The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are just around the corner. And like every four years, young sports fans in particular ask themselves one question: What do the five colored Olympic rings actually stand for? sport.de explains it!
The 33rd modern Olympic Games will captivate millions of fans around the world this summer. But one question always arises for many sports enthusiasts: What do the five colorful Olympic rings actually represent?
Olympia 2024: The continent myth about the rings
A popular myth says that the colors of the five Olympic rings are assigned to the five continents. The blue ring should stand for Europe, the black ring for Africa, the red ring for America, the yellow ring for Asia and the green ring for Australia.
One reason for the myth is probably that this color theory was also in the official manual of the Olympic Games until 1951.
From today’s perspective, this explanation is problematic. However, it was never intended in this form and is therefore not correct.
Olympia 2024: This is what the rings and colors really mean
The Olympic rings go back to an idea by Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937).
The Frenchman, considered the founder of the modern Olympic Games and president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1896 to 1925, designed the world-famous logo himself in 1913. He later explained that the rings were actually meant to represent the five continents.
However, Coubertin never assigned the colors of the rings to specific continents. According to the founder of the World Games, the Olympic color theory comes down to one detail: the white background, which is also an integral part of the Olympic logo. So it’s about six colors – not five.
Olympia 2024: Ring colors and background form a unit
According to Coubertin’s idea, all participating nations should be reflected in the combination of the five colors of the rings and the white background – always assuming that each country or its flag contains at least one of the six colors.
Germany, for example, can recognize itself in the black, red and yellow rings. Italy can be found in the green and red rings as well as in the white background. South Africa’s national flag even consists of all six Olympic colors.
Designed by Coubertin in 1913, the rings have been used as the official symbol of the Olympic Games since 1920. How the false color myth made it into the Olympic handbook remains unclear to this day.