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  • Can I use the Olympic rings?

    • The Olympic rings are the exclusive property of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). They are a mark protected around the world and cannot be used without the IOC's prior written consent.

      You can send a detailed request to legal@olympic.org which must include the below information:

      • Who is making the request? Name, full address, telephone and/or fax number, e-mail address. Organisation, company, museum or individual.
      • Which content is concerned? (texts, images or films)
      • How will the content be used? Private use (no broadcasting), school work, group activities, exhibition, production/broadcasting

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  • What is the meaning of the Olympic rings?

    • The Olympic symbol consists of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions, used alone, in one or in five different colours, which are, from left to right, blue, yellow, black, green and red. The Olympic symbol (the Olympic rings) expresses the activity of the Olympic Movement and represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games.

      But watch out, it is wrong to say that each of the colours corresponds to a certain continent! In fact, when Pierre de Coubertin created the Rings in 1913, the five colours combined with the white background represented the colours of the flags of all nations at that time, without exception.

  • What are the Olympic properties?

    • The Olympic properties are:

      • The Olympic symbol (rings)
      • The Olympic flag
      • The Olympic motto
      • The Olympic anthem
      • Olympic identifications (including but not limited to "Olympic Games" and "Games of the Olympiad")
      • Olympic designations
      • Olympic emblems
      • The Olympic flame and torches

      The International Olympic Committee (IOC) owns all rights on the Olympic properties.

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  • What is the Olympic motto?

    • The Olympic motto is made up of three Latin words :

      Citius - Altius - Fortius. These words mean Faster - Higher - Stronger.

      It was the Dominican priest Henri Didon who first expressed the words in the opening ceremony of a school sports event in 1881. Pierre de Coubertin, who was present that day, adopted them as the Olympic motto. It expresses the aspirations of the Olympic Movement not only in its athletic and technical sense but also from a moral and educational perspective.

      The Olympic motto is an Olympic property.

  • Who wrote the Olympic anthem?

    • The music for the Olympic anthem was composed by Spiros Samaras, to words by Kostas Palamas, for the first Games in Athens in 1896. Various musical arrangements went on to be played at the opening ceremonies. In 1958, in Tokyo, the IOC Session decided that the Samaras/Palamas composition would be the official Anthem as of the 1960 Games (Squaw Valley and Rome).

      The Olympic anthem is one of the Olympic properties:

  • Is it possible to obtain an Olympic flag?

    • The Olympic flag is an Olympic property. Its use is reserved for the Olympic Games. For this reason, it cannot be made available for public use.

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  • What is the Torch relay?

    • A few months before the opening of the Olympic Games, a flame is lit at Olympia, in Greece. The location recalls the link between the Ancient Olympic Games and their modern counterpart. From there, the Flame is carried for a number of weeks to the host city, mainly on foot by runners, but also using other forms of transport.

      Throughout the Torch relay, the flame announces the Olympic Games and spreads a message of peace and friendship between peoples. The Torch relay ends at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The final runner (or sometimes runners) enters the stadium and lights the cauldron with the Olympic flame. The Games can then begin!

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  • Who created the Olympic rings symbol?

    • The Rings appeared for the first time in 1913 at the top of a letter written by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. He drew and coloured the rings by hand.

      In the Olympic Review of August 1913, he explained that "These five rings represent the five parts of the world now won over to Olympism and ready to accept its fertile rivalries. Moreover, the six colours thus combined reproduce those of all the nations without exception."

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  • When was the first Olympic torch relay held?

    • For the Summer Games, the first Olympic torch relay was in 1936. Reviving the idea of the torch races in Ancient Greece, the Secretary General of the Organising Committee for the Games in Berlin, Carl Diem, proposed that a flame be lit at Olympia and then relayed on foot to Berlin. That year, more than 3,000 athletes from seven countries took part in the relay.

      For the Winter Games, the first Torch relay was at the 1952 Games in Oslo. It did not begin in Olympia, Greece, but in the Morgedal valley in Norway. It is only since the 1964 Games in Innsbruck that the relay has started in Olympia.

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  • What was the Olympic Torch Relay Rio 2016 route?

    • Following the traditional Olympic flame lighting ceremony at Ancient Olympia in Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games, the 21st of April, the Torch Relay Rio 2016 travelled across Brazil for 95 days as from the 3rd of May.

      In Brazil, the Olympic flame was transported 20,000 kilometers by road, 10,000 km by air and carried by 12,000 torchbearers.

      The relay visited 329 towns and cities, crossing all five regions of Brazil and reaching 90 per cent of its population. It concluded during the Opening Ceremony at the Maracanã Stadium on 5 August.

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  • What is the design of the Rio 2016 Summer Games Torch?

    • The innovative design of the Rio 2016 torch, which is inspired by the warmth of the Brazilian people, features moveable segments that expand vertically to reveal the colours of Brazil when the Olympic flame is passed from one torchbearer to another. The triangular shape of the torch, meanwhile, alludes to the three Olympic Values of excellence, friendship and respect, while the floating effect of its different segments represents the efforts of the athletes.

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  • Who are the mascots for the Rio 2016 Games?
  • What is Olympism?

    • Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.

      The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

      Olympism in action includes six global activities:
      Sport for All, Peace through Sport, Development through Sport, Women and Sport, Education through Sport as well as Sport and Environment.

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  • What are the values of Olympism?

    • The three values of Olympism are excellence, friendship and respect. They constitute the foundation on which the Olympic Movement builds its activities to promote sport, culture and education with a view to building a better world.

  • What is the Olympic creed ?

    • "The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well."


      Inspired by the words of the Bishop of Pennsylvania, Ethelbert Talbot, Pierre de Coubertin first spoke this phrase in a slightly different form at a reception given by the British government on 24 July 1908. It went on to become the Olympic Movement’s creed.

  • What is the Olympic Charter?

    • “The Olympic Charter is the codification of the fundamental principles of Olympism, and the rules and bye-laws adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It governs the organisation, actions and functioning of the Olympic Movement and establishes the conditions for the celebration of the Olympic Games.”

      The Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter are based on a document written by Pierre de Coubertin in around 1898. The first edition was published in 1908 under the title of Annuaire du Comité International Olympique. The Olympic Charter was later known by other names, including “Olympic Rules”, before finally taking the name Olympic Charter in 1978.

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Olympic documents

Visit the Olympic.org documents repository to find a list of all documents published on this website. This section contains the major reports, studies, publications and information regarding the Olympic Movement.

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Olympic studies

The IOC Olympic Studies Centre is the world source of reference for Olympic knowledge. As an integral part of the IOC, we are uniquely placed to provide the most accurate, relevant and up-to-date information on Olympism.

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