Why does the Olympic Flag have five rings?

The Olympic Flag consists of five interlocked rings and is the visual ambassador of Olympism for all the fans and athletes. It was created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the co-founder of the modern Olympic Games. The five interlocked rings represented the five participating continents — Africa, Asia, America, Europe, and Oceania.

The rings were considered the official Olympic symbol in 1915. These interlocking rings are colored blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field, and are known as the 'Olympic Rings'. The color of the rings along with the white of the background could compose the colors of the flags of all competing nations at that time.

Meaning of Olympic Rings

The Olympic symbol stands for the principles of Olympism worldwide. It represents the union of five continents and the meeting of athletes from all over the globe at the Olympic Games. The five continents in the Olympic Rings now represent North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe.

From left to right, the blue, black, and red rings are situated at the top. The yellow and the green rings are positioned at the bottom.

History of the Olympic Rings

The Olympic rings on white background

In 1914, the Olympic rings were first introduced at the IOC's 20th-anniversary meeting in Paris. However, their first appearance on the flag of the Olympic Games was in the VII Olympiad Antwerp 1920.

Later, in 1957, the IOC agreed upon a specific version of the Olympic rings. This version differed slightly from Coubertin’s original, in which the rings intersect each other.

Eventually, in 1986, the IOC Graphics standards described how an official version of the rings with spaces should be produced. The spaces were already visible but IOC defined the design parameters of the distance.

Finally, in 2010, despite all updates and changes, Coubertin's model was again brought into existence.

To date, there are 7 official versions of the Olympic Rings. However, the full-color version on the white background is the most preferred one.