Stockholm 1912 Olympic Poster

Following an artistic contest, the Organising Committee for the Stockholm 1912 Olympic Games chose the proposal of Swedish artist Olle Hjortzberg (1872-1959) as the official poster of the Games. This was the first time an official poster had been presented by organisers.

Hjortzberg was a wall painter and illustrator who specialised in Christian art. In this poster, he chose to represent the parade of nations, marching towards the common vision of the Olympic Games, with each athlete carrying a twirling national flag.

The unconventional design attracted criticism. The order of the flags was the first reason for disapproving comments. Additionally, the nudity of the depicted athletes – a reference to the ancient Games – was considered provocative, despite the addition of the ribbons to the original design. As a result, the 1912 Stockholm poster was not distributed in some countries. Nevertheless, it was printed in 16 languages and was circulated in 30 countries.