Essay Sample on China's Olympic Team Uniform During the Rio 2016 Olympics

Introduction

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hosted the Summer Olympics 2016 formally well-known as Rio 2016, was a worldwide event with several sports activities, which took place from 5th to 21st August. It hosted around 206 countries which took part in over 300 computations. The Olympic hosted more than 70000 volunteers who collaborated with the organizers of the event. Close to 85000 security officers were deployed to ensure that the security of the fans was taken care of. Some well-known sports were conducted among them being handball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball among others (Aslam and Mubeen 120).

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Moreover, some games which had initially not been played for about a hundred years in the Olympics before such as golf and rugby were played this time around. The sports events occurred in different areas of Rio. Different regions that best suited particular games were preferred for the games. Such areas as Copacabana, Barra, Deodoro, and Maracana were used where Copacabana was the area where volleyball took place, Deodoro was the center for aquatics and equestrian races, Barra was the location for Olympic Park and Macarena being area where the two big stadiums are located used as the venue for opening and closing the ceremony. Chinese used a "tomato and eggs" uniform in Rio during the 2016 Olympics. The male competitors wore a patterned tie, white shirts, and a red coat whereas the females had their version of uniforms which included yellow coat, a patterned skill scarf, a white shirt and white shoes alongside white skirts.

Some factors contributed to the selection of the particular colors of the uniform that the Chinese athletes opted in the Rio Olympic 2016. These factors were largely contributed by the beliefs, culture and political ideals of the Chinese people. The Chinese have a tradition of wearing red clothes during any celebrations.

This tradition is what propelled the athletes to want to wear the uniforms with red color since they believe that when they are in red garments, they have a feeling that they are wearing their national flag when they will step in the stadium, thus become psyched up more. Bearing in mind that the Chinese flag is a symbol of the communist revolution, and also a traditional color of the people, the Chinese athletes who participated in the Rio 2016 had no option other than to wear the uniform that matched their beliefs and felt wearing their national flag as they participated in various sports (Martin and Jorge 96).

It is believed that Red is the color of life and vigor, and it's a depiction that a country is red and prosperous. It is for this reason that the Olympic department of China opted for the color since it was believed to signify victory. The red flag of China comprises one big star that is surrounded by four smaller starts on the right side. On the political point of view, the flag and the stars had a major contribution to the selection of the Olympic uniform for China in the Rio 2016. This is because it is believed that the big star represents the leadership of the Chinese Communist party. On that note, the choice of the color of the uniform that incorporated the big star was crucial since it was meant to be an epitome of the Chinese leadership even during the Olympics. The red color also symbolizes the blood shed by the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of building the new China. This blood was used to dye the national flag of China (Curi).

The color of the uniform that the Chinese opted for the Rio Olympics 2016 had importance on the traditional aspect of the nation. This is because by the uniform bearing four small stars it represented the four traditional Chinese classes which have been in existence since Zhou dynasty. This means that with the selection of the color of the Olympic uniform the Chinese society was taken into account since the four main social classes were represented. These classes comprise the intellectuals who are scholars, scientists, educators and bureaucracy who were a representation of the society and the nation's intellectual leadership.

The social class of the farmers who are humble and uneducated are also represented. These are important people in the society since they produce food for the sustenance of the nation. The workers who are laborers who maintain the Chinese empire by constructing buildings to keep the country in order are also highlighted in the social class. The social class of merchants responsible for shipping products across the country is also represented in the Olympic uniform. The yellow color portrayed in the Chinese Olympic uniform had a symbolic meaning of the Chinese country`s yellow race (Holger).

Chinese people have their culture. Color plays a crucial role in Chine since it influences their beliefs and customs. It is this culture that dictates much of the activities they partake on a daily basis. Similarly, the same culture contributes to how they conduct their affairs. It is due to this beliefs that at the time of selecting Olympic uniform for Rio 2016 Olympics that China opted for the colors which were symbolic since according to their culture, every color is symbolic to a ceremony, festival, ritual or any other form of business they partake. The color of the uniform opted by the Chinese team during the Rio 2016 Olympics was greatly influenced by the belief that they have about colors. Chinese believe that red color is auspicious apart from just being popular. The color symbolizes luck, joy, and happiness. Thus they believed that they would win. The Rio games were held during the summer season and according to the Chines beliefs, red co; lour represents summer too and that it matched well with the Olympics (Starr).

Conclusion

In conclusion, It is true that color is a major factor to be considered in China during the performance of different ceremonies. As seen in the choice of the color of the Olympic uniform that they used during the Rio 2016, it is believed that choice of colors to wear during different ceremonies of Chinese people is greatly influenced by their cultural, political and social aspects. Being a country with a rich heritage, China chooses appropriate colors with every ritual and festivals since the colors play a crucial role when it comes to associating them to symbolic meanings. It is due to this fact that the Olympic team which set off to Rio to represent China in the Olympics game chose uniforms that had the color of "tomato and egg."

Works Cited

Aslam, Mubeen M. "Are you selling the right color? A crosscultural review of color as a marketing cue." Journal of marketing communications 12.1 (2006): 15-30.

Curi, Martin, Jorge Knijnik, and Gilmar Mascarenhas. "The Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro 2007: Consequences of a sports mega-event on a BRIC country." International Review for the Sociology of Sport 46.2 (2011): 140-156.

Masterman, Guy. Strategic sports event management. Routledge, 2014.

Preuss, Holger, and Christian Alfs. "Signaling through the 2008 Beijing Olympics-Using mega sports events to change the perception and image of the host." European Sports Management Quarterly 11.1 (2011): 55-71.

Starr, John Bryan. Understanding China: A Guide to China's Culture, Economy, and Political Structure. Macmillan, 1997.