First raising of the Olympic flag

Designed in 1914 by the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin (France), the Olympic flag was raised for the first time at the 1920 Games, held in Antwerp, Belgium. The flag features five interlaced rings that represent the different continents from which the Olympic athletes come, and its colours – blue, yellow, black, green and red, combined with the white background – were selected because the national flag of every country in the world contains at least one of them. Unfortunately, the flag was lost following the Antwerp Games and a replacement had to be made in time for Paris 1924.