Flags and Symbols (then and now) and The Countries involved in the Olympics.

The symbol for the olympics are the 5 multicolour rings. The colours represent all the different colours of the countries involved in the olympics.

The Olympic Motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius. Which means "Swifter, Higher, stronger." This motto is used with the Olympic Symbol which is the five coloured rings. The rings are interlocked to represent the sporting friendship of people from all over the world.

The five colors of the rings (black, blue, yellow, green, and red) were chosen because at least one of these colours appear in the flags of every nation of the world. The Olympic flag was first used in Antwerp in 1920, the five rings appear in the center of a white field.

The Olympic flame symbolizes the link between the ancient and modern games. By tradition the flame is carried by torch overland from Greece (except when it needs to travel over water) by a relay of athletes/people from participating countries. The games begin when the torch is used to light the flame signaling the beginning of competition.

At every Olympic Games opening ceremony an athlete from the host country takes the oath, "In the name of all the competitors l promise thatwe shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which governthem, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams"

Countries involved in the Olympic Games

At every Olympic Games that are held every several years, there are quite a number of countries that participate in this event. The countries are:

• Afghanistan
• Albania
• Algeria
• Andorra
  
• Angola
  
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Australia
• Austria
• Azerbaijan
• The Bahamas
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Barbados
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Belize
• Benin
• Bhutan
• Bolivia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
  
• Botswana
• Brazil
• Brunei
• Bulgaria
  
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cameroon
• Canada
• Cape Verde
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Chile
• China
• Colombia
• Comoros
• Congo, Republic
• Congo, Democratic Republic
• Costa Rica
• Cote dIvaire
  
• Croatia
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Djibouti
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• East Timor
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
  
• Estonia
• Ethiopia
• Fiji
• Finland
  
• France
• Gabon
• The Gambia
• Georgia
• Germany
• Ghana
• Greece
  
• Grenada
• Guatemala
  
• Guinea
  
• Guinea-Bissau
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
  
• Kenya
• North Korea
• South Korea
  
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Latvia
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Liechtenstein
  
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macedonia
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mali
• Malta
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Mexico
  
• Federated State of Micronesia
• Moldova
  
• Monaco
• Mozambique
• Myanmar(Burma)
• Namibia
• Nauru
• Nepal
  
• Netherlands
  
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Nigeria
  
• Norway
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Palau
• Panama
• Papa New Guinea
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Qatar
• Romania
• Russian Federation
• Rwanda
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
  
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Samoa
• San Marino
  
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
  
• Serbia and Montenegro
  
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Singapore
• Slovakia
  
• Slovenia
  
• Solomon Islands
  
• Somalia
  
• South Africa
  
• Spain
  
• Sri Lanka
  
• Sudan
  
• Suriname
  
• Swaziland
  
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Syria
• Taiwan
  
• Tajikistan
  
• Tanzania
  
• Thailand
  
• Togo
  
• Tonga
  
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tunisia
  
• Turkey
  
• Turkmenistan
  
• Uganda
  
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom (Great Britain)
  
• United State
  
• Uruguay
  
• Uzbekistan
  
• Vanuatu
  
• Venezuela
• Vietna
• Yemen
• Zambia
  
• Zimbabwe