<P> The Olympic symbols are icons, flags and symbols used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to elevate the Olympic Games . Some--such as the flame, fanfare, and theme--are more commonly used during Olympic competition, but others, such as the flags, can be seen throughout the years . </P> <P> The Olympic motto is the hendiatris Citius, Altius, Fortius, which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger". It was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin upon the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894 . Coubertin borrowed it from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who was an athletics enthusiast . Coubertin said "These three words represent a programme of moral beauty . The aesthetics of sport are intangible ." The motto was introduced in 1924 at the Olympic Games in Paris . A more informal but well - known motto, also introduced by Coubertin, is "The most important thing is not to win but to take part!" Coubertin got this motto from a sermon by the Bishop of Pennsylvania during the 1908 London Games . </P> <P> The rings are five interlocking rings, coloured blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field, known as the "Olympic rings". The symbol was originally designed in 1912 by de Coubertin . He appears to have intended the rings to represent the five participating continents: Africa, Asia, America, Oceania and Europe . According to Coubertin, the colours of the rings together with the white of the background included the colours composing every competing nation's flag at the time . Upon its initial introduction, Coubertin stated the following in the August 1912 edition of Olympique: </P> <P>... the six colours (including the flag's white background) combined in this way reproduce the colours of every country without exception . The blue and yellow of Sweden, the blue and white of Greece, the tricolour flags of France, England, the United States, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Hungary, and the yellow and red of Spain are included, as are the innovative flags of Brazil and Australia, and those of ancient Japan and modern China . This, truly, is an international emblem . </P>

Why are the olympic rings the colors they are