The Organising Committee of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has unveiled the ‘Look of the Games’ as well as the pictograms of the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines
Over the years, pictograms have become a determining part of the Look of the Games” says Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024
“During the Games, pictograms allow people from more than 200 nationalities to find their way into the heart of a country whose language or codes are usually unknown for them”
“At Paris 2024, the 62 pictograms of the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines will no longer be pictograms, but real badges of honour”
Each Paris 2024 pictogram is composed of three graphical elements: an axis of symmetry, a depiction of the ground and a representation of the sport that it illustrates.
There are three pictograms for the Equestrian disciplines, each showing four horse heads with separate elements in the middle depicting each discipline.
The Equestrian Eventing pictogram (middle) has a rider helmet, show jump and water, maybe symbolising the water jump on cross country (or maybe the canals of Versailles!)
Although graphical illustrations were used as far back as the Stockholm and Paris Games of 1912 and 1924 respectively, it was not until Tokyo 1964 that pictograms really emerged, with a broad range of symbols used to represent each sport for the first time.
Ever since then, each host country has endeavoured to increase the level of creativity, with Tokyo 2020 breaking new ground by devising a digitally animated version of each pictogram
