The Olympic Order is the highest award of the Olympic Movement, created by the International Olympic Committee in May 1975 as a successor to the Olympic Certificate previously awarded. The Olympic Order originally had three grades (gold, silver and bronze), although the bronze grade was no longer awarded after 1984. The Olympic Order is awarded to individuals for particularly distinguished contribution to the Olympic Movement; there is a tradition that the chief organizer(s) of a particular Olympic Games would be awarded the Olympic Order in Gold at the Games' closing ceremony. The International Olympic Committee is an organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on June 23 1894 to reinstate the Ancient Olympic Games held in Greece between 776 BC to 396 AD. Its membership is 202 National Olympic Committees. ... For months before the Olympic Games, runners relay the Olympic Flame from Olympia to the opening ceremony. ...
The insignia of the Olympic Order is in the form of a collar (or chain), in gold, silver or bronze according to grade; the front of the chain features the five rings of the Olympic Movement, flanked on each side by a branch of laurel leaves emblem. Some trees and shrubs in the laurel family Lauraceae are called Laurel: Bay laurel Laurus nobilis, the original true laurel that is the source of bay leaves used as a seasoning. ...
On everyday occasions a small lapel badge, in the form of the five rings in gold, silver and bronze according to grade, may be worn instead.
The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, contests alternating with sacrifices and ceremonies honouring both Zeus (whose colossal statue stood at Olympia), and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia famous for his legendary chariot race, in whose honor the games were held.
The Olympic Flame is lighted in Olympia and brought to the host city by runners carrying the torch in relay.
The growth of the Olympics also means that some less popular (modern pentathlon) or expensive (white water canoeing) sports have to fear for their place on the Olympic programme.
The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the OlympicOrder to Sir Peter Blake, the famous New Zealand sailor who was tragically killed when pirates attacked his boat, Seamaster, on the Amazon River in December, 2001.
According to the IOC, the OlympicOrder was awarded "to pay tribute to Sir Peter Blake's outstanding sailing career and to his genuine passion for sport and adventure." An official presentation ceremony at which the Order will be presented to his family is still to be organised at a future date.
The IOC award the OlympicOrder to a person who has illustrated the Olympic ideal through his action, has achieved remarkable merit in the sports world, or has rendered outstanding services to the Olympic cause, either through his own personal achievement or his contribution to the development of sport.
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