The Olympic Rings are unarguably one of the most known symbols around the world. They are used by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to promote the Olympic Games. Pierre De Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games first designed the Olympic Rings back in 1912. But what do they symbolise?
The Olympic Rings has two elements of symbolism, the 5 rings interlocked with each other and their colour. The five interlocking rings represent the five main regions of the world that have been brought together by the Olympic Movement. The regions are Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania, America. The Olympic Charter says, “the five-ringed symbol “represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games”. You can find the official Olympic Charter here. Secondly, the Olympic rings colours simply mean that they have at least one color of every nation’s flag in them.
There has been a common misconception about the number of the Olympic Rings. This results into questions such as ‘Why are there only 5 Olympic rings when there are 7 continents?’. The answer to this question is quite simple. The reason for 5 rings is because the continents of South America and North America are combined into one region of America. In addition, there are no athletes that compete under the flag of a country within Antartica.
If you find any other interesting symbolisms behind the Olympic Rings, do tell.
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