Logo Spotlight: The Olympic Rings

Posted: February 18th, 2010 | Author: anthony | Filed under: Logo Spotlight | 2 Comments »

Year and Designer: 1912 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin

If you haven’t been living under a rock these past few days then you would would know that the Winter Olympics are in progress. Every two years we have the chance to catch athletes from all across the world compete in the summer or winter games; but what unites them under one banner are the Olympic Rings.

About: The Olympic Rings were designed in 1912 but they did not come into use until the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Germany. The Olympic Rings carry a large amount of symbolism, not just the rings but the colors used as well.

The five rings represent the five continents of the world. You’re probably saying, “wait a minute aren’t there seven continents?” Yes, but let me explain. The five “contents” are:
The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. North America and South America are combined into one continent. Oceania contains the nations of the Pacific including Australia. Antarctica is omitted because it does not contain any nations.

The colors of the rings, including the white background, contain all the colors that could be found in the national flags of the countries that were around at the time of the logo’s creation.

The circle symbolizes continuity and the interlocking of the rings symbolizes unity.

Interesting Facts

Baron Pierre de Coubertin was the founder of the International Olympic Committee and also the designer of the Olympic Rings.
The IOC holds exclusive rights over any interlocking arrangement of five rings and the word “Olympic”. Some exceptions have been made such as Olympic Paint and Olympic Airlines.
No single ring or color represents an entire country

Read more

2 Comments on “Logo Spotlight: The Olympic Rings”

1 lickynee said at 11:24 pm on February 18th, 2010:
Indeed, it it is one of the greatest and most symbolic logos around. And it’s always interesting to see how they use it in the opening ceremonies!
2 Doodzy said at 9:55 am on February 19th, 2010:
Funny that this is mentioned, as I love to watch the Olympics, but sadly, i haven’t been able to watch a drop of it. Go team America? I don’t even know what the events are… -__-;
Either way, pretty interesting facts! I’m exactly partial to the logo though. It’s alright. I think since it’s over a hundred years old, we need to change it to something more accurate.
imho