Physical Education · Ch 2 — Olympic Value Education
Release of Doves
Release of Doves
After the Olympic cauldron is lit, doves are released into the air as a symbol of peace. This was first done at the 1896 Olympics, and again in 1920, and since 1920 it has been an official part of the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Games.
Why the dove
The dove has been a near-universal symbol of peace across many cultures long before the Olympics adopted it - from the dove released by Noah in the biblical flood story, to the olive branch the dove is traditionally shown carrying. The ancient Greeks themselves associated the sacred Olympic truce, the period of peace observed during the Games, with exactly this idea of conflict being set aside, so the modern release of doves deliberately echoes an ideal as old as the Games themselves.
When and how it is used
Doves are generally not released during the Winter Games, because it is too cold for the birds, so symbolic substitutes such as white balloons, paper doves or choreographed light and card displays are sometimes used instead.
The order matters - the cauldron is lit first, and only then are the doves released. When this order was reversed at the 1988 Seoul Games, many of the doves were still perched near the cauldron when it burst into flame, and a number of them were killed on live television - a lesson in ceremony sequencing that every subsequent Games has been careful not to repeat.