Olympics then and now

The Olympic Flame

The Olympic flame is a practice continued from the ancient Olympic Games. In Olympia (Greece), a flame was ignited by the Sun and then kept burning until the closing of the Olympic Games. The flame first appeared in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.

The flame itself represents a number of things, including purity and the endeavor for perfection. In 1936, the chairman of the organising committee for the 1936 Olympic Games, Carl Diem, suggested what is now the modern Olympic Torch relay. The Olympic flame is lit at the ancient site of Olympia by women wearing ancient-style robes and using a curved mirror and the sun.

The Olympic Torch is then passed from runner to runner, from the ancient site of Olympia to the Olympic stadium in the hosting city. The flame is then kept alight until the Games have concluded. The Olympic Torch relay represents a continuation from the ancient Olympic Games to the modern Olympics.

The Official Olympic Flag

Created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1914, the Olympic flag contains five interconnected rings on a white background. The five rings symbolise the five significant continents and are interconnected to symbolise the friendship to be gained from these international competitions.

The rings, from left to right, are blue, yellow, black, green, and red. The colours were chosen because at least one of them appeared on the flag of every country in the world. The Olympic flag was first flown during the 1920 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Motto

In 1921, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend, Father Henri Didon, for the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius (“Swifter, Higher, Stronger”).

The Olympic Oath

Pierre de Coubertin wrote an oath for the athletes to recite at each Olympic Games.During the opening ceremonies, one athlete recites the oath on behalf of all the athletes. The Olympic oath was first taken during the 1920 Olympic Games by Belgian fencer Victor Boin.

The Olympic Hymn

The Olympic Hymn, played when the Olympic Flag is raised, was composed by Spyros Samaras and the words added by Kostis Palamas. The Olympic Hymn was first played at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens but wasn’t declared the official hymn by the IOC until 1957.

The First Opening Ceremonies

The first opening ceremonies were held during the 1908 Olympic Games in London.

Real Gold Medals

The 1936 gold medal	1896 medal(obverse and reverse)

The last Olympic gold medals that were made entirely out of gold were awarded in 1912.

The Medals

The Olympic medals are designed especially for each individual Olympic Games by the host city’s organising committee. Each medal must be at least three millimetres thick and 60 millimetres in diameter. Also, the gold and silver Olympic medals must be made out of 92.5 per cent silver, with the gold medal covered in six grams of gold.

Olympic medals have no standard design.