Jul 29, 2021

The meaning of the Olympic rings

The return of the Olympics and other sporting events after being postponed makes this summer feel a little bit more normal, although still a little different, it’s great to see such a big event back.

The 5 Olympic rings are known by billions but have you ever wondered, what do they mean? What’s the thinking behind it? 

Let’s start at the beginning

Baron Pierre de Coubertin borrowed the idea off from another sporting body that he chaired: the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA). It had 2 interlacing rings and he took inspiration from this to add another 3 rings.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin was the founder of the modern Olympic Games and the rings were first publicly used in 1913. 

From the Olympics website, the meaning of the rings are described as following:

“The Olympic symbol expresses the activity of the Olympic Movement and represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games.” (Olympic Charter, Rule 8).

Circles symbolise togetherness and unity and the Olympic Games does exactly that with all the countries and great athletes. 

The five participating continents at the time of creation were represented through the 5 rings: Africa, Asia, America, Europe and Oceania. The colour of the five rings plus the white background are colours that were used in every nation’s flag.

The Olympic rings have gone through some changes through the years like many famous logos. The colours have remained the same but there have been small alterations. 

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