Flag of the Olympics
Officially Olympic flag
What the flag looks like
A white field with five interlocking rings in the center: blue, black and red on top, yellow and green below.
What it means
The five rings stand for the union of the five inhabited continents; Pierre de Coubertin said the six colors, white included, could reproduce every national flag of his day.
How to remember it
Five linked rings on white, three on top and two below: blue, black and red over yellow and green.
Fun facts
- Pierre de Coubertin designed the flag in 1913, and it was first flown at the Games in Antwerp in 1920.
- At each closing ceremony the flag is handed from the host city's mayor to the mayor of the next host city.
Olympics at a glance
- Founded
- 1894
- Headquarters
- Lausanne
- Headquarters
- Lausanne
- Region
- Founded 1894
- Languages
- French, English
- Flag adopted
- 1914
Flags often confused with the Olympics
- Francophonie: The Francophonie and the Olympic flag are both white with five colored circles or arcs. The Olympics have five whole interlocking rings in two rows; the Francophonie has a single ring broken into five colored arcs.
- Paralympics: The Olympic and Paralympic flags are both white with colored symbols in the center. The Olympics have five interlocking rings; the Paralympics have three swooshes in red, blue and green.