{"id":903,"date":"2014-02-06T14:49:37","date_gmt":"2014-02-06T19:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=903"},"modified":"2025-04-18T10:43:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T14:43:38","slug":"flag-of-global-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/flag-of-global-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Flag of global games"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Olympic
Olympic flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The start of the Winter Olympics reminds millions of people around the world that the games are draped in flags. Each nation marches into the stadium sporting its own standard, and the Olympics itself has a well-known banner.<\/p>\n

The Olympic flag is simple: five interlocked rings of different colors on a white background. \u201cThe five rings represent the five continents,\u201d says the official website of the games (www.olympic.org<\/a>). The six colors \u2013 blue, yellow, black, green, red and white \u2013 \u201crepresent all nations. It is a misconception\u2026 to believe that each of the colors corresponds to a certain continent.\u201d
\n
\nPierre de Coubertin, who is often dubbed \u201cthe father of the modern Olympic Games,\u201d said that \u201cthe six colors are those that appear[ed] on all the national flags of the world\u201d at the time the international banner was designed.<\/p>\n

According to the Olympics website, \u201cthe universality conveyed by the symbol and the flag was a new idea at the beginning of the 20th century. Nationalism was very strong and tension between certain countries was high. It was in this climate, however, that Coubertin proposed the symbol of the rings which aimed to encourage world unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the modern Olympics debuted in 1896, the flag didn\u2019t. Coubertin didn\u2019t devise the interlocked rings and the flag until 1914. The banner\u2019s public display was delayed due to World War I, which canceled the 1916 games, scheduled for Germany.<\/p>\n

\"A
A poster for the 1920 Olympics featured flags.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the Olympics returned in 1920, the new flag was finally raised over the stadium in Antwerp, Belgium, and flapped during the many sports. A news service article began its coverage this way: \u201cThe Olympic Stadium was opened today. It was a formal ceremony, staged with a setting of flags, banners and fluttering pennants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"In
In Antwerp in 1920, the Olympic flag flies for the first time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As for the American athletes, Pat McDonald, a New York City<\/a> policeman and track-and-field athlete, entered the stadium \u201cbearing aloft Old Glory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forty years later, at the 1960 games in Rome, a new tradition was added when the Olympic flag was carried into the venue for the first time. Previously, it had been hoisted and remained on its staff.<\/p>\n

Another flag-related tradition occurs at the end of the winter games. The Olympic standard is lowered, folded and handed to the mayor of the next host city. This year, the mayor of Sochi, Russia, will pass the colors to his counterpart in Pyeongchang, South Korea.<\/p>\n

The flag will wave there in 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The start of the Winter Olympics reminds millions of people around the world that the games are draped in flags. Each nation marches into the stadium sporting its own standard, and the Olympics itself has a well-known banner. The Olympic flag is simple: five interlocked rings of different colors on a white background. \u201cThe five… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[175,174],"class_list":["post-903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-olympic-flag","tag-olympics"],"yoast_head":"\nFlag of global games - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/flag-of-global-games\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flag of global games - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The start of the Winter Olympics reminds millions of people around the world that the games are draped in flags. 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