International Olympic Committee

Olympic Games

Last modified: 2000-01-14 by rick wyatt
Keywords: olympic games | international olympic committee | international organization | rings |
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by Mark Sensen

The original summer games flag was presented by the city of Antwerp to the IOC and has traveled the world until some years ago (and now has a permanent home in Lausanne).
Herman De Wael, 28 February 1998

• Olympic Symbols' Meaning and Use
• Which Continent Each Ring Represents
• Commonwealth of Independent States 1992
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Portugal
• South African Olympic flag 1992
• Taiwan ("Chinese Taipei")
• Olympic Goofs

See also:

• International Paralympic Committee
• German Olympic flag 1952-64
• Netherlands Olympic Committee
• Olympic USA flag
• International Organizations
• International Olympic Committee Website

According to the Olympic Charta (updated 18/06/1996), the Olympic Symbol is made with 5 Olympic rings in one or several colors. (art. 12.1). When several colours, these are obligatiry B, Y, N, V, R. The rings are interlaced from left to right. B, N, R above, Y, V under.The whole forms a trapezium. The IOC (Internattional Olympic Comitee) has the official model which is reproduced in the charta. (art 12.2.) The symbol represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of the athlets of the whole world at the Olympic Games.

The flag is white without any border with the symbol in the middle. The model and proportions are those of the flag presented by Pierre de Coubertin at the Congress of Paris in 1914.(art. 13.)

An Olympic emblem is a drawing associating the Olympic rings to an other distinctive element. All drawing of Olympic Emblem shall be submitted to the executive Commission of the IOC for its approval. This approval is requested for any use of the emblem. (art. 15.)

All the rights on the olympic symbol, flag, motto and hymn are exclusively belonging to the IOC. (art. 17)

The IOC can take measures to protect juridically all the emblems and symbols said above, on the national or on the international level. Even if a NOC (National...) can have the protection of its emblems with a national law, this same NOC can only have rights on them after approval of the IOC. Each NOC is responsible in its country for the articles 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 and their application . It shall take measures to forbid any use or abuse of the symbol, flag...., which would be contrary to the rules of the Olympic charta. It shall also obtain the protection of the words "olympic" and "Olympiad" for the benefit of the NOC. The NOC can request at any time the help of the IOC to obtain the protection, as said above, of the symbol, flag, ... The NOC can only use the symbol, flag,... in their non lucrative activities, for that this use contribute to the developpement of the Olympic Movement and after they have received the approval of the executive Commission of the IOC. The IOC encourage, with the NOC of the countries of the world to use the olympic symbol on the stamps of the countries. The IOC can created one or several olympic emblems.

An emblem can be created by a NOC or a OGOC (Olympic Games Organisation Comitee). The executive comitee of the IOC can approve the drawing of an Olympic Emblem for that it consider that there isn't any confusion between the said emblem and the olympic symbol or other olympic emblems. The surface of an olympic symbol in an olympic emblem won't be superior to a third of the total surface of this emblem. At the same time, the olympic symbol included in an olympic emblem shall appear in its whole and shall not be modified. The emblem shall be drawn so that is shall be clearly identified as being the olympic emblem of a concerned country. The distinctive element of the emblem cannot be limited to the sole name or abbreviation of the name of the NOC or country. The distinctive element of the emblem cannot have a reference neither to the Olympic Games nor to a particular event which would give it a limit in the time. The distinctive element of the emblem shall not consist of motto, general expressions which are universally ort internationally recognized.

The same rules exist for the OGOC, the element being linked with the Olympic Games of one year only.

All the emblems shall be approved by the IOC. They have to be juridically nationally protected. The NOC shall proceed of a registration in the six months counting from the approval of the emblem by the executive comitee of the IOC and prove the IOC that this emblem has been registered Same for the OGOC.

The use of the symbol, flag, flame, motto, hymn for advertisement, commercial usage, or lucrative one shall be exclusively reserved for the IOC. The televisions can be authorized by the IOC to use the olympic symbol and emblem

(The text gives other regulations for the usage) of the symbol and emblem)
The flag, emblem and hymn adpted by a NOC to be used in its activities, including the olympic games shall be approved by the executive commission of the IOC. (art. 35)

There are several regulations concerning diverses usages, advertisement, etc.. as for instance the mascot of the Olympic Games which shall (here again) be approved by the IOC, because it is considered an Olympic emblem.

The use of the Olympic flag at the olympic games is regulated by the article 67 of the Olympic charta as well as the application text for the article 69 (opening and closing ceremonies). Interesting is the article 2.4. of this application text:

[Closing ceremony] "The mayor of the city [where the Olympic Games are taking place] is going to the President of the IOC on the podium and gives him, if this is the Summer games, the flag offered in 1920 by the Belgian Olympic Comitee (or if this is the winter games, the flag offered in 1952 by the city of Oslo). The president of the IOC gives it to the mayor of the next olympic city. This flag has to be exposed till the next Olympic games in the town hall of this last city."

So if anyone is going to Sidney soon or Salt Lake city, (s)he may see one of these flags in the town halls.

Pascal Vagnat, 11 December 1998
Source: Code du sport, 1ère édition, rédigée par Jean-Christophe Breillat, Frank Lagarde, Ghislaine Jeannine-Pagès, Jean-Pierre Karaquillo. Dalloz, Paris, 1997.

What ring stands for what continent?

Colorful explanations abound concerning the symbolism of the colored rings. Indeed, the number five refers to the number of continents, but no ring is identified with any continent. Also the colors together symbolize those found on most flags, but no single color symbolizes anything in particular.

All other explanations are totally fanciful interpretation post-facto and totally wrong.

Herman De Wael, 15 April 1999

The Commonwealth of Independent States used only the Olympic flag in the 1992 Barcelona games, although at the opening ceremony the team walked into the stadium with the flags of all members of the "Unified Team" (as it was called officially, Georgia not being a member of CIS back then).
BTW Tajikistan still used its "Soviet flag"!
BTW2, on the European Football Championship in 1992 the CIS was represented with a white flag with in black letters C.I.S.

There are two Dutch Olympic flags: the Nederlands Olympisch Comite' (NOC, Dutch Olympic Committee) was founded after the Olympic Games of 1912. Before the committee existed only in the 6 months until the end of the Games. In 1959 it was split into two parts: for the Olympic sports the NOC,

(Flag of the NOC as depicted on a photo in Derwillem Vissers "De Nederlandse vlag in heden en verleden".)

Flag of the NOC*NSF as seen on Dutch TV some weeks ago.
Mark Sensen, 13 December 1997

The New Zealand Olympic Committee uses the five ringed Olympic flag, with a white silver fern leaf (outlined in black) in base, overlapping the yellow and green rings.
James Dignan, 15 December 1997

The logo of the Portuguese Olympic Committee is the Olympic rings with the 'Quinas' superimposed on the low rings. For those who do not know, the 'quinas' are the devices in the center of the portuguese COA, that is, the white shield with five blue shields within, each with five white dots.
Jorge Candeias, 14 December 1997

The flag of South Africa used on Barcelona 1992 games was, I guess, their national Olympic Committee flag - white with Olympic circles and wing-like shapes one behind the other in Olympic (or if you wish in the new South African) colors.
Zeljko Heimer, 1996

Taiwan is not recognized by the IOC because the People's Republic of China would pull out if it were. However, Taiwanese athletes can compete under the name "Chinese Taipei" using a different flag. I'm not sure if this flag is a national OC flag, or just something put together for this specific purpose.
Roy Stilling, 21 July 1996

Since we are on the subject of Olympic goofs, I would like to know if there is any truth to the one I heard on a television broadcast of the Games a dozen years ago or so. It supposedly occurred during one of the Games of the early 1900's, perhaps the first where Australia participated as an independent "entity." The Aussies weren't expected to do too well, and the Local Olympic Committee didn't think to procure Australia's flag (which was rather new at the time.) Apparently there was no "parade of nations" requiring each country's flag at the outset. When one of the chaps from Down Under actually did well enough to qualify for a medal, the LOC had a problem. In order have a flag for each of the three medal winner, they figured that "Austria" sounded a lot like "Australia," so they raised the red/white/red flag. (I would think that the British Union Flag would have been quite sufficient in this instance. I can imagine that some Irish competitors (from the southern counties) might strenuously object to being represented by the UJ, but how about the Australians?)
Nick Artimovich, 22 February 1996