Transcript SYMBOL
SYMBOLS • The Olympic symbols are icons, flags and symbols used by the International Oympic Committee to promote the Olympic Games. • The Olympic motto is: Citius, Altius, Fortius, which is Latin for “ Faster, Higher, Stronger”. The motto was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin on the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894. • A more informal but well know motto, also introduced by Coubertin, is “The most important thing is not to win but to take part!”. • SYMBOL The symbol of the Olympic Games is composed of five interlocking rings. The symbol was originally designed in 1912 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, co-founder of the modern Olympic Game. According to Coubertin, the ring colours with the white background stand for those colours that appeared on all nation flags that competed the Olympic games at that time. The Olympic symbol represent the union of the five regions of the world and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games. The colour corresponded to a particular continent: blue for Europe, yellow for Asia, black for Africa, green for Australia and Oceania and red for America. SYMBOLS FLAME AND TORCH RELAY The modern tradition of moving the Olympic Flame via a relay system from Greece to the Olympic venue began with the Berlin Games in 1936. Months before the Games are held, the Olympic Flame is lit on a torch, with the rays of the Sun concentrated by a parabolic reflector, at the site of the Ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. The torch is then taken out of Greece, most often to be taken around the country or continent where the Games are held. The Olympic torch is carried by athletes, leaders, celebrities and ordinary people alike, and at times in unusual conditions, such as being electronically transmitted via satellite for Montreal 1976, or submerged underwater without being extinguished for Sydney 2000. On the final day of the torch relay, the day of the Opening Ceremony, the Flame reaches the main stadium and is used to light a cauldron situated in a prominent part of the venue to signify the beginning of the Games. MEDALS The Olympic medals awarded to winners are another symbol associated with the Olympic games. The medals are made of gold-plated silver (commonly described as gold medals), silver, or bronze, and awarded to the top 3 finishers in a particular event. Each medal for an Olympiad has a common design . From 1928 until 2000, the obverse side of the medals contained an image of Nike, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner's crown in her right. This design was created by Giuseppe Cassioli. For each Olympic games, the reverse side as well as the labels for each Olympiad changed, reflecting the host of the games. In 2004, the obverse side of the medals changed to make more explicit reference to the Greek character of the games. In this design, the goddess Nike flies into the Panathenic stadium, reflecting the renewal of the games.