Souvenir Plate - Melbourne Olympic Games 1956

The Olympic flag was created in 1914 under the guidance of Baron de Coubertin of France. The Olympic Rings on the flag consist of five interlocking rings, coloured blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field. The symbol was originally created in 1913 by Coubertin. Although the colors of the rings were later said to be representations of individual continents, Coubertin originally only meant the number of rings to "represent the five parts of the world now won over to Olympism." According to Coubertin, the colours of the rings, along with the white background, represented the colours of every competing country's flag at the time.