Olympic symbols 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 continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and America. 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": In his article published in the "Olympic Revue" the official
Olympic Games Games, at 324%. London 2012 had a cost overrun of 76%, Sochi 2014 of 289%. Many economists are sceptical about the economic benefits of hosting the Olympic Games, emphasising that such "mega-events" often have large costs while yielding relatively few tangible benefits in the long run. Conversely hosting (or even bidding for) the Olympics appears to increase the host country's exports, as the host or candidate country sends a signal about trade openness when bidding to host the Games. Moreover, research suggests that hosting the Summer Olympics has a strong positive effect on the philanthropic contributions of corporations headquartered in