Paralympic symbols

The Paralympic symbols are the icons, flags and symbols used by the International Paralympic Committee to promote the Paralympic Games.

The Paralympic motto is "Spirit in Motion". The motto was introduced in 2004 at the Paralympic Games in Athens. The previous motto was "Mind, Body, Spirit", introduced in 1994.

The symbol of the Paralympic Games is composed of three "agitos", coloured red, blue, and green, encircling a single point, on a white field. The agito ("I move" in Latin) is a symbol of movement in the shape of an asymmetrical crescent. The Paralympic symbol was created by the Scholz & Friends agency and approved in April 2003.

The colours of the agitos with the white background stand for the three colours that are most widely represented in national flags around the world. The three agitos encircle a centre point, to emphasize "the role that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has of bringing athletes from all corners of the world together and enabling them to compete". The shape also symbolises the Paralympic vision "To Enable Paralympic Athletes to Achieve Sporting Excellence and to Inspire and Excite the World".

This Paralympic symbol was first used in publications and other products in 2003. Due to limited time before the 2004 Paralympic Summer Games in Athens, the new symbol was not used by participating delegations during the Games. At the 2004 Closing Ceremony however, the flag that was handed over to Beijing had the new symbol. The symbol was first used in a Paralympic emblem at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Torino.

The first designated Paralympic logo was created for the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul and based on a traditional Korean decorative component called a pa {Hangul: 파; Hanja: 巴}, two of which make up the taegeuk symbol at the center of the flag of South Korea. The first Paralympic flag used five pa arranged similarly to the Olympic Rings, but not interlocking, and in identical colors to the Olympic rings: blue, black, red, yellow and green.

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