(KTVX) — The Tokyo Olympics are finally here.
After being delayed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes from five continents are gearing up to compete for their countries.
Even before the opening ceremony, we’ve seen some of the Olympic views from Tokyo, including the interlaced Olympic rings.
The circles, which have been seen at Olympic Games since the early 1900s, are always of equal dimensions and are either in one color or five different colors: blue, yellow, black, green and red — in that order.
“The Olympic symbol 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,” according to the International Olympic Committee.
However, none of the rings is associated with a certain continent.
Instead, the five colors — combined with the white background — represent the colors of the flags of all the nations “without exception” participating in the Games when Pierre de Coubertin created the rings in 1913.
The IOC says the rings were not officially debuted until the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Belgium, despite being created in 1913.
Over the years, the rings have changed slightly — from no space between each circle to spaces and then again — but they continue to reflect the Olympic Games.
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