| Year |
Host City |
Olympic Pin Activity |
| 1896 |
Athens |
At the first modern Olympic Games, judges and officials used primitive
precursors to today's pins -- cardboard disks imprinted with their appropriate
titles. The first team pin was already existing by German team. |
| 1900 & 1904 |
Paris('00) & St.Louis('04) |
Pins commemorating the World Expositions of 1900 and 1904 were created
for the Olympics of Paris and St.Louis. However; these pins did not depict an
Olympic theme. |
| 1908 |
Sweden |
The first National Olympic Committee (N.O.C.) pin was released for the
1908 Games in Sweden, Czechoslovakia and some other countries. |
| 1908 |
London |
For the first time, official pins of different styles and colors are
created for various groups, such as the IOC and the press. Many of the badges
resemble fine jewelry, with scalloped edges and a variety of colors. |
| 1912 |
Stockholm |
A milestone -- the first souvenir and official Olympic Games pins are
produced for sale to spectators. Among the most popular -- a representation
of the Stockholm Games poster. It sold for 1.50 kroner and today sells for
about $100-150US. |
| 1924 |
Paris |
Due primarily to the presence of the first Olympic Village, athletes
and officials widely trade pins for the first time. The first media badges
were produced. |
| 1928 |
Amsterdam |
The first sponsors pins appeared in 1928 in Amsterdam. |
| 1932 |
Lake Placid & Los Angeles |
The Great Depression greatly reduces the number of spectator pins available
to the public. In Lake Placid, only two versions of souvenir pins are available. |
| 1936 |
Garmisch-Parterkirken |
More media pin was produced for the press to be used for identification
purposes. |
| 1936 |
Germany |
More than 1 million souvenir pins are sold to the public between 1933 and 1936 to
help underwrite both the Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Summer Games in
Berlin. Pins from the Berlin Games are among today's most sought-after. |
| 1940 |
Japan |
Although both the Winter and Summer Games, scheduled for Sapporo and Tokyo, are canceled
due to World War II, pins are produced. Not surprisingly, these have become some of the rarest
and most valuable Games pins. |
| 1948 |
London |
The London Summer Games Organizing Committee bolsters the status of pins by urging the competing
nations to limit the numbers of pins issued to their participants and staff. |
| 1952 |
Helsinki |
The first corporate sponsor pin was produced by a Finnish margarine maker for the Helsinki Games.
This one inch pin is referred to as the "Daisy Olympic Ring" due to its unique design. |
| 1960 |
Squaw Valley |
The popularity and availability of Olympic pins increases. A second sponsor pin is released
by Sylvania Electric that features a microphone juxtaposed with the Olympic Rings. As to American
media or network pins, in 1960 UPI pin was produced for Sq. valley Games. |
| 1964 |
Innsbruck |
The oldest known media pin produced for an American network was the
American Broadcasting Company (ABC) pin released in association with the
games in Innsbruck. |
| 1968 |
Mexico City |
These Olympic Games features the debut of the type of the pin that has become the norm, featuring
a butterfly clutch to secure the pin to clothing. |
| 1972 |
Sapporo |
The Coca-Cola Company releases its first Olympic pin. |
| 1976 |
Montreal |
The Coca-Cola Company releases its second Olympic pin which features the
Canadian Maple Leaf and the Trademark of Coca-Cola. |
| 1980 |
Lake Placid |
Pin trading comes into its own, with thousands of "pinheads" roaming up and down Lake Placid's Main
Street in an atmosphere described as "manic." The first Olympic Pin Club is formed in 1982, The Olympin'
Collectors Club.
|
| 1984 |
Los Angeles |
An estimated 17 million pins in nearly 1,300 designs are traded. Ten thousand
people per day swarm an area set up across from the Los Angeles Coliseum to
buy, sell and trade pins at the first pin trading center sponsored by Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser).
The first official pin collector's guide is published. |
| 1988 |
Calgary |
In Calgary, The Coca-Cola Company sponsors the first Coca-Cola Olympic Pin Trading Center, visited by 17,000 people a day. |
| 1988 |
Seoul |
The Coca-Cola Company sets up two official pin-trading centers near athletic venues. |
| 1992 |
Albertville |
The first countdown (Days-to-Go) pins were released in association with
the Albertville Games. In addition to running the Official Olympic Pin
Trading Centre in the town of Albertville (to which 350,000 visits were made
during the Games), Coca-Cola tours two "Pin Mobiles," vans specially
outfitted to serve as selling and trading hubs for pins. More than 1 million
pins are exchanged through Coca-Cola's pin trading outlets. |
| 1992 |
Barcelona |
More than 2 million pins are traded by 500,000 enthusiasts visiting the Coca-Cola Official Olympic Pin Trading
Centres and Pin Mobiles. The most popular pins feature the Barcelona mascot, Cobi, and the U.S. basketball "Dream Team." |
| 1994 |
Lillehammer |
The Norwegian population of 4.4 million people purchase 17 million Olympic pins before the Games begin. An Olympic tradition,
the Coca-Cola Official Olympic Pin Trading Center once again is the center of pin trading activity. First Lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton and daughter Chelsea drop by to trade presidential-seal pins. Coca-Cola creates a sensation by introducing the "Pin of the Day,"
for which buyers line up an hour before the Pin Trading Center's 10 a.m. opening. Limited to 1,000 daily, the pins feature designs
commemorating Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Valentine's Day, and other significant events. |
| 1996 |
Atlanta |
More than 1.2 million people visit two Coca-Cola Olympic Pin Trading Centers where an estimated three million pins change hands during
the Games. Pin fans line up daily to enter the location in Centennial Olympic Park, the most popular gathering place of the Games.
A number (2,175) of "students" received their MPA, "Masters of Pin Administration" and a limited-edition graduate pin from the first Coca-Cola
Olympic Pin Trading School. Entertaining and informative classes are held several times each day. Over 60 million pins in up to 10,000 designs
are sold in conjunction with the Atlanta Olympic Games. |
| 1998 |
Nagano |
The Coca-Cola Olympic Pin Trading Center is centrally located on the Main Street (Chou-dori Street) leading to the Zenkoji Temple and directly
across from the Medals Ceremony venue in Nagano City. It is estimated that the Coca-Cola Olympic Pin Trading Center will welcome 20 to 22 thousand
visitors a day during the Winter Games in Nagano. |
| 2000 |
Sydney |
The Sydney Organizing Committee currently receives 30,000 inquiries per week through its Internet website for information on Olympic pins and other
merchandise. A major pin manufacturer estimates that 30 million Olympic pins will be sold in conjunction with the Sydney Olympic Games. |
| 2002 |
SLC |
Olympic lapel-pin sales over the past 16 months (ending 9/98) have generated
twice as much revenue as Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) officials
projected. Retail sales of pins have exceeded $8 million since the SLOC's
official pin licensee introduced the first series for the 2002 Winter Games
on April 26, 1997. At that time, sales through the first 16 months were
projected to be closer to $4 million. Not everyone is collecting every SLC
pin any more. A lot of people started out with all of them. But now they're
focusing on theme pins like the Liberty Bell for the Fourth of July or the a
stagecoach with moving wheels. Since the SLOC unveiled its new logo, 28 pin
shows have been held and 500 new collectors have joined Utah pin clubs. |