You see them everywhere every two years. On hats, on giant glowing displays in the middle of rivers, and plastered across the chest of every elite athlete on the planet. Honestly, images of the olympic rings are probably the most recognized icons in human history, right up there with the Red Cross or the golden arches. But here is the thing: most of what you think you know about those five interlocking circles is actually a myth.
We've all heard the "standard" explanation. Blue is Europe, yellow is Asia, black is Africa, green is Australia, and red is America. It sounds perfect. It’s tidy. It fits a nice narrative of global unity where every color has its own assigned seat at the table.
Except it's wrong.
The Creator’s Real Intent
When Baron Pierre de Coubertin sat down in 1913 to sketch the symbol, he wasn't trying to color-code the planet like a middle school geography map. He was a French educator and historian who basically willed the modern Olympics into existence. He wanted something universal.
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Coubertin himself explained that the six colors (don’t forget the white background!) were chosen because they included the colors of every single national flag in the world at that time. Sweden’s blue and yellow, Greece’s blue and white, the tricolors of France and the US, and even the newer flags of Brazil and Australia.
Basically, he wanted every person on Earth to look at the Olympic flag and see a piece of their own home. It wasn't about "this color equals that place." It was about "all these colors together equal everyone."
That "Ancient" Greek Stone That Wasn't
If you ever go down a rabbit hole looking at old images of the olympic rings, you might stumble upon a photo of a stone block in Delphi, Greece, with the rings carved right into the side. It looks ancient. It looks like the rings have been around since the original games in 776 BC.
It's a total fake. Well, not a "fake" in the sense of a malicious hoax, but a massive historical misunderstanding.
Back in 1936, for the Berlin Games, an organizer named Carl Diem wanted to create a sense of historical continuity. He had a stone milestone carved with the rings and carried by torchbearers to the ceremony. He left the stone in Delphi. Twenty years later, two American authors saw it, assumed it was ancient, and published a book claiming the rings were a 3,000-year-old symbol. The myth stuck. In reality, the rings didn't even exist before the 20th century.
Why the Design Never Changes (And Why the IOC is Terrified if it Does)
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is incredibly protective of the rings. You can't just go out and start a car wash called "Olympic Clean" using those rings. They will find you. They have lawyers in basically every country whose entire job is to protect the "integrity" of the symbol.
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There are strict rules for how images of the olympic rings can appear:
- The colors must be exactly: Blue (PMS 3005), Yellow (PMS 137), Black, Green (PMS 355), and Red (PMS 192).
- They must always be interlocked from left to right.
- You can't stretch them, shadow them, or turn them into neon signs unless you have a multi-billion dollar sponsorship deal.
The reason is simple: money. The rings are the primary asset the IOC sells to broadcasters and sponsors. If the symbol becomes "generic," it loses its value. This is why you see such a massive crackdown on "ambush marketing" every time the Games roll around.
The Evolution of the Interlock
While the basic idea has stayed the same, the actual "look" of the rings has shifted. Early images of the olympic rings from the 1920s—when they were first flown at the Antwerp Games—look a bit "handmade." The circles were often thicker, and the way they overlapped wasn't always consistent.
In 1957, the IOC finally decided to standardize the gaps. Then, in 1986, they added tiny white "slivers" where the rings crossed to make them more visible on TV screens. It wasn't until 2010 that they went back to the "classic" look where the colors actually touch without the white borders.
Modern Displays and Technical Feats
Think about the London 2012 rings hanging from the Tower Bridge. Those things weighed three tons and were the size of a two-story house. Or the "glowing" rings that rose out of the stadium floor in Beijing. These aren't just logos; they are massive engineering projects.
In 2024, Paris put the rings on the Eiffel Tower. It sounds easy, but you're talking about mounting tons of steel and LED lights onto a 130-year-old national monument without drilling holes into the original structure. It took months of wind-tunnel testing just to make sure the "spectaculars" (as the IOC calls these giant displays) wouldn't act like a giant sail and knock anything over.
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Actionable Insights for Using Olympic Imagery
If you are a photographer, blogger, or designer, you need to be careful. Here is how you navigate the legal minefield:
- Editorial Use is Generally Safe: If you are writing a news story or an educational piece (like this one!), you can usually use images of the olympic rings under "Fair Use."
- Commercial Use is a Hard No: Do not put the rings on a T-shirt you plan to sell. Do not put them on your business website to show "support" for the team. The IOC's "Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act" in the US gives them more power than almost any other trademark owner.
- Avoid "Ambush" Phrasing: Even using words like "Olympic," "Go for the Gold," or "Medal" in your business advertising can trigger a cease-and-desist letter if you aren't an official sponsor.
- Stick to Original Assets: If you have permission or are using it for news, always use the high-res versions provided in the Olympic press kit. Don't try to "re-create" them in Canva; the proportions are specific and required.
The rings aren't just a logo; they are a weird mix of 20th-century idealism, strict corporate branding, and a dash of accidental mythology. They mean everyone, they mean peace (theoretically), and they mean very, very high-stakes business.
To stay compliant and respectful of the history, always treat the symbol as a singular entity rather than five separate parts. Ensure any visual representation maintains the exact overlap pattern—blue over yellow, black over yellow and green, and red over green—to reflect the official 1913 charter.