Physical Education · Ch 2 — Olympic Value Education
The Olympic Flag
The Olympic Flag
The Olympic flag was created by Baron Coubertin in 1913 and released in 1914. It has a plain white background without any border, with the Olympic symbol of the five interlocked rings placed in the centre.
In Coubertin's own words (1931): "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." The six colours referred to are the five ring colours plus the white of the background - between them they contain a colour from the flag of every nation on earth.
First use and the "Antwerp flag"
The flag was hoisted for the first time in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium. The white stands for peace, and the flag as a whole symbolises the peaceful coming-together of the world's nations under the Olympic ideal.
The actual flag flown at Antwerp in 1920 has its own famous story: American diver Hal Haig Prieste, a member of the US team, took it as a souvenir after the Games and kept it quietly for 77 years. He finally returned it to the IOC in 1997, at the age of 103, and a replica now flies in its place while the original is preserved by the IOC.