Olympics Logo

Olympics Logo PNG

The emblem of the competition is a symbol of unification. The Olympics logo indicates the commonwealth of the countries participating in the games, the teamwork of athletes, and the various types of competitions that form a single sporting event.

Meaning and History

International competitions are associated with an ancient Greek tradition. It is believed that in 776 BC. NS. the Greeks began to organize sports events with religious overtones. They were held every four years, and the period between them was called the Olympiad and was used as a special system for measuring time. The location has always been the same – the small town of Olympia. There were organized ritual competitions in honor of the supreme god Zeus, and the winners were immortalized in statues. With the arrival of the Romans, Olympic Games were banned as a pagan practice.

It was not until 1894 that the multi-sport events were restored, although there had been other attempts to bring them back. Gradually, the competition was divided into two seasons because it was impossible to show winter sports in the summer. As it developed, the Olympics had their symbols, where, in addition to talismans, slogans and hymns, there was an emblem with the image of five rings. It is still used today, decorating the flag since 1913.

What is Olympics?

These are international sports games that have existed since the 19th century. They have their scheme and frequency – once every four years. The first competitions took place in Greece (in 1896), more recently in Japan (in 2021).

1913 – 1986

Almost all the symbols of the games were invented by Pierre de Coubertin, the creator of the International Olympic Committee. He was an intellectual, historian, and educator. The most important thing in schooling Pierre considered physical education, as in Ancient Greece. He never managed to introduce his ideas into the French education system, but he revived the Olympics, which he always romanticized.

As a result, Pierre de Coubertin came up with the famous logo of five interconnected rings of different colors. They were originally colored green, yellow, red, black, and blue. So the designer tied the flags of competing countries together, taking several colors from each. At the same time, the rings corresponded to the continents, which was supposed to show the global nature of the competition.

It was rumored that the five-ringed symbol was of ancient Greek origin. They were allowed in by two American TV presenters who came to the city of Delphi and saw very similar rings carved in stone at the stadium. As it turned out, these attributes did not appear under the Greeks, but in 1936, when a ceremony of standard-bearers was held in Delphi in honor of the next games.

When creating the Olympic emblem, Pierre de Coubertin was not inspired by the history of Ancient Greece at all. He made a five-ring symbol similar to the USFSA logo, which featured two intertwined rings in red and blue. The Olympic Games flag made its official debut in 1920 in the Belgian city of Antwerp. Due to the lack of standardization, the pattern could change in the height and density of the rows and the width of the lines. The final version was adopted in 1957. It was approved by the members of the IOC, based on the most successful, in their opinion, modification of the original.

1986 – 2010

An unknown designer developed the new version of the emblem. The International Olympic Committee instructed to make empty spaces at the joints of the rings so that the five elements do not merge. This was required by outdated printing technology. Only one-color versions of the logo remained solid.

2010 – today

In 2010, the empty areas between the rings were painted over. The artists returned integrity to the Olympic symbol and brought it close to the original, which Pierre de Coubertin created in 1913. The modern version differs from the old one in thin and neat lines. The colors have not changed – the designers have updated only the shades.

Tokio 2020 Olympics Logo

Developers adapt the Olympics emblem for each game so that each season has its decals. At the same time, traditional rings always appear in all versions. They are usually depicted below, under the host city’s symbol.

Such elements of identity are created 4-5 years before the start of the event. The presentation of the original logo of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games took place in 2015. It had a T-shape to represent the team tomorrow and the name of the city. But the symbol proposed by Kenjiro Sanro was never used. Another designer noted that his work was similar to the chosen emblem and filed a lawsuit demanding damages. In response, the organizers of the international sporting event abandoned their decision and re-ran the competition for the best logo.

In 2016, the version proposed by Asao Tokolo won. At first glance, this is a simple abstraction, but it has a hidden meaning. The checkered pattern conveys the idea of ​​unity. It consists of squares and two types of rectangles to symbolize diversity. The quadrangular figures are arranged in a circle and painted in the indigo color characteristic of Japanese culture. Below, between the graphic part and the Olympic rings, the inscription “TOKYO 2020” is inscribed.

Font and Colors

Intertwining rings are great for an international event because they represent a connection. They are connected in two rows in the shape of the letter “W.” Their symbolism was also noted by psychoanalyst and psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, who considered interlocking rings to be the long before the Olympic Games logo was created a personification of people and continuity. There are similar motives in other spheres of life: for example, in Freemasonry, marriage rituals, sacred geometry. This idea is based on the properties of the Vesica Piscis mathematical form created by the intersection of two identical discs.

The lettering on the logos changes every four years because the host cities are developing their own identities. But the five-ringed symbol always has a traditional shape and a classic palette. Each segment has a different color: red, green, black, yellow, and blue. They represent the five continents whose inhabitants take part in international sports competitions.

At the same time, colors are not tied to any specific parts of the world because Pierre de Coubertin did not put such a meaning in them. He chose the palette on a different principle. The “father” of the Olympics tried to make sure that the six colors could represent the flags of all countries of the world, without exception. That is, if the rings represent inhabited continents, then their color scheme symbolizes individual states.

Olympics color codes