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The Olympic Flags and Emblem

March 7, 2006

The Olympic Flag

Sam Sullivan and John Furlong inspect the Oslo flag moments after receiving it from TOROC During each Olympic Games, an Olympic Flag is raised during the Opening Ceremony and lowered during the Closing Ceremony. A second flag is used for the Olympic Oath. Special flags are kept in the city halls of cities organizing the Olympic Games. At the end of the Olympic Games, the mayor of the city that organized the Games returns the flag to the president of the IOC, who then passes it on to the mayor of the next city to host the Olympic Games. (This ceremony is known as the "Antwerp Ceremony" because it started there.) There are three such flags, differing from all other copies in that they have a six-coloured fringe around the flag, and are tied with six coloured ribbons to a flagstaff.

The Antwerp Flag

The Antwerp flag was presented to the IOC at the 1920 Olympic Games by the City of Antwerp, Belgium. At the Closing Ceremony of the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games, the flag was passed on to the next Olympic Games city, Seoul, and then retired. The Antwerp Flag is now on display at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Oslo Flag

Sam Sullivan receives the flag from IOC President Rogge. Getty Images.The Oslo flag was presented to the IOC at the 1952 Olympic Winter Games by the City of Oslo, Norway, and is passed on to the next organizing city of the Olympic Winter Games. Because it is so precious, and must be preserved for years to come, the Oslo flag is not used during the actual Closing Ceremony. Instead, a replica flag is traditionally used. The replica flag that was made famous by Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan on stage in Torino is now being kept at Vancouver City Hall.

The real Oslo flag was passed from the City of Torino to the City of Vancouver 'behind the scenes'. The Oslo flag is kept preserved in a special box that has brass plaques from all host cities attached to the inside of the beautifully decorated lid, and will be put on display at Vancouver City Hall for public viewing.

The large flag that was raised in front of Vancouver City Hall on February 28 was created especially for that purpose by the City of Vancouver. The flag is 25 feet wide by 16 feet high, and flies from a flagpole 80 feet tall. The flag is large enough and high enough that athletes from around the world will be able to view it from the Olympic Village during the 2010 Winter Games. This flag will be replaced several times between now and 2010, so that it always appears to be crisp and clean.

The Seoul Flag

The Olympic flag is lowered at the end of the Games. Getty Images.The successor to the Antwerp Flag, the Seoul flag was presented to the IOC at the 1988 Olympic Games by the city of Seoul, South Korea, and is passed on to the next organizing city of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Emblem

The Olympic Flag features the emblem of the Olympic Games - five interlocking rings (blue, yellow, black, green, and red) on a white field. This was originally designed in 1913 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. Upon its initial introduction, de Coubertin stated the following in the August 1913 edition of Revue Olympique:

'The emblem chosen to illustrate and represent the world Congress of 1914 ...: five intertwined rings in different colours - blue, yellow, black, green, red - are placed on the white field of the paper. These five rings represent the five parts of the world which now are won over to Olympism and willing to accept healthy competition.'

In his article published in the November 1992 edition of the Olympic Revue, the official magazine of the International Olympic Committee, the American historian Robert Barney explains that the idea of the interlaced rings came to Pierre of Coubertin when he was in charge of the USFSA (Unión des Societes Française de Sports Athletiques): The emblem of the union was two interlaced rings (like the typical interlaced marriage rings) and originally the idea of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung because for him the ring meant continuity and the human being.

'The Olympic flag [...] has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the centre : blue, yellow, black, green and red [...] This design is symbolic ; it represents the five continents of the world, united by Olympism, while the six colours are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the present time.' (1931) Textes choisis II, p.470.

The 1914 Congress had to be suspended due to the outbreak of World War I, but the flag and emblem were later adopted. They would first officially debut at the VIIth Olympiad in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920.

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