represents Europe, the black continent is Africa, red is America, yellow is Asia, and Australia is called the green continent. At the same time, the two American continents were considered as one continent, Antarctica and the Arctic were not taken into account. The interweaving of five rings into one whole means the unification of five continents in the name of world-scale competitions, a common sports spirit, equality of countries and readiness for tough but fair competition.

Second version the appearance of the Olympic rings, is not so well-known, but at the same time it cannot be prematurely withdrawn from the accounts. According to some reports, the psychologist Carl Jung came up with the symbol of the five Olympic rings. He was well versed in the field of Chinese philosophy, in which the sign of the ring signified a certain energy, vitality and greatness. According to the beliefs of the Chinese, our world is governed by the energies of earth, water, fire, wood and metal. Jung personally suggested designating five rings these energies and combine them in the symbol that we know today. In addition, in 1912, the scientist offered his understanding of the Olympic competitions. Now we call them pentathlon. He was convinced that an Olympic athlete had to be versatile and master each of the five main sports - swimming, fencing, jumping, running and shooting. At the same time, swimming corresponded to blue, fencing - red, jumping - green, running - yellow, shooting - black. This interpretation of the emblem focused not on the global scale of sports competitions, but on the abilities and achievements of a particular person worthy of being called an Olympic champion.

Use of the symbol of the Olympic rings subject to strict regulations. You cannot change colors and displace rings from one row to another. Compliance with the regulations is monitored by the IOC.

The image of the five Olympic rings is probably the most famous in the whole world. It is extraordinary in that the execution is very simple. Therefore, fans at sports competitions often paint them on their faces or even hair. The rings are depicted in two rows: in the first three, in the second two. The color scheme from left to right is blue, black, red, yellow and green. This emblem was first introduced in 1920 at the 7th Summer Olympics, which was held in Belgium in the city of Antwerp.

Today there are several versions about where this image came from and what it means. Basically, everyone knows the following version: the rings symbolize a single whole of five continents. This theory was introduced by the well-known Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1913. Until 1951, everyone knew that color refers to some continent. So Europe is symbolized by blue, black refers to Africa. America was the owner of red, yellow moved to Asia, and Australia became the owner of green. But by the middle of the twentieth century, many believed that these rings symbolized racial discrimination. Therefore, this color distribution was discontinued. But they began to say that each ring symbolizes at least one color of the flag of the countries. And they began to symbolize the friendship of the peoples of the whole world.

There is another theory that these five rings were proposed by the psychologist Carl Jung. He was fond of Chinese philosophy. And by combining two symbols of greatness and energy of life, which symbolizes a circle with five colors, I received such a drawing. Where each ring denoted the types of energy: wood, water, earth, fire and metal. He, in 1912, began to hold this type of Olympic competition, as in our time pentathlon. He believed that all participants in the Olympiad should be able to swim (blue - water element), fence (fire element - red), run over rough terrain (earth element - yellow). It also includes equestrian sports (green is the element of wood) and shooting (black is the element of metal).

When athletes arrive at the Olympic Games, they have their own emblem, but the symbol of the five rings is always present on it. They can fit into any drawing because they are versatile. The Olympic Committees also have their own emblems, but the symbol of the five rings can also be seen in them.

Agree, we are used to taking some events for granted, not really thinking about either the history of their occurrence or about their characteristic features.

Perhaps, the Olympics should be attributed to such events on a global scale. But every time sports competitions of this kind attract the attention of not even hundreds, but hundreds of thousands of devoted sports fans around the world.

Incredibly, they have been held for 118 years, and now both the fire and the rings of the Olympic Games are perceived as usual.

What do these symbols mean and why exactly did they become iconic? Perhaps not every modern person can answer this question.

Section 1. Olympics today

In general, the Olympics should be understood as a sports event of an international scale, in which thousands of athletes from different countries compete.

There are Summer and Winter Olympic Games, which alternate every two years. That is, purely theoretically, it can be calculated that events of such a plan are arranged only in even years. And if in 2014 the Olympics were winter, then the next one, already in summer, will be held in 2016. By the way, by the decision of a special commission, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) has been instructed to host it.

Section 2. Five rings of the Olympic Games as the main symbol of the competition

A white flag with characteristic symbols ... At a certain moment, as if by magic, it appears everywhere: on buildings, on sports and casual clothes, interior items and even on children's toys.

The snow-white background symbolizes world peace. And this is far from accidental, because for a long time during the Olympics, hostilities and conflicts all over the planet have ceased and continue.

The number and colors of the Olympic rings on the flag are also very thoughtful. They are colored yellow, blue, black, red and green.

First of all, we note that the rings of the Olympic Games symbolize the five continents of the planet: America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Why is it so, after all, the globe consists of six? The fact is that Antarctica and the Arctic, due to their uninhabitedness, were not taken into account when developing the symbol.

Ah, those Olympic rings! What they mean was invented a little later. Today, even schoolchildren can talk about the fact that each part of the world is correlated with its own specific color scheme. Europe corresponds to blue, Africa - black, America - red, Asia - yellow, Oceania - green.

Section 3. The emblem of the Olympic Games: rings and the history of their origin

This symbolic sign was developed in 1912 by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. The emblem was adopted in 1914, although it should be noted that it debuted much later, only in 1920, at the Olympics in Belgium. It was originally planned that the world would see the flag emblazoned with the new symbol in 1916, but World War I prevented major sporting events from being held.

It is hardly worth mentioning that immediately after their appearance, the rings fell in love and became an integral attribute of the Olympics. In the following years, they were used to create various logos associated with the Games.

Section 4. Has the symbol been upgraded?

Oddly enough, but yes. And the biggest changes to the Olympic rings were at the 1936 Olympics, held in the German capital Berlin.

Firstly, the rings were arranged not in two rows as usual, but in one. Their location is slightly similar to the traditional one due to the fact that the first, third and fifth of them were raised compared to the second and fourth.

Secondly, both the rings and the eagle holding them were made in black and white. In subsequent years, the monochrome version of the Olympic Games logo was used quite often, but the location was no longer changed.

In 1960, in Italy, artists made the symbol of the Olympic Games - the rings - three-dimensional. It was made in gray. The rings were located under the Roman she-wolf, who, according to legend, nursed Romulus and Remus, who founded Rome. By the way, it was in that year that a new tradition was introduced - to hang medals around the neck of athletes.

The Mexicans who hosted the Games in 1968 were equally creative in their Olympic logo design. This time, as a symbol of the Olympic Games, the rings were inscribed in the inscription "Mexico City 68" and highlighted in color. The bottom rings were part of the number 68.

Section 5. Unopened ring of the Sochi Olympics

But not everything is as smooth as it might seem at first glance. The rings of the Olympic Games, which mean the planet's five inhabited continents, have not always worked out well. Something was condemned, something was welcomed, and there was something that went down in history.

A small technical incident with the rings occurred at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi (Russia).

According to the plan, during the show, the large snowflakes hanging over the Fisht stadium were to be transformed into the Olympic rings. But only four were revealed. One ring remained to hang like a snowflake.

However, the Russian TV viewers did not see this hitch, since the organizers understood what was happening a little earlier than the others, and broadcast footage from the rehearsal.

During the closure of the Olympic Games, this incident with an unopened ring was ironically beaten. At the beginning of the ceremony, the participants in the show formed a composition with five rings and one snowflake, which quickly opened up in a few seconds.

Section 6. Other symbols of the Olympiad

It should be noted that, in addition to the official flag and rings, there are also other symbols of the Olympics.

  • Fire. The tradition of lighting the torch was taken by Coubertin in 1912 from the ancient Greeks. The Olympic flame is a symbol of purity, the struggle for victory and self-improvement. It was first lit in 1928. The torch relay to the city where the Game is held began in 1936.
  • Medals. The athlete is awarded a gold medal for the first place, a silver medal for the second, and a bronze medal for the third. They are presented to the winners after the competition at a special ceremony.
  • Motto“Citius, Altius, Fortius” can be translated into Russian as “Faster, higher, stronger”. For the first time these words were said by the priest Henri Martin Didon during the opening of the sports competition in the college. It seemed to Coubertin that this phrase perfectly captures the essence of the Olympic Games.
  • Oath, according to which the participants of the Games must respect and comply with the established rules. Its text was written by Pierre de Coubertin and sounded for the first time in 1920.
  • Olympic principle was also identified by Pierre de Coubertin in 1896. It says that in the Olympic Games, as in life, the main thing is not victory, but participation.
  • Games opening ceremony- the most solemn part. It hosts a parade of athletes from all countries participating in the competition. The team of Greece comes out first, then the teams of the countries according to the alphabet, and the team of the country organizing the Games goes last.

Section 7. Interesting facts about the Olympic Games

According to the resolution of the International Olympic Committee, gold plated gold medals must contain a minimum of 6 grams.

On the logos of the Olympic Games, the year is usually written in four or two numbers (Athens-2004 or Barcelona-92). In the history of the Games, only once, in 1960, in Rome, the year was written in five letters (MCMLX).

During the Great Depression in 1932, the Brazilian government did not find the money to send its delegation to the Los Angeles Olympics. As a result, 82 Brazilian athletes were put on a ship with coffee in order to bring them to America with the proceeds. When the ship arrived at the port of San Pedro, its leaders demanded to pay one dollar for each who went ashore. Only those who had a chance to receive a medal were released from the ship. He then went to San Francisco to sell coffee and was able to drop a few more athletes, but 15 athletes returned back to Brazil.

The 1956 Summer Olympics were held in Melbourne, which was unable to host some sports. Australian quarantine regulations prohibited the importation of horses, and equestrian competitions had to be held in Stockholm.

Section 8. Looking to the future

As mentioned above, the next Olympic Games will be held in Brazil, in the world famous holiday city of Rio de Janeiro.

This capital of carnivals does more than surprise. It literally amazes every traveler, which means there is no doubt that the 2016 Olympics will be another amazing event.

Whether the Olympic rings will undergo changes, which means the unity of the planet, is still unknown, since such details are usually a secret part of the opening ceremony.

Olympic flag

Olympic flag Main article: Olympic symbols

Olympic flag- a white silk cloth embroidered on it with five intertwined rings of blue, black, red (top row), yellow and green (bottom row) colors.

Basic information

The flag was invented by Pierre de Coubertin in 1913 and presented at the VII Summer Olympics in Antwerp in 1920. The rings symbolize the five parts of the world. However, contrary to popular belief, each of the rings does not refer to any particular continent. Six colors (together with the white background of the canvas) are combined in such a way that they represent the national colors of all countries of the world without exception.

Original text(English) The Olympic flag ... has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the center: blue, yellow, black, green and red. This design 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, vol. II, p. 470, 1931)

Variations

Each time before the Games, the IOC negotiates, together with the council of the country in which the Olympic Games will be held, how every detail of the symbolism, including the ring, will look like. The color scheme remains unchanged, but all rings can be of the same color. Sometimes the arrangement of the rings is partially changed, but not their number. It happens that a classic, strict initial version is used.

  • In 1936, at the XI Summer Olympics, the Olympic rings were depicted on the emblem, under the eagle. The most interesting thing is that the arrangement was shifted: the rings were fastened, but not so that the lower ring was in the center of the upper two fastening, but so that the rings were located almost in a row, where the first, third and fifth were slightly raised.
  • In 1948, on the emblem of the XIV Summer Olympic Games, the rings are painted in the foreground. The emblem was black and white, and so were the Olympic rings.
  • In the 1952 Summer Olympics emblem, they were shown in full white with a blue background above.
  • On the emblem of the XVI Summer Olympics, Swedish artists depicted the Olympic rings in the foreground against a green background, but all the rings are white.
  • In 1960, three-dimensional rings appeared in the emblem, silver-colored, monochromatic.
  • In 1964 in Tokyo, Japanese designers painted the rings gold.
  • The 1968 Summer Olympics had an emblem with colored Olympic rings, and with some idea. All rings are fastened according to the standard and were on the numbers of the year "68" (1968), so the lower (yellow and green) rings fell into the lower round parts of the symbols "68".
  • On the 1976 Olympic emblem, all the rings are red and from the top three semicircles stretch upwards, so that in the end we get 3 vertical ovals, and there are circles in them below. This symbol was also featured on the medals of the Games.
  • On the emblem of the games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow, the rings were dark red and the last 2 were partially covered by the Olympic Bear.
  • At the next Games, in 1984, the rings on the emblem were located at the bottom in their standard color scheme.
  • In 1988, the emblem also depicted colored rings at the bottom, while the rings were poured on medals.
  • In 1992, there were Olympic rings on the mascot, emblem and medals.
  • On both sides of the 1996 Summer Olympics medals and emblem, rings were painted in gold.
  • In Sydney in 2000, the rings on the emblem were depicted at the very bottom, and on the reverse side of the medals they were engraved large.
  • The 2004 Summer Olympics emblem featured color-coded rings. They were also depicted on medals on both sides.
  • The Olympic rings were placed under the main part of the emblem of the 2008 Summer Olympics, but with the development of the computer industry, there were a huge number of variations of the emblem. In 2008, for the Beijing Games, three-dimensional rings were drawn using computer graphics, inside which are photographs of Chinese culture and attractions. The emblem of the Beijing application also depicts the Olympic rings, but in a very strange shape, a chain of semicircles fastened in a circle. There were also rings on both sides of each medal.
  • On the emblem of the XXX Olympiad in Great Britain, the Olympic rings were installed in the upper right part of the logo, inside the symbol "O" (or "N").
  • In the symbols of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, the motif of snowflakes is used.
  • Several countries put forward emblem applications for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, among which the city of Baku replaced the rings with little men, that is, a person of a certain color symbolized his continent. But the colors do not correspond to the standard, the drawn men are depicted in the following colors: (from left to right) white, yellow, black, brown and red.

Usage

In 2008, in Beijing, the image of the rings could be seen almost everywhere. The Olympic colored ring stickers have even been placed on toilet cisterns. Some Chinese boys were shaved with a 5-ring symbol during the Games. source not specified 2900 days] But more critical was the Chinese Liu Ming, who, in addition to 200 tattoos, had a place on his forehead for a new one - Olympic rings, drawn long before the opening of the Games. source not specified 2900 days] On the closing day, a fireworks display was specially planned in the form of this symbol. source not specified 2900 days]

Rings are often depicted on stamps, medals and coins. The most unusual places for the Olympic rings were a metal lamp post in Podolsk and a cast-iron manhole in Beijing. source not specified 2900 days]

The meaning of the colors of the Olympic rings

Serega kuptsevich

The meaning of the Olympic rings

The five intertwined rings depicted on the Olympic flag are known as the Olympic rings. These rings are colored blue, yellow, black, green and red and intertwined with each other, in principle, they are the symbol of the Olympic Games. The Olympic rings were designed by Pierre de Coubertin in 1912. The five rings represent the five parts of the world: America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. The Americas are treated as a single continent, while Antarctica and the Arctic were not considered. Despite the lack of a specific color to a specific continent or region, various theories about the meaning of the color of the Olympic rings tend to associate them with different quotes. For example, at least one of the five colors among the Olympic rings appears on the flag of each of the participating countries. Five Olympic rings were adopted in 1914 and made their debut at the Belgian Olympics in 1920.

When this emblem was introduced in August 1912, de Coubertin stated the following in the Revue Olympic:
The emblem is chosen for illustration and represents the World Congress of 1914 ...: five rings of different colors intertwined - blue, yellow, black, green, red and placed on a white field of a sheet of paper. These five rings represent the five parts of the world that are now resurrecting the spirit of Olympism and ready to embrace healthy competition.

The rationale behind the Olympic rings, according to the International Olympic Committee, is to reinforce the idea that the Olympic Movement is an international campaign and all countries in the world are invited to join it. Even the Olympic Charter recognizes the importance of the Olympic rings, stating that they represent the union of the five continents, as well as the gathering of athletes from all over the world for the Olympic Games. There is a strict code regarding the use of this symbol, which must be followed under all circumstances. For example, even if the Olympic rings are depicted against a black background, the black ring should not be replaced with a ring of a different color.

The symbol of the Olympic Games is five rings. What does the blue ring represent?

Andreyushka

Olympiad symbol rings- proposed by the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin.

From the very beginning, each ring represented a continent. Five rings - five continents (except Antarctica).

Interestingly, Coubertin did not specify the colors of the rings. Why these colors appeared is unclear.

After that, a version of the following arose and spread: red ring - America (like, red-skinned people), black ring - Africa (black people), yellow ring - Asia (yellow-skinned), green ring - Australia (there is a lot of green on the continent - green continent ), blue ring - Europe. Why blue is not clear. Who came up with this version is also unclear.

Now there have been proposals to make the Olympic rings all the same color. Whether they will accept him is also unknown.

Initially, Pierre de Coubertin (the "founder" of the Olympic movement in a new "format"), having developed the flag of the Olympics (a white panel, and on it five rings of blue (blue), black, red, yellow and green colors), put such a meaning into this symbol :

five colors + white (the color of the panel) - in total, 6 colors that are present on the state flags of all countries of the world.

There was no binding of a specific color to a specific continent. Therefore, the blue ring, in itself, does not symbolize anything.

Afanasy44

Pierre de Coubertin proposed such a symbolism - five crossed rings. He did not explain the colors, after him they began to associate black with Africa, yellow with Asia, red with America, where the reds live, Australia (the green continent) of course, and blue - Europe. Maybe it turned out not in vain, because the blue capital is located in Amsterdam, Denmark, and this is Europe.

Blue (blue) - sacred, divine, honest; the color of the sky, a symbol of the sublimity of aspirations, spiritual perfection ... whose veins, figuratively speaking, flows "blue blood"

Elena-kh

The blue ring symbolizes Europe. Unfortunately, it is not clear why the color blue was chosen for our continent. But I will offer my version - because in Europe, most likely, there are more people with blue eyes than with some others, although I could be wrong. Maybe because of the maritime border, although it exists on all continents.

Agafia

The five multi-colored rings symbolize the five different continents where people live. Black ring - Africa, yellow ring - Asia, Red ring - America, Green ring - Australia. Europe is left with what remains - the Blue Ring. A hint of Amsterdam and others like it?

The five rings of the Olympic Games symbol represent the 5 contents that take part in the games. Blue - Europe

Yellow - Asia

Green - Australia

Black - Africa

Red - North and South America.

As you can see, there is only Antarctica, of course, for obvious reasons.

Rainbow spring

All five Olympic rings symbolize the continent. Back in 1913, each continent was given one ring and assigned a color. Therefore, I can say with confidence that a blue or blue ring is a symbol of Europe.

Strymbrym

The five Olympic rings symbolize the five continents that host the Olympic Games. The red ring symbolizes America, black Africa, BLUE EUROPE, yellow Asia and green Australia.

Most of the inhabitants of our country know that one of the main attributes of the Olympic Games is the flag, which depicts multi-colored rings in a specific order. But few can answer questions about the meaning of the Olympic rings, history and other facts related to the symbolism of the main sporting event around the world.

For a detailed analysis of the presented topic, it is necessary, first of all, to study the history of the creation of the Olympic rings, and also to figure out why over the entire period of their existence, despite the rather simple image of the symbols in question, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) did not change the existing emblem. After all, rings remind us of the main world sporting event, only because we see a flag with multi-colored rings at the Olympics since childhood.

If you look at this symbolism objectively, discarding the idea of ​​it that has formed throughout our life, it will be difficult to guess that this is one of the main attributes of the Olympic Games.

From the history of the creation of the main symbol of the Olympics

Back in 1914, the founder of the modern Olympic Games (Pierre de Coubertin) presented a white flag with multi-colored rings at the IOC Congress in Paris. Coubertin suggested using this flag as the main symbol of the Olympic Games.


The congress participants approved this idea and decided to use the presented paraphernalia in 1916, but the First World War prevented, so the flag with multi-colored rings made its debut only in the 20th year of the last century at the Olympic Games in Belgium.

On the World Wide Web, you can find a statement that the creator of the Olympic rings is the Greek Angelo Bolanchi (but even the authors of this version themselves do not give a 100% guarantee of its reliability).
Adherents of the third version believe that the author of the Olympic rings was the world famous psychologist Carl Jung, who used ancient Chinese philosophy to create the legendary Olympic symbol.
Olympic rings on a white background were invented in 1912 by the "forefather" of the modern Olympic Games Pierre de Coubertin (other sources claim that he only led a group of creators of sports symbols, performing administrative work).
It is worth paying attention to the fact that according to all the above versions, the Olympic rings were created in 2012, and the white flag came to us from Ancient Greece (as a symbol of peace and goodness).

The Meaning of Each Olympic Ring: Several Versions

Until 1951, it was believed that the color value of the Olympic rings was comparable to a separate continent, whose inhabitants took part in the Olympic Games:


blue (first ring of the top row) - Europe;
black ring (2nd in the top row) - Africa;
red ring (3rd in the top row) - America;
the yellow ring in the bottom row is Asia;
the green ring in the bottom row is Australia.

But since the middle of the last century, in order to avoid accusations of racial discrimination, this theory of the meaning of the Olympic rings by color depending on the continent has been gradually abandoned.

Another "decoding" of the meaning of the Olympic rings is based on the fact that in the flag of any country taking part in sports competitions, you can find at least one of the six colors that are used to create symbols (five rings plus a white background of the canvas).

It was not without Karl Jung, who (as mentioned above) was fond of ancient Chinese philosophy and knew well that according to this teaching, vital energy and strength are attributed to the sign of the ring, and the world is ruled by metal, wood, earth, fire and water. Jung assigned each energy his own ring and in parallel "tied" to each color of the Olympic ring the following meaning of a certain sport:

Blue is swimming.
Black is shooting.
Red is fencing.
Yellow - running.
Green - jumping.

Despite different views on the meaning of the Olympic rings, they all boil down to the fact that sport is a wonderful way to bring out the strongest in a fair fight, without death, grief and hatred.

How one of the main symbols has changed throughout its existence


It's hard to imagine that the Olympic rings have never changed their appearance since 1912. The first major change occurred in the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. Then all the rings were placed in one row, but the first, third and fifth rings were located slightly higher from the others (thanks to this, the symbol was similar to the original attribute). The second difference was that an eagle was drawn over the rings, and all elements of this symbol were painted using black and white paints.


At the Olympics in Italy (1960), the image of one of the main symbols of the Olympic Games was made three-dimensional, and the rings themselves were placed under the she-wolf (which, according to legend, nursed Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome). If we trace all subsequent Olympics, then we can conclude that each country where sports competitions were held tried to introduce its own original elements in order to highlight the main symbol of the Olympic Games.

But, despite the minor changes, to which none of the organizers of sports competitions pays special attention. The International Olympic Committee strictly monitors the main attributes of the Olympic Games (flag, anthem, medals, etc.). All emblems must have rings of the same size, arranged in a strictly regulated manner. It is strictly forbidden to change the color of the rings or rearrange them, violating the established sequence. It is also not permitted to use the main world symbols of sports games for commercial purposes.


After analyzing the above information, we can conclude that changing the appearance of the symbols of the Olympic Games, which has existed for more than a hundred years, is at least unreasonable. Even people far from sports are well aware of these multi-colored rings of the Olympic Games, which during their existence have become not just sports paraphernalia, but also a symbol of friendship, peace and mutual understanding.