Olympic Logo History: Jonathan Munk
The Olympics date back to ancient Greek times, but the Olympic logo we know and recognize today has been around less than one hundred years. Frenchmen Pierre de Coubertin designed the logo in 1913 for the Paris Congress of the Olympic Movement. The logo was first found on a flag and had five interlocking rings–one for each continent represented in the Olympic Movement. Six colors were included as well, black, yellow, blue, red, green, and white, which were colors present in each nation represented by the organization. No ring is “assigned” to any particular continent.
The popular account that de Coubertin found stones carved with an ancient Olympic logo which he immitated in the modern rendition is false, according to an article published in Olympic Review Magazine in 1992. Though carved stones were found bearing the logo, they were created for the torch relay from Greece to Germany in 1936. They were later mistaken for ancient artifacts, according to the article.
In addition to the Olympic logo, most host cities also design their own logo as well. Here is an interesting site that has many of the past cities’ logos, dating back to 1924. Though it’s not a complete collection, it is fun to see how well the logos embody the era in which they appeared.
Source: International Olympic Committee
February 22nd, 2006
I am following up on a request from my grandson whoasked me about the colours of the Six [6] rings mentioned in the olympic logo; he wanted to know bout their significance and whether they meant or realted to anything. He is also doing a class project on the Olympic Movement.
In appreciation.
Miles Sosa
February 22nd, 2006
Miles,
Each of the rings in the Olympic logo represents a continent that participated in the Olypmics in the 1930s (See my previous blog posting). But in terms of each color having a meaning in the same way many countries’ flags do, I don’t believe any such meaning exists with the Olympic flag.
Here is the officical site of the Olympic Movement: http://www.Olympic.org
Hope this helps.
-Jonathan
March 5th, 2006
Thank you for posting this information. I am in a design school and as part of my homework i most do a report on the history of a logo. Your post and website links previded an excellent source for my research. Thank you
April 30th, 2008
omg olympic!!!
August 11th, 2008
The site http://www.logodesign.com is interesting resource, respect, admin. And look at this state water heater