Olympic symbols
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The Olympic symbols are various logos, icons, flags and symbols used by the International Olympic Committee for various aspects related to the promotion of the Olympic Movement around the world. Some of the symbols are more prevalent during Olympic competition, such as the flame, fanfare and theme, but others, such as the flag, can be seen throughout many times of the year. However, the IOC has been criticised in the past for its aggressive protection of its symbols, such as the rings and the use of the word "Olympic."
The flag
Use of the Olympic flag
An Olympic flag is raised during the opening ceremonies of each Olympic Games, and lowered during the closing ceremonies. A second flag is used for the Olympic Oath. Special flags are kept in the city halls of cities organizing the Olympic Games. At the end of the Olympic Games, the mayor of the city that organized the Games returns the flag to the president of the IOC, who then passes it on to the mayor of the next city to host the Olympic Games. (This ceremony is known as the "Antwerp Ceremony" because it started there). There are three such flags, differing from all other copies in that they have a six-colored fringe around the flag, and are tied with six coloured ribbons to a flagstaff.The Antwerp flag
Was presented to the IOC at the 1920 Summer Olympics by the city of Antwerp, Belgium, and at the Closing Ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, was passed on to the next organising city of the Summer Olympics (the Games of Seoul 1988), when it was retired. The Antwerp Flag is now on display at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.The Oslo flag
Was presented to the IOC at the 1952 Winter Olympics by the city of Oslo, Norway, and is passed on to the next organizing city of the Winter Olympics.The Seoul flag
Was presented to the IOC at the 1988 Summer Olympics by the city of Seoul, South Korea, and is passed on to the next organising city of the Summer Olympics.Olympic Emblem
The flag features the emblem of the Olympic Games — 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, but gained widespread popularity due to its promotion by Nazi Germany [link]. 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.
"The Olympic flag [...] has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the centre : blue, yellow, black, green and red [...] This design is symbolic ; it represents the five continents of the world, united by Olympism, while the six colours are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the present time." (1931) Textes choisis II, p.470.
The 1914 Congress had to be suspended due to the outbreak of World War I, but the flag and emblem were later adopted. They would first officially debut at the VIIth Olympiad in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920.
The emblem'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 1950´s saw the stone and reported in their "History of the Ancient Games" that the Olympic rings design came from ancient Greece. This has become known as "Carl Diem's Stone". [link] [link]. This created a myth that the symbol had an ancient Greek origin. The rings would subsequently be featured prominently in Nazi images and theatrics in 1936 as part of an effort to glorify the Third Reich and claim a noble and ancient lineage.
The current view of the International Olympic Committee is that the flag "reinforces the idea" that the Olympic Movement is international and welcomes all countries of the world to join. [link] 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. Though colourful explanations about the symbolism of the coloured rings exist, the only connection between the rings and the continents is that the number five refers to the number of continents. Of course, in this scheme, the Americas are viewed as a single continent, and Antarctica is omitted.
Fanfare and Theme
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["Bugler's Dream"] ([file info])
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["Olympic Fanfare and Theme"] ([file info])
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