Every
four years, the world unites to celebrate the Summer Olympics, and summer 2012 will
be no exception. However, this year’s Summer Olympics will not arrive without
controversy regarding its logo.
When the logo for both the London
Summer Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games was first unveiled in June 2007,
there was immediate controversy. According to a BBC poll given shortly after
the logo’s release, approximately eighty percent of voters strongly disliked
the design. Some expressed dislike because they believed that it looked similar
to the Nazi swastika. Others argued that the logo, which was designed by
well-known brand consultancy Wolff Olins, was too universal and should contain
a symbol that represents London such as the Tower of London or Big Ben.
The largest recent controversy,
however, was in early 2011 when Iran threatened to withdraw from the Summer
2012 Olympics because they claimed that the logo is racist. The Iranian
government has contended that the logo spells Zion, a biblical reference to
Jerusalem, and thus suggests pro-Israeli sentiments. As of yet though, Iran has
not chosen to boycott the 2012 Olympic Games.
I agree with the logo’s protestors
that it is not aesthetically appealing in its blue, green, orange, and pink
design. London 2012 Olympic Chairman Lord Sebastian Coe has stated that the
color palette was chosen in hopes of appealing to younger generations, but, as
a member of one of these generations, the colors do not pique my interest. I
believe that a much more attractive design could have been created for the same
price of 400,000 euros. Still, despite dislike for the physical appearance of
the logo, I realize its significance, and I hope that others who dislike the
appearance can also appreciate its importance.
The purpose of the Olympic logo is
to be a symbol which unites the world. Do we really need to make such a big
deal out of what we see the logo as? So what if the London 2012 design does not
show a London-unique feature? Isn’t the logo supposed to be universal? So what
if you interpret the logo as this or that? Can you please just accept the fact
that a logo is a logo and nothing more? The creators of the design wanted the
figure to represent 2012, and citizens of various countries around the world
need not interpret it in different ways.
After all, the Summer Olympic Games
only come every four years. We cannot let our discontent over the logo
overshadow the importance of its purpose.
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