What do the rings of the Olympiad mean by colors. Olympic symbols

What is the connection between the emblem of the Olympics and the English alphabet? It would seem that none. Meanwhile, the location of the rings corresponds to the English letter W (that is, World, the whole world, the planet) - because the Olympic rings symbolize precisely the worldwide, planetary holiday of sports.

Meaning - hidden and obvious

Olympics! How many associations this word causes. Sports, peace, friendship, competitions, medals, a podium of honor... But first of all, a flag with the image of five multi-colored rings pops up in front of your eyes. They are arranged in a certain sequence: the top row is occupied by blue, black, red, and the bottom row is yellow and green. Rings are intertwined, make up a single whole.

Why exactly five rings? Their number coincides with the number of continents on the planet. The Arctic and Antarctica are not represented, they are still being mastered by man.

red was given to America (probably in honor of the red Indians);
black went to Africa;
cool Europe is associated with blue;
sunny Asia took yellow;
the "green continent", Australia, is shown in green.

Whether this was what Pierre de Coubertin, the organizer of the revival of the Olympic Games, had in mind when he came up with their symbol, remained a secret. Why are these colors preferred? Specialists in heraldry will notice that the choice is by no means random. Let one color, but present on the national flag of any country. Out of curiosity, you can check. The Russian flag is no exception. It shows 3 colors of the Olympic flag: white, blue, red.

From time to time there are new versions of the interpretation of the Olympic symbols. It is believed that the Swiss philosopher and psychologist Carl Gustav Jung was involved in the creation of the emblem. His idea is based on the mythology of the Chinese people, which tells about the unity of the five elements. In China, each of the natural elements is dedicated to its own sport:

swimming - Water;
running - to the Earth;
jumps - to the air;
shooting - Fire;
fencing - Metal.

And the number five is the pentathlon, the classic pentathlon. At the dawn of the Games, it was believed that the Olympian should be the best in not one sport, but several.

Like everything legendary, the amazing emblem attracts with its mysteriousness, and it is possible that the world will learn a lot more interesting things about it.

It is safe to say that the five Olympic rings symbolize:

equal rights of countries and athletes (all rings are the same in size);
friendship of peoples (they are intertwined);
world sporting event (the same W with which this story began).

Rings older than the flag

The flag is the shrine of the participants in the Olympic movement. A white silk cloth with embroidered multi-colored rings unites athletes from all over the world; it is solemnly carried out at the opening ceremony of the Games.

But the rings came before the flag. The Olympic Rings symbol was approved by the IOC in 1913, and the emblem debuted in 1914 in Belgium. The First World War thundered - and in 1920, the Olympic banner, decorated with rings, flew over the Antwerp stadium: the VII Summer Olympic Games started. Since then, the flag has flown over sports facilities from the opening day of the next Olympics until its completion. In 1988, the first flag was replaced with a new one, and the "patriarch" is kept in the Swiss Museum of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Rings symbol is protected by law. The Olympic Charter, adopted in 1894 by the International Sports Congress, prohibits:

Change ring colors.
Move rings from one row to another.
Use the symbol as a commodity in commercial transactions (only with the permission of the IOC).

The Paralympic Games do not use the Olympic Rings symbol.
In 2014, at the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics, there was a technical failure: one of the giant snowflakes did not open and did not turn into a ring. The viewers did not notice this - they broadcast a picture from the rehearsal. At the closing ceremony, the snowflake "did not open" again - this time in the interpretation of the mass ballet participants. After pausing for five seconds, the living "snowflake" (to the laughter of the audience) rapidly turned into a ring. So an unfortunate technical error endowed Sochi with its own version of the symbol - with one unopened ringlet.

The five rings on the Olympic flag represent the 5 continents that the athletes represent. Well, the colors of the rings symbolize the continents by race. So Asia is symbolized by the yellow ring, Africa by the black ring, America by the red ring, Australia by the green ring and Europe by the blue ring.

The 5 rings have been the permanent emblem of the Olympic Games since God knows how long. And the number of rings means the number of continents. As for colors, blue is for Europe, black for Africa, green for Australia, Yellow for Asia, and red for America.

blue - represents Europe,
black - Africa
green - Australia
red - America and
yellow - Asia.

However, there is another version (or maybe more than one). Some researchers associate the appearance of the Olympic symbols - 5 rings, with psychologist Carl Jung who had great knowledge of Chinese philosophy. So, he presented the idea of five intertwined rings as a reflection of the five energies mentioned in Chinese philosophy: water, earth, fire, wood, metal.

In 1912, along with the symbolism, Jung introduced his vision of the essence of the Olympic competition in the form of a modern pentathlon. That is, any Olympian must master each of the five types of disciplines.

Swimming - blue (water element)
Jumping - green color (element Wood)
Running - yellow color (Earth element)
Fencing - red color (element Fire) and
Shooting - black color (metal element)

Five continents - five rings. The interlacing of rings among themselves - symbolizes the desire for peace and friendship of all continents. The black ring, of course, is Negro Africa, the yellow one is Asia, the Asians have a swarthy yellowish skin color. Red Ring - America with Red Indians. The green ring is Australia, the so-called green continent. Europe got the blue ring.

Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin was the general secretary of the sports union in his country, he came up with the logo of the five rings. They represent 5 continents:

blue-Europe

black-Africa

red-America

yellow-Asia

green-Australia

At the 1912 Summer Olympics, these continents united and became international. Each country where the Olympic Games are held has its own logo and there are always 5 rings. The flag of any country must have 1-2 colors from five continents.

Since ancient times, the Olympic Games have been designed to unite people, even wars have been stopped for a while while sports are going on. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the glorious tradition of holding the Olympic Games was revived, their role as a link between different peoples increased even more and covered the whole world.

The five Olympic stars, which we have known since childhood, symbolize the five parts of the world, each of which has its own unique color. Africa is black, America is red, Europe is blue, Asia is yellow and Australia is green. The Olympic Games are created for all people of the planet, regardless of their skin color and nationality, they are all equal and have the same chances of winning.

The symbol of the Olympics was designed in 1913 by the founder of the Olympic Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The idea of the symbol was taken from images of similar rings on ancient Greek artifacts. There is a version, although it is not conclusively confirmed, that the five rings symbolize the five parts of the color:

As far as I can remember (and I'm almost fifty dollars), these rings have always been. And if the motto of the Olympics is Faster, Higher, Stronger, then five rings mean five continents. Always, at all times, the whole world gathered for the Olympics, stopping all the warriors for this time.

Olympic symbol

Olympic symbols- these are all the attributes of the Olympic Games used by the International Olympic Committee to promote the idea of the Olympic Movement throughout the world.
Olympic symbols include rings, anthem, oath, slogan, medals, fire, olive branch, salute, talismans, flag, emblem. . Any use of the Olympic symbols for commercial purposes is prohibited by the Olympic Charter.

Olympic flag with the symbol of the Olympic Games

Olympic rings

The symbol of the Olympic movement is 5 intertwined rings on a white background: blue, yellow, black, green and red. According to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the rings symbolize the five continents whose countries participate in the Olympic movement.
The emblem was invented by de Coubertin in 1913 and presented at the VII Summer Olympic Games in Antwerp in 1920.

Hymn

Main article: Olympic Anthem

The anthem of the Olympic Games is performed when the Olympic flag is raised during the opening of the next Games, as well as at their completion and in some other cases.

The name of this symbol is: "Children of Fortune", or "Fuva" - the goddess of well-being.

Oath

One of the outstanding athletes takes the oath of integrity of the competition on behalf of all competitors. Then one of the judges takes an oath of fair and objective judging.
Proposed by de Coubertin in 1913. Revives an oath-giving similar to the ancient one. It was first officially pronounced in 1920 at the VII Summer Olympic Games in Antwerp.

Mottos and slogans

"Faster, higher, stronger", which is a translation of the Latin expression "Citius, Altius, Fortius". The slogan was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin at the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894 and presented at the VIII Summer Olympic Games in Paris in 1924.
There is also an unofficial motto "The main thing is not victory, but participation", the authorship of which is erroneously attributed to de Coubertin. In fact, this phrase is connected with the tragedy of the runner Pietri Dorando, who was disqualified in the marathon race (London, 1908) because of outside help at the finish line. Help he didn't ask for. The next day, a solemn ceremony of awarding prizes took place. One of the members of the royal family invited the Italian to the podium and presented him with a gold cup for outstanding sporting achievement. On this day, the Bishop of Pennsylvania uttered the following words from the pulpit of St. Peter's Cathedral: "The main thing at the Olympics is not victory, but participation." Participation in the sense of empathy for an athlete who fought with all his might, but could not win.

Medals

Medal of the XXIII Summer Olympic Games

Olympic medals: gold, silver and bronze are awarded to three athletes who have shown the best results in the competition. In team sports, all team members receive medals of equal value.

The design of the medals awarded to athletes at the first eight Summer Olympic Games was completely different and was developed by each Organizing Committee independently. From 1920 to 2000, a standard design was used for the obverse of Olympic medals. Goddess Nike with a palm branch in her right hand, honoring the winner. The reverse of the medal changed depending on the wishes of the country where the Games were held. Since 2004, this tradition has been abandoned, and both sides of the medal are made according to the unique design of the organizers of the Games.

At the games of 1896 and 1900, only athletes who took 1st and 2nd place were awarded medals. There was no gold medal then, and only silver and bronze were awarded. Moreover, at the Games of 1900 in many types of medals were not awarded at all, but instead the organizers awarded the participants with cups and diplomas. However, for consistency in reference literature, gold, silver, and bronze medals are used for these games as well.

Fire

2008 Olympic Torch Relay London

The Olympic Flame is lit on Mount Olympus in Greece from a parabolic mirror and is transmitted by means of a torch through a relay race from athlete to athlete. In this way, the Olympic flame crosses all 5 inhabited continents of the Earth and arrives at the venue of the Olympic Games on the day of their opening in order to light the flame of the Olympic bonfire. This symbolizes the opening of games. At the end of all competitions, the Olympic flame of the bonfire is extinguished, which symbolizes the closing of the games.

Olive branch

The olive branch, or "kotinos", is a wreath-shaped branch that is presented to the winner along with a gold medal.
The tradition of its presentation was revived at the XXVIII Summer Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.

Firework

Games emblem

Emblem of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal

Main article: Olympic emblem

Each Olympic Games has its own unique emblem symbolizing the host city and country. Usually the Olympic rings are an element of the emblem, but they were often changed. The official Olympic emblem consists of the Olympic symbol and the Olympic motto: the symbol is five intertwined colored rings on a white background, and the official motto is “Citius, altius, fortius” (“Faster, higher, stronger!”), Which has changed in the last Games, or you can say, apart from the official one, they came up with another one. Only the IOC and NOCs have the right to use the Olympic emblem. The National Olympic Committees each time had their own emblem. This is stated in the Olympic Charter, as well as the fact that the use of the emblem by other organizations for any commercial purposes without the permission of the IOC is prohibited.

Notes

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See what the "Olympic symbol" is in other dictionaries:

Olympic symbol- Five Olympic rings used alone, in one color or in several colors. The intertwined five-ring emblem, representing the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games, is a trademarked property of the IOC...

olympic symbol- olimpinis simbolis statusas T sritis Kūno kultūra ir sportas apibrėžtis Penki vienos ar skirtingų spalvų olimpiniai žiedai, naudojami vieni patys. Penki sunerti žiedai reiškia penkių pasaulio žemynų sąjungą olimpiniame sąjūdyje: nesiliečiantys ir … Sporto terminų žodynas

olympic flag- is a white cloth without edging. In its center is the Olympic symbol in five colors. (See Rule 9 of the Olympic Charter) The design and proportions are exactly the same as the parameters of the flag presented by Pierre de Coubertin on ... ... Technical Translator's Handbook

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 he appear? What do the Olympic rings mean?

We can explore this issue in the following main aspects:

History of the Olympic rings

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

The idea to complement the white flag, associated with the world, with colorful rings belongs to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the same person who came up with the idea of holding world competitions at the end of the 19th century, the history of which dates back to ancient times. In 1913, the masters of the Bon Marche studio, located in Paris, made the first sample of the Olympic flag. It was presented to the public in 1914 at the Sorbonne during celebrations on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Olympic movement revived by Pierre de Coubertin.

It was originally planned to use the five-ringed 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 Antwerp Olympics in 1920, 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, under the influence of the attributes of the Union of French Athletic Societies (Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques, USFSA), headed by the famous figure himself. The fact is that the emblem of this institution was two rings (red and blue), which are brought together.

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

The USFSA symbolism denoted the fact that the Union was formed by two separate associations operating in France - the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Course a Pied and the Committee for the Development of Physical Education (Comité pour la Propagation des Exercises Physiques). In turn, the blue and red colors in the USFSA attribute were used under the influence of the corresponding shades present in the French national flag.

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

The semantic content of the main Olympic attribute

What do the five Olympic rings used as the main attribute of the modern Games mean?

The fact that there are exactly 5 rings on the Olympic flag is associated by historians with the desire of Pierre de Coubertin to unite the symbols of several nations at once on a common white flag. So, yellow and blue colors denoted Sweden (the same shades are present on the national flag of this Scandinavian country); blue and white - the USA and several European states, on the official attributes of which, respectively, there are the indicated colors; 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 the aspect of shades of 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 some sources testify, spoke about 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 specific 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 an unofficial interpretation of the correspondence of the marked elements of the Olympic flag to the continents, blue indicates Europe, yellow - Asia, black - Africa, green - Australia, red - America, both North and South. More widespread, however, is the version according to which these shades of the Olympic rings are present one way or another on the national flag of any country in the world.

In the general case, the color scheme and the mutual arrangement of the rings do not change when using the corresponding attribute of the Games within the framework of the competition. But sometimes it is possible to adapt them to the thematic concepts used by the organizers of the Olympiads. So, 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, did not open at a crucial moment due to technical reasons. At the same time, there was a plexus between them, and such a condition for using the Olympic symbol in question is considered, as many experts believe, to have no alternative, mandatory in all cases.

At the same time, one-color execution 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 the use of the main attribute of the Games. According to sports historians and experts, this may indicate the commitment of this organization to the idea of unity, equality of world nations, regardless of the likely interpretations of the meaning of colors in the Olympic rings.

The symbolism of the Olympic Games is known to each of us. For example, everyone knows what the Olympic emblem looks like, the flag or how the anthem sounds. However, far from everyone knows what exactly the rings symbolize, and therefore more on that later.

History of the Olympic emblem

Sports competitions were held between people thousands of years ago. One of the first and most famous are the Olympic Games, which took place in Ancient Greece and Rome. After the disappearance of the represented empires, the competition was suspended. They were renewed already at the end of the 19th century (or rather, in 1896) by Pierre de Coubertin.

The same person designed the Olympic rings in 1913, which are otherwise called the emblem. They are placed in the center of the flag of the Olympic Movement and represent 5 interlaced rings.

What do the rings look like?

They are arranged in 2 consecutive rows. Wherein:

3 of them - blue, yellow and black are located at the top;
2 - green and red - are located in the bottom row.

The rings are connected into a single chain, which is the letter W. At the same time, the outermost of the hoops (blue and red) intersect only with 1 of the other rings. The rings, placed in the center - each with 2 other symbols of the emblem.

All about symbolism

The rings represent the union, the unity of the 5 parts of the world, as well as the worldwide focus of the Olympic Games. At the same time, contrary to one of the most common versions, each of the symbols does not belong to any particular continent or part of the world. More on this below.

So, each of the 6 colors (together with a white background on the cloth) are combined in such a way as to represent the national shades of all the states of the world.

In accordance with the International Olympic Committee - IOC - the fundamental idea of the emblem should be considered the rooting of the idea that the Olympic Movement is an international campaign that unites everyone "under its wing". Each of the states of the world can participate in this international competition. Including the Olympic Charter itself (a set of legal norms) indicates that:

The Olympic rings are relevant because they symbolize the unity of 5 continents;
an additional interpretation of the emblem is a symbol of the gathering of athletes from all countries to participate in the Olympic Games.

A strict code has been developed regarding the use of the represented symbol. It must be followed by all international organizations, athletes and government officials under all circumstances. One of the clearest examples should be considered that even if the Olympic hoops are depicted on a black or dark background, the ring of the presented shade cannot be replaced by an object of a different color. In the modern history of the existence of the Olympic Games, there has not yet been a single case of violation of this rule. In extreme cases, the shade of the emblem is not significantly changed.

In the words of de Coubertin himself: “5 rings of different shades are intertwined with each other - blue, yellow, black, green, red. They are placed on a solid white field, reminiscent of the background of a sheet of paper. These 5 symbols represent each of the parts of the world. It is they who are currently cultivating the desire for Olympism and are ready to accept healthy competition and wage a fair fight, conquering new heights.”

Interpretation of Carl Jung

Carl Jung, the most famous scientist of the 20th century, who lived at the same time as de Coubertin, proposed to perceive 5 rings as specific energies - earth, water, fire, wood and metal. It is they who unite in the symbol known today. In addition, in 1912, Jung proposed his own perception of the competition, which is also often called the pentathlon. According to him, an athlete who is an Olympian should have been distinguished by versatility. In this regard, he must own any of the 5 fundamental sports. We are talking about swimming, fencing, jumping, running and shooting.

Within this:

swimming corresponds to a blue tint;
fencing - red;
jumping - green;
run - yellow;
shooting - black.

The presented interpretation of the emblem, however, focuses rather than on the international scale of the Olympic competitions. She focused her attention on the abilities and results of a certain person who deserves to be called the winner of the Olympic Games.

Religious interpretations of the emblem

Deciphering the symbolism of the rings from a Christian point of view is widely popular. It sounds like this:

black color symbolizes the sin that separates man from God. In this regard, even at the Olympics there are scandals and intrigues;
red is the blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross so that all sins could be forgiven people;
blue is the Holy Spirit who dwells in everyone after baptism. It will provide an opportunity to achieve high results not only in sports, but in life in general;
green symbolizes spiritual growth in the process of knowing the Lord;
yellow is similar to a gold-plated Olympic medal and is a symbol of the victory of peace and pacifism.

The most common inaccuracies in understanding the emblem

Until 1951, official sources claimed that the shades of the rings corresponded to different parts of the world. So, Europe - blue, Asia - yellow, Africa - black, Australia - green, and America - red. However, already at the end of the 50s, this certificate was deleted, since there was no evidence that de Coubertin assumed such a distribution of shades.

In addition, another common misconception is that, as many believe, in the first years before the start of the competition, the rings were interchanged with each other. Their location has remained unchanged since the creation of the emblem.

Thus, the presented symbolism of intertwined rings is a symbol of peace and the unity of people in the name of a certain idea. It implies fair competition, partnership and striving forward to achieve new results.