The motto of the Olympics was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin. The motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius, which means "Swifter, Higher, Stronger" in Latin. The five interlocking rings on a white field represent the emblem of the Olympic Games. The colors are blue, yellow, black, green and red. De Coubertin originally created this emblem in 1913. In August of 1913, he stated "The emblem chosen to illustrate and represent the world Congress of 1914 ...: five intertwined rings in different colours - blue, yellow, black, green, red - are placed on the white field of the paper. These five rings represent the five parts of the world which now are won over to Olympism and willing to accept healthy competition." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_symbols

The interlaced rings came when Pierre de Coubertin was in charge of the USFSA. The flag was first seen at the VIIth Olympiad in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920. The union of five continents and the meeting of althetes from around the world, defines the Olympic symbol. Not one of these rings represents a specfic continent.

The Olympic flag has the emblem: "The Olympic flag [...] has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the centre : blue, yellow, black, green and red [...] This design is symbolic ; it represents the five continents of the world, united by Olympism, while the six colors are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the present time." (1931) Textes choisis II, p.470. At the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the Olympic flag is raised and it is then lowered at the closing ceremonies. Another flag is used for the Olympic Oath. At the closing of the Olympic Games the mayor of the city returns the flag to the president of the 10C. It is then passed on to the next city that holds the Olympic Games. The Olympic Anthem, also known as the Olympic Hymn, was composed by Spyros Samaras and written by Kostis Palamas. The anthem was first performed in 1896 at the Athen Olympic Games. The years that followed, every nation created a specfic Olympic hymn for their own games.

The reward of those athletes who won their sport was given a Kotinos, which is an olive branch interwined into a circle. The Kotinos was to be worn as if it were a crown. Not only did they get to wear the Kotinos, but the athletes also recieved a sum of money from their hometown. Now, instead of recieving the Kotinos, the athletes get to wear a gold medal around their neck.

Along with the Olympic Games there is an Olympic salute: "the right arm and hand are stretched and pointing upward, the palm is outward/downward." Also within the Olympic Games there is a mascot. The mascot is usually an animal native to the area or a human figure representing the culture heritage. The first mascot was the Misha in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Here are a list of the many mascots that were used:

1-1968 Winter Olympics, Grenoble

Schuss

2-1968 Summer Olympics,Mexico City

Red Jaguar, Paloma]

3-1972 Summer Olympics, Munich

Waldi, a dachshund dog

4-1976 Summer Olympics, Montréal

Amik, a beaver

5-1976 Winter Olympics, Innsbruck

Schneemann, a snowman representing the Games of Simplicity

6-1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid

Roni( female), and Ronny (male), raccoons whose face design resembles the hat and goggles used by competitors.

7-1980 Summer Olympics, Moscow

Misha, a bear cub

8-1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles

Sam the Eagle, a bald eagle, symbol of the United States

9-1984 Winter Olympics, Sarajevo

Vučko, a little wolf, symbolizing the desire of humans to befriend animals.

10-1988 Summer Olympics, Seoul

Hodori and Hosuni, two tigers

11-1988 Winter Olympics, Calgary

Hidy and Howdy, "The welcome bears", two polar bears representing Western Canadian hospitality. The bear siblings were the first dual mascots in the Olympic Games.

12-1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona

Cobi, a cubist Catalan Sheepdog

Petra, a stylized girl without arms, mascot to the 1992 Summer Paralympics.

13-1992 Winter Olympics, Albertville

Magique, a man-star/snow imp.

14-1994 Winter Olympics, Lillehammer

Haakon and Kristin, two Norwegian children dressed in traditional clothes

15-1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta

Izzy, an abstract figure

16-1998 Winter Olympics, Nagano

The Snowlets - Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki, four owls, one for each year between Olympic Games. Their names were chosen from public suggestions. The first part of each name can be combined phonetically to create the word "Snowlets".

Parabbit, a white rabbit with one red and one green ear, was the mascot for the 1998 Winter Paralympics.

17-2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney

Olly, a kookaburra representing the Olympic spirit of generosity. His name derives from Olympic.

Syd, a platypus representing the environment and the energy of the people of Australia. His name derives from Sydney.

Millie, an echidna representing the millennium, hence her name.

Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat, an unofficial mascot which upstaged the official mascots. Fatso was a wombat, representing Australians' propensity to take the mickey out of anything. During the Olympics Fatso gained de facto recognition and he appears in the official memorial at Olympic park while Olly, Syd and Millie do not. Designed by Paul Newell, Greig Pickhaver and John Doyle.

Lizzie, a Frill-necked Lizard was the mascot for the 2000 Summer Paralympics3. Her frill was shaped like the combined islands of Australia and Tasmania.

18-2002 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City

Powder, a snowshoe hare representing Faster

Copper, a coyote representing Higher

Coal, a black bear representing Stronger

Otto, an otter, was the mascot for the 2002 Winter Paralympics.

19-2004 Summer Olympics, Athens

Athena and Phevos, brother and sister, two modern children resembling ancient Greek dolls.

Proteas, a colorfully-striped seahorse, mascot to the 2004 Summer Paralympics

20-2006 Winter Olympics, Turin

Neve and Gliz, a humanized snow ball and ice cube respectively.

Aster, a snowflake along the same design as Neve and Gliz. Mascot for the 2006 Winter Paralympics.

21-2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing

The Fuwa, designed by Han Meilin. Put together, the five names form the Chinese phrase "Beijing huan ying ni", which means "Beijing welcomes you". The mascots consist of five figures:

Bèibei, with a fish design

Jīngjing, with a giant panda and lotus design

Huānhuan, the Olympic Flame

Yingying, with a Tibetan antelope design

Nīni, with a swallow design

Fu Niu LeLe, a multi-colored cow representing the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

22-2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver

Both Miga and Quatchi are the mascots for the Vancouver Winter Olympics, while Sumi is the mascot for the Vancouver Winter Paralympics.

Miga - A mythical sea bear, part orca and part kermode bear.

Quatchi - A sasquatch.

Sumi - An animal guardian spirit with the wings of the Thunderbird and legs of a black bear.

Mukmuk - A Vancouver Island marmot, Mukmuk is not an official mascot but acts as their sidekick. Mukmuk can only be found on the Official Vancouver 2010 Olympics Website.

Sara Jane