All sporting events have flags of some kind. There are those of the home team and those of the opposing team. Sporting event flags fly prominently at national and international events. In this case, it is usually the flag of the country that is waved frantically in the air. In terms of sporting event flags, no event can trump the Olympics. This custom flag is unique in its presentation. It is also highly symbolic in its meaning.
Flag Symbols
The Olympic Flag has a white background and features five intertwined rings. Each of them is in a different color. They are blue, yellow, black, green, and red. The blue ring is placed high on the left, positioning it closest to the flag pole.
The rings are representative of all nations. The interlacing of the rings symbolizes the universality of the Olympics and the coming together in competition of all the athletes at the games. It has meant this for close to a century.
A Brief History of the Olympic Flag
As far as event flags go, the Olympic flag has a very limited run. In fact, compared to several sports teams, it is of a later date. It was created in 1913. It only made its first appearance in an Olympic Stadium in 1920. These were the Antwerp Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. As a result, the Flag became known as the Antwerp Flag.
Its life was short-lived. When the games concluded, no one could find it. Consequently, a new one had to be made for the next Olympics in 1924 – the Summer Games in Paris. Nevertheless, since it was a duplicate, it still was referred to as the Antwerp Flag.
The Antwerp Flag remained the Olympic Flag until 1952. In that year, the Winter Olympic Games were in Oslo, Norway. A decision was made to create another Olympic flag. This one was for the Winter Games. From that point on, there were two separate event flags: one for the Summer Games and one for the Winter Games.
After a certain amount of time, each original Olympic Flag is retired. Many, including the now recovered original Antwerp Flag, reside in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. Between usages, these event flags are carefully folded up and preserved. In several cases, the copies not the originals are flown in the opening or closing ceremonies.
The Olympics is truly a special event. It is when flags from around the world are united under this banner. When it comes to event flags, this special event flag must be considered the most prominent of them all.
