Olympic ring colors and their meaning. What do the Olympic rings mean? Olympic Games emblem - rings

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 a yellow ring, Africa by a black ring, America by a red ring, Australia by a green ring and Europe by a blue ring.

5 rings have been a permanent emblem of the Olympic Games since God knows when. And the number of rings means the number of continents. As for flowers, Blue colour intended 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 (and maybe more than one). Some researchers associate the appearance of 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 symbolism, Jung introduced his vision of the essence of Olympic competition in the form of modern pentathlon. That is, any Olympian must master each of the five disciplines.

• Swimming - blue color (Water element)
• Jumping - green color (Wood element)
• Running - yellow color (Earth element)
• Fencing - red color (Fire element) and
• Shooting - black color (Metal element)

• Five continents - five rings. The intertwining of rings with each other symbolizes the desire for peace and friendship of all continents. The black ring is, of course, black Africa, the yellow ring is Asia, Asians have a dark yellowish skin color. Red Ring - America with Red Indians. Green ring - Australia, the so-called green continent. Europe got the blue ring.

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

  blue-Europe

  black-Africa

  red-America

  yellow-Asia

  green-Australia

  On summer olympic games ah in 1912 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 the five continents.

  Since ancient times, the Olympic Games were designed to unite people; even wars stopped while sports competitions were taking place. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the glorious tradition of the Olympic Games was revived, their role as a link between different peoples has grown even more and has already covered the whole world.

  The five Olympic stars, which we are familiar with from 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 on the planet, regardless of their skin color and nationality, everyone is equal and has the same chance of winning.

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

  

  For as long as I can remember (and I’m almost fifty dollars now), these rings have always been there. And if the motto of the Olympics is Faster, higher, stronger, then the five rings mean the five continents. Always, at all times, the whole world came to the Olympics, stopping all warriors at this time.

Some associate the appearance of Olympic symbolism with the psychologist Carl Jung, who is also considered in some circles to be its creator. Jung was well versed in Chinese philosophy, he knew that the ring in ancient cultures is a symbol of greatness and vital energy. So he introduced the idea of ​​five intertwined rings - a reflection of the five energies that are mentioned in Chinese philosophy: water, wood, fire, earth and metal.

Along with the symbols, in 1912 the scientist introduced his own image of the Olympic competition - modern pentathlon. Any Olympian had to master each of its five events.

The first discipline - swimming - in the form of a blue ring also depicts the element of water and indicates the rhythm that holds the breath and allows you to move forward along the surface of the water, towards leadership.

The green ring - jumping - is an image of a tree and a symbol of the rider’s energy. He must have the ability to manage not only his own energy, but also the energy of the horse.

The next discipline is fencing, and it is represented by the fire element in the form of a red ring. This discipline symbolizes flair. The success of a fencer depends on the ability to sense the enemy and guess his movements.

Ring yellow color the earth element and represents such a discipline as cross-country running. It indicates perseverance and perseverance. A trail runner seems to leap through the elements, knowing when to slow down and when to pick up the pace.

Shooting discipline and unique properties metal depicts a black ring. Accuracy and clarity are needed here. The success of a shot depends not only on physical exertion, but also on the ability of cold thinking, with the help of which the shooter concentrates on the target and hits the target.

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• What do the five rings symbolize?

Olympic symbols- this is what distinguishes games of this scale from other world competitions. It originated along with the entire movement and represents a whole complex of different attributes. Some of them are basic and unchanged, others change depending on where a particular Olympics is taking place.

The Olympic is represented by several attributes at once - an emblem, a flag, a motto, a principle, an oath, a fire, medals, an opening ceremony and a mascot. Each of them carries its own functional load and meets all the requirements of world-class sports competitions.

The emblem of the Games has been approved since 1913 and remains unchanged. It is familiar to everyone - five colored rings, interconnected. It has been in effect since then, and was developed taking into account the ancient Greek Olympics. The five circles refer to the five continents that participate in sports competitions. In addition, every country must have at least one color that is represented on the Olympic rings. Therefore, the Olympic movement serves as a unifying factor.

The flag is no less important. It represents an image of the Olympic rings on a white cloth. His role is quite simple - White color world. And in combination with the emblem it turns into a symbol of peace for the duration of the Games. It was first used as a competition attribute in 1920 in Belgium. According to the rules of the Olympics, the flag must participate in both the opening and closing ceremonies. After the end of the Games, it must be handed over to a representative of the city where the next competition will be held in 4 years.

The motto of the Olympic Games is the Latin slogan: “Citius, Altius, Fortius!” Translated into Russian, this means “Faster, Higher, Stronger!” The role of the motto in the Olympics is to constantly remind everyone present why everyone is here.

The principle “The main thing is not victory, but participation” is an Olympic statement that appeared in 1896. The symbolism of the principle is that athletes should not feel defeated if they lose. Its goal is for the competition not to fall into depression, but, on the contrary, to find strength and prepare even better for the next Games.

The traditional oath used dates back to the 1920s. These are words about the need to respect your opponents and adhere to sports ethics. Not only athletes, but also judges and members of evaluation commissions take the oath.

Of course, one cannot ignore such a symbol of the Olympics as. The ritual comes from Ancient Greece. The fire is lit directly in Olympia, then transferred to a special torch, which, traveling across the world, arrives at the capital of the Olympic Games. We need fire as a symbol to emphasize that sport competitions- this is an attempt to improve oneself, this is an honest fight for victory, and it is also peace and friendship.

Medals are not only a reward, but also a certain symbol of the Games. They serve as a tribute to strong athletes and at the same time emphasize that all people are brothers, because Representatives of various nationalities meet on the podium.

The opening ceremony is a mandatory attribute of the Olympic Games. Firstly, it sets the mood for the entire two weeks ahead. Secondly, it is a demonstration of the power of the host country. Thirdly, it is the opening ceremony that is the unifying force. This is due to the fact that it requires a parade of athletes, in which future rivals walk side by side, shoulder to shoulder.

The changeable symbol of the Olympics can be called the Talisman. After all, a new attribute is developed for each competition. It must be approved by the IOC commission and selected from several proposed options. The one that is ultimately chosen is patented and becomes a symbol of the Olympic movement in a given year. The mascot must meet several requirements - reflect the spirit of the host country of the Olympics, bring good luck to the athletes and create a festive atmosphere. As a rule, the mascot is presented in the form of an animal that is popular in the country where the competition is taking place. In some cases, it can be made in the form of a fantastic creature.

Symbol of the Olympic Games

The Olympic rings have rightfully taken one of the most worthy places among the Olympic symbols. Five multi-colored rings, most often on a white background, intertwine and form a single whole, symbolizing a global sporting event. Five rings emblem

Hides the deepest meaning, which lies in the very concept of sport as such. It contains the idea of ​​universal popularization of the Olympic movement, equal rights for each participating country, fair treatment of athletes, and healthy competition. The Olympic rings symbol made its debut at the 1914 Olympic Games, held in Belgium.

But who was the inventor of this symbol? What does it really mean? There are two main opinions on this matter.

According to one version, recognized even by the Olympic Charter, origin of the Olympic rings symbol usually associated with the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin. It was on his initiative and developments at olympic flag 5 multi-colored rings were depicted. This happened in 1912. Intertwining with each other, they formed two rows. The top row consists of rings of blue, black and red, the bottom row of yellow and green. Number five symbolizes five parts of the world, each of which has a specific color. The blue color represents Europe, the black continent is Africa, the red is America, the yellow is Asia, and the green continent is Australia. The two American continents were considered as one continent; Antarctica and the Arctic were not taken into account. The interweaving of five rings into one means the unification of five continents in the name of competitions on a global scale, a common sports spirit, equality of countries and readiness for tough but fair competition.

Second version appearance of the Olympic rings, is not so well known, but at the same time cannot be prematurely dismissed. According to some reports, the symbol of the five Olympic rings was invented by psychologist Carl Jung. He was well aware of the field of Chinese philosophy, in which the sign of the ring meant a certain energy, vitality and greatness. According to Chinese beliefs, our world is governed by the energies of earth, water, fire, wood and metal. Jung personally proposed to designate five rings these energies and combine them into the symbol that we know today. In addition, in 1912 the scientist proposed his understanding of the Olympic competitions. Now we call them pentathlon. In his opinion, an Olympic athlete had to be versatile and master each of the five main sports - swimming, fencing, jumping, running and shooting. At the same time, the color blue corresponded to swimming, red to fencing, green to jumping, yellow to running, and black to shooting. This interpretation of the emblem focused attention not on the global scale of sports competitions, but on the abilities and achievements of a specific person worthy of being called an Olympic champion.

Use of the Olympic rings symbol subject to strict regulation. You cannot change colors or move rings from one row to another. Monitoring compliance with the regulations is carried out by the IOC.

Agree, we are accustomed to taking some events for granted, without really thinking about the history of their occurrence or their characteristic features.

Perhaps the Olympics should be considered a similar global event. But every time sports competitions of this kind attract the attention of not even hundreds, but hundreds of thousands of devoted sports fans around the world.

Incredibly, they have been held for 118 years, and now both the flame and the rings of the Olympic Games are already commonly perceived.

What do these symbols mean and why did they become iconic? Perhaps not every modern person can answer this question.

Section 1. Olympics today

In general, the Olympics should be understood sport's event international scale, in which thousands of athletes from different countries compete.

There are summer and winter seasons that take place alternately every two years. That is, purely theoretically, it can be calculated that events of this kind are organized only in even-numbered years. And if in 2014 the Olympics were winter, then the next, already summer, will be held in 2016. By the way, according to the decision of a special commission, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) has been entrusted with hosting it.

Section 2. Five rings of the Olympic Games as the main symbol of the competition

A white flag with characteristic symbols... At a certain moment, as if by magic magic wand, appears everywhere: on buildings, on sports and casual wear, interior items and even on children's toys.

The snow-white background symbolizes world peace. And this is far from accidental, because for a long time during the Olympics, military actions and conflicts ceased and ceased all over the planet.

The number of games placed on the flag is also very well thought out. They are colored yellow, blue, black, red and green.

First of all, we note that the rings of the Olympic Games symbolize the five continents of the planet: America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Why is that so, after all Earth consists of six? The fact is that Antarctica and the Arctic, due to their uninhabitation, were not taken into account when developing the symbol.

Oh those Olympic rings! What they mean was invented a little later. Today, even schoolchildren can tell that each part of the world is correlated with its own specific color. Europe is blue, Africa is black, America is red, Asia is yellow, Oceania is green.

Section 3. Emblem of the Olympic Games: rings and the history of their origin

This symbolic sign was developed in 1912 by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. The emblem was adopted in 1914, although it should be noted that it debuted much later, only in 1920, at the Olympics in Belgium. It was originally planned that the world would see a flag decorated with a new symbol in 1916, but the First World War prevented the main

It is hardly worth mentioning that immediately after their appearance the rings were liked and became an integral attribute Olympics. In subsequent years they were used to create various logos related to the Games.

Section 4. Has the symbol been modernized?

Oddly enough, but yes. And the Olympic rings underwent the biggest changes at the 1936 Olympics, held in the German capital Berlin.

Firstly, the rings were not arranged in two rows as usual, but in one. Their location is slightly similar to the traditional one due to the fact that the first, third and fifth of them were raised compared to the second and fourth.

Secondly, both the rings and the eagle holding them were made in black and white. In subsequent years, the monochrome version of the Olympic Games logo was used quite often, but the arrangement was no longer changed.

In 1960, in Italy, game artists made the rings three-dimensional. It was carried out in gray color. The rings were located under the Roman she-wolf, which, according to legend, suckled Romulus and Remus, who founded Rome. By the way, it was in that year that new tradition- hang medals around the necks of athletes.

The Mexicans, who hosted the Games in 1968, approached the creation of the Olympic logo no less creatively. This time, as a symbol of the Olympic Games, the rings were inscribed in the inscription “Mexico City 68” and highlighted in color. The lower rings were part of the number 68.

Section 5. The unopened ring of the Sochi Olympics

But not everything is as smooth as it might seem at first glance. The rings of the Olympic Games, which represent the five inhabited continents of the planet, have not always been a success. Some things were condemned, some things were welcomed, and there were also things that went down in history.

A small technical incident with the rings occurred at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi (Russia).

As planned during the show big snowflakes, hanging over the Fisht stadium, were supposed to be transformed into the Olympic rings. But only four were revealed. One ring remained hanging like a snowflake.

However, Russian television viewers did not see this hitch, since the organizers realized what was happening a little earlier than the others and broadcast footage from the rehearsal.

During the closing of the Olympic Games, this incident with the unopened ring was ironically played out. At the beginning of the ceremony, the show participants formed a composition with five rings and one snowflake, which quickly opened after a few seconds.

Section 6. Other symbols of the Olympics

It should be noted that, in addition to the official flag and rings, there are also other symbols of the Olympics.

• Fire. The tradition of lighting a torch was taken by Coubertin in 1912 from the ancient Greeks. The Olympic flame is a symbol of purity, the struggle for victory and self-improvement. It was first lit in 1928. The relay to pass the torch to the city where the Game is being held began in 1936.
• Medals. For first place the athlete is awarded a gold medal, for second - a silver, for third - a bronze. They are awarded to the winners after the competition at a special ceremony.
• Motto"Citius, Altius, Fortius" can be translated into Russian as "Faster, higher, stronger." These words were first spoken by the priest Henri Martin Didon during the opening of sports competitions in college. Coubertin thought that this phrase perfectly reflects the essence of the Olympic Games.
• Oath, according to which the participants of the Games must respect and comply with the established rules. Its text was written by Pierre de Coubertin and was first performed in 1920.
• Olympic principle was also defined by Pierre de Coubertin in 1896. It says that in the Olympic Games, as in life, the main thing is not victory, but participation.
• Opening ceremony of the games- the most official part. It hosts a parade of athletes from all countries participating in the competition. The Greek team goes first, then the countries' teams according to the alphabet, and the last goes the team of the country organizing the Games.

Section 7. Interesting facts about the Olympic Games

According to the decree, gold medals must contain at least 6 grams of pure gold in the form of coating.

On Olympic Games logos, the year is usually written in four or two numbers (Athens 2004 or Barcelona 92). In the entire history of the Games, only once in 1960 in Rome was the year written in five letters (MCMLX).

During the Great Depression in 1932, the Brazilian government could not find the money to send a delegation to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. As a result, 82 Brazilian athletes were put on a ship with coffee in order to bring them to America with the proceeds. When the ship arrived at the port of San Pedro, its leaders demanded to pay one dollar for each person who came ashore. Only those who had a chance to receive a medal were released from the ship. He then went to San Francisco to sell coffee and was able to drop off a few more athletes, but 15 athletes returned back to Brazil.

In 1956, the Summer Olympics were held in Melbourne, which was unable to host some sports. Australian quarantine regulations prohibited the import of horses, and equestrian events had to be held in Stockholm.

Section 8. Let's look into the future

As already reported above, the next Olympic Games will be held in Brazil, in the world famous holiday city of Rio de Janeiro.

This carnival capital knows how to do more than just surprise. It literally amazes every traveler, which means there is no doubt that the 2016 Olympics will be another amazing event.

Whether the rings of the Olympic Games will undergo changes, which signify the unity of the planet, is not yet known, since such details are usually a secret part of the opening ceremony.

The Olympic rings are one of the most recognizable symbols of our time. Five of Rings different color, made on a white background, when intertwined, they come together into one and represent the most famous sporting event in the world. This emblem contains deep meaning, which reveals the very essence of the very concept of sport as such. The symbol of the five rings was based on the idea of ​​healthy competition, fair treatment of athletes, equality of rights for each participating state, and popularization of the Olympic movement. This emblem " Olympic rings"Spectators first saw it in 1914 at the Olympic Games, which at that time took place on Belgian soil.

However, you are most likely interested in who invented the emblem " five olympic rings "? And what does she really represent? There are two versions that try to shed light on this mystery.

First version. This version was even recognized in the Olympic Charter. The fact is that he was directly involved in the origin of the symbol of the Olympic rings Pierre de Coubertin French citizen. It was his developments that served as the prototype for the emblem that was later depicted on the Olympic flag. This happened two years before the Belgian Olympic Games - in 1912.

These rings passing through one another form two rows. Bottom row consists of rings of green and yellow flowers, and the top one is red, black and blue.

The five rings represent the five parts of the world, each of which has a specific color. Green color represents the flowering and lush continent of Australia, yellow is given to Asia, because people there have yellow skin, and the land in many areas is covered with sand, red color went to America, because the aborigines there have skin with a reddish tint, black was given to Africa, because they live there savages with ebony-colored skin, the blue color represents Europe, because people there consider themselves superior to others.

You need to understand that the two American continents were united into one continent, and no one took the Arctic and Antarctica into account at all, due to the lack of people there.

The emblem of five rings woven into one symbolizes the connection of five continents for the sake of sports competitions on a planetary scale, readiness for fair but serious competition, and a general sports spirit

Read also: the meaning of the Pacific symbol

Second version. This version is not so popular, but it is still too early to dismiss it. Some researchers claim that the symbol of the five rings for the Olympic Games was invented by himself." great and terrible"psychologist Carl Jung. He was well versed in Chinese philosophy in which the sign of the ring denoted greatness, vitality and some mystical energy. The ancient Chinese believed that our universe is controlled by several energies: metal, fire, earth, wood and water. Carl Jung imbued with the spirit of ancient mystical Chinese philosophy, he decided to express these five energies on paper, while uniting them. So he drew the symbol that we now know as the emblem of the Olympic Games. Moreover, the psychologist in 1912 explained how he himself understood these sports competitions. Today they are called pentathlon. He was convinced that Olympic athlete you need to be versatile and master each of the five types of competitions - shooting, jumping, swimming, running and fencing.

In this case, the color corresponded to shooting was black, jumping was green, swimming was blue, running was yellow, fencing was red. Similar interpretation symbol focused on the achievements and abilities of a particular athlete worthy of being considered an Olympic champion, and not on the planetary scale of sports competitions

Read also: the meaning of the Dove of Peace symbol

The use of the Olympic rings emblem is subject to strict regulation. It is prohibited to move rings from row to row or change colors. The International Olympic Committee constantly monitors compliance with regulatory standards.

Symbols of the Olympic Games video