5 Olympic rings as a symbol

One of the most recognizable symbols in the world is the five Olympic rings, and its uniqueness lies in the simplicity of execution, which is why many sports fans depict it on their faces and in their hairstyles. The rings are arranged in a W-shaped order. Their colors (from left to right): blue, black, red, yellow and green. The Olympic emblem was first introduced in 1920 at the VII summer Olympic games in Antwerp (Belgium).

There are several theories about the origin and interpretation of such a popular emblem. The main version is a symbolic image of the unity of 5 continents, which was invented in 1913 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Until 1951, it was widely believed that a single color corresponds to a single continent. In particular, Europe-blue, Africa-black, America-red, Asia-yellow, Australia-green, but since the mid-twentieth century (in order to move away from racial discrimination) refused such a distribution of colors. In favor of the theory of the unity of all Nations is also the fact that the flag of any state contains at least 1 color of the emblem.

Another version says that the idea of 5 colored rings is taken from the psychologist Carl Jung. It was he who, during his passion for Chinese philosophy, combined the symbol of greatness and vital energy (circle) with 5 colors reflecting the types of energies (water, wood, fire, earth and metal). In 1912, the psychologist also introduced his own image of Olympic competitions - modern pentathlon. In his opinion, all Olympians had to own each of 5 types-swimming (water element – blue color), fencing (fiery – red), run on the cross – country terrain (terrestrial – yellow), equestrian sports (element of a tree - green) and firing (element of metal-black).

When developing a personal emblem for each Olympic games, this symbolism of 5 rings is always used. Due to its versatility, the rings are perfectly combined with other image components. National Olympic committees have their own official emblems, but their image is also necessarily present 5 Olympic rings.