The evolution of the Olympic logo
1896
Before there were logos, posters commemorated the Games. Athens Summer Games in 1896. (IOC)
The very first Olympic logo. Paris Summer Olympics in 1924. (IOC)
Los Angeles Summer Games in 1932. (IOC)
Lake Placid Winter Games in 1932 in New York. (IOC)
Berlin Summer Games in 1936. (IOC)
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Games in 1936 in Germany. (IOC)
London Summer Games in 1948. (IOC)
St. Moritz Winter Games in 1948 in Switzerland. (IOC)
Helsinki Summer Games in 1952. (IOC)
Oslo Winter Games in 1952 in Norway. (IOC)
Melbourne Summer Games in 1956 in Australia. (IOC)
There was even a year dedicated to equestrian. Stockholm equestrian events in the Summer Games in1956. (IOC)
Cortina d'Amperzzo Winter Games in 1956 in Italy. (IOC)
Rome Summer Games in 1960. (IOC)
Squaw Valley Winter Games in 1960 in California. (IOC)
Tokyo Summer Games in 1964. (IOC)
Innsbruck Winter Games in 1964 in Austria. (IOC)
Mexico City Summer Games in 1968. (IOC)
Grenoble Winter Games in 1968 in France. (IOC)
Munich Summer Games in 1972 in West Germany. (IOC)
Sapporo Winter Games in 1972 in Japan. (IOC)
Montreal Summer Games in 1976. (IOC)
Innsbruck Winter Games in 1976 in Austria. (IOC)
Moscow Summer Games in 1980 in Soviet Union. (IOC)
Lake Placid Winter Games in 1980 in New York. (IOC)
Los Angeles Summer Games in 1984. (IOC)
Sarajevo Winter Games in 1984 in Yugoslavia. (IOC)
Seoul Summer Games in 1988 in South Korea,. (IOC)
Calgary Winter Games in 1988 in Canada. (IOC)
Barcelona Summer Games in 1992. (IOC)
Albertville Winter Games in 1992 in France. (IOC)
Lillehammer Winter Games in 1994 in Norwar. (IOC)
Atlanta Winter Games in 1996. (IOC)
Nagano Winter Games in 1998 in Japan. (IOC)
Sydney Summer Games in 2000. (IOC)
Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002. (IOC)
Athens Summer Games in 2004. (IOC)
Turin Winter Games in 2006 in Italy. (IOC)
Beijing Summer Games in 2008. (IOC)
Vancouver Winter Games in 2010 in Canada. (IOC)
London Summer Games in 2012. (IOC)
Sochi Winter Games in 2014 in Russia. (IOC)
This year’s logo for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games in 2016. (IOC)
The 2016 Rio Olympics are right around the corner! The Olympics unify a variety of athletes from all over the world every two years. Yeah, big deal. The Olympic rings remains consistent each year, but a unique logo is created by designers to distinguish the two-week series of events that are the Olympic Games. It’s an honorable process, really, because this is the bottom line: Designers have the opportunity to create a piece of history that represents a memorable moment in time. So how have the logos evolved over the years? Let’s take a look.
