Agree, we are accustomed to taking some events for granted, without really thinking about the history of their occurrence or their characteristic features.

Perhaps the Olympics should be considered a similar global event. But every time sports competitions of this kind attract the attention of not even hundreds, but hundreds of thousands of devoted sports fans around the world.

Incredibly, they have been held for 118 years, and now both the flame and the rings of the Olympic Games are already commonly perceived.

What do these symbols mean and why did they become iconic? Perhaps not every modern person can answer this question.

Section 1. Olympics today

In general, the Olympics should be understood as a sporting event of an international scale in which thousands of athletes from different countries compete.

There are summer and winter seasons that take place alternately every two years. That is, purely theoretically, it can be calculated that events of this kind are organized only in even-numbered years. And if in 2014 the Olympics were winter, then the next, already summer, will be held in 2016. By the way, according to the decision of a special commission, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) has been entrusted with hosting it.

Section 2. Five rings of the Olympic Games as the main symbol of the competition

A white flag with characteristic symbols... At a certain moment, as if by magic, it appears everywhere: on buildings, on sports and casual clothing, interior items and even on children's toys.

The snow-white background symbolizes world peace. And this is far from accidental, because for a long time during the Olympics, military actions and conflicts stopped and are stopping throughout the planet.

The number of games placed on the flag is also very well thought out. They are colored yellow, blue, black, red and green.

First of all, we note that the rings of the Olympic Games symbolize the five continents of the planet: America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Why is this so, since the globe consists of six? The fact is that Antarctica and the Arctic, due to their uninhabitation, were not taken into account when developing the symbol.

Oh those Olympic rings! What they mean was invented a little later. Today, even schoolchildren can tell that each part of the world is correlated with its own specific color. Europe is blue, Africa is black, America is red, Asia is yellow, Oceania is green.

Section 3. Emblem of the Olympic Games: rings and the history of their origin

This symbolic sign was developed in 1912 by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. The emblem was adopted in 1914, although it should be noted that it debuted much later, only in 1920, at the Olympics in Belgium. It was originally planned that the world would see the flag decorated with the new symbol in 1916, but the First World War prevented the main events from taking place.

It is hardly worth mentioning that immediately after their appearance, the rings were liked and became an integral attribute of the Olympics. In subsequent years they were used to create various logos related to the Games.

Section 4. Has the symbol been modernized?

Oddly enough, yes. And the Olympic rings underwent the biggest changes at the 1936 Olympics, held in the German capital Berlin.

Firstly, the rings were not arranged in two rows as usual, but in one. Their location is slightly similar to the traditional one due to the fact that the first, third and fifth of them were raised compared to the second and fourth.

Secondly, both the rings and the eagle holding them were made in black and white. In subsequent years, the monochrome version of the Olympic Games logo was used quite often, but the arrangement was no longer changed.

In 1960, in Italy, game artists made the rings three-dimensional. It was made in gray color. The rings were located under the Roman she-wolf, which, according to legend, suckled Romulus and Remus, who founded Rome. By the way, it was in that year that a new tradition was introduced - hanging medals around the necks of athletes.

The Mexicans, who hosted the Games in 1968, approached the creation of the Olympic logo no less creatively. This time, as a symbol of the Olympic Games, the rings were inscribed in the inscription “Mexico City 68” and highlighted in color. The lower rings were part of the number 68.

Section 5. The unopened ring of the Sochi Olympics

But not everything is as smooth as it might seem at first glance. The rings of the Olympic Games, which represent the five inhabited continents of the planet, have not always been a success. Some things were condemned, some things were welcomed, and there were also things that went down in history.

A small technical incident with the rings occurred at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi (Russia).

According to the plan, during the show, large snowflakes hanging over the Fisht stadium were supposed to transform into Olympic rings. But only four were revealed. One ring remained hanging like a snowflake.

However, Russian television viewers did not see this hitch, since the organizers realized what was happening a little earlier than the others and broadcast footage from the rehearsal.

During the closing of the Olympic Games, this incident with the unopened ring was ironically played out. At the beginning of the ceremony, the show participants formed a composition with five rings and one snowflake, which quickly opened after a few seconds.

Section 6. Other symbols of the Olympics

It should be noted that, in addition to the official flag and rings, there are also other symbols of the Olympics.

• Fire. The tradition of lighting a torch was taken by Coubertin in 1912 from the ancient Greeks. The Olympic flame is a symbol of purity, the struggle for victory and self-improvement. It was first lit in 1928. The relay to pass the torch to the city where the Game is being held began in 1936.
• Medals. For first place the athlete is awarded a gold medal, for second - a silver, for third - a bronze. They are awarded to the winners after the competition at a special ceremony.
• Motto"Citius, Altius, Fortius" can be translated into Russian as "Faster, higher, stronger." These words were first spoken by the priest Henri Martin Didon during the opening of sports competitions in college. Coubertin thought that this phrase perfectly reflects the essence of the Olympic Games.
• Oath, according to which the participants of the Games must respect and comply with the established rules. Its text was written by Pierre de Coubertin and was first performed in 1920.
• Olympic principle was also defined by Pierre de Coubertin in 1896. It says that in the Olympic Games, as in life, the main thing is not victory, but participation.
• Opening ceremony of the games- the most solemn part. It hosts a parade of athletes from all countries participating in the competition. The Greek team goes first, then the countries' teams according to the alphabet, and the last goes the team of the country organizing the Games.

Section 7. Interesting facts about the Olympic Games

According to the decree, gold medals must contain at least 6 grams of pure gold in the form of coating.

On Olympic Games logos, the year is usually written in four or two numbers (Athens 2004 or Barcelona 92). In the entire history of the Games, only once in 1960 in Rome was the year written in five letters (MCMLX).

During the Great Depression in 1932, the Brazilian government could not find the money to send a delegation to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. As a result, 82 Brazilian athletes were put on a ship with coffee in order to bring them to America with the proceeds. When the ship arrived at the port of San Pedro, its leaders demanded to pay one dollar for each person who came ashore. Only those who had a chance to receive a medal were released from the ship. He then went to San Francisco to sell coffee and was able to drop off a few more athletes, but 15 athletes returned back to Brazil.

In 1956, the Summer Olympics were held in Melbourne, which was unable to host some sports. Australian quarantine regulations prohibited the import of horses, and equestrian events had to be held in Stockholm.

Section 8. Let's look into the future

As already reported above, the next Olympic Games will be held in Brazil, in the world famous holiday city of Rio de Janeiro.

This carnival capital knows how to do more than just surprise. It literally amazes every traveler, which means there is no doubt that the 2016 Olympics will be another amazing event.

Whether the rings of the Olympic Games will undergo changes, which signify the unity of the planet, is not yet known, since such details are usually a secret part of the opening ceremony.