Olympic Pin Exchange

I'm heading to the Olympics next week and one of the great traditions that I am looking forward to taking part in is the Olympic Pin exchange. I am planning on collecting pins from around the world from fellow sports travelers and displaying them here at our Chicago office. I can't think of a better souvenir. So that got us talking here... how can our clients and staff start exchanging pins if we have no pins to start the exchange with? We know there will be plenty of pins to buy when we get there but they won't be anything related to us. So we created the first ever Sports Traveler Summer Games Trading Pin! If you purchased a travel package you will get some in your final document package to use to start your own pin collection with the world. See you in Beijing. Read this article I found online about more pin trading information....
See you in Beijing!

Check this out from http://english.cri.cn/4406/2008/06/11/[email protected]

The tradition of trading Olympic pins began in the early days of the Olympic movement, all the way back to 1896 in Athens. In the following years, national team officials wore their Olympic pins to display their nationality.

There are also a variety of officials pins, athlete pins and media pins to identify a person's status. At the end of the games, the wearers often exchange pins as a way of collecting souvenirs and making new friends.

In the following years, many Olympic partners began designing and selling Olympic pins, helping the tradition to grow and expand. Coca Cola is one of them. The company not only issues pins but has also built the first pin trading center for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Here is David Brooks, vice president of Coca Cola China.

"The Coca Cola Company for the 1976 Olympics did work to actually create an official pin trading to get the culture started creating pins and inviting not just officials and athletes, but also the spectators.

And the general public had also got involved in pin trading." The Olympic pin trading culture has become a distinct part of the Olympic Games. And it has grown from Olympics to Olympics. It was very big in Sydney, and also quite popular in Greece. And Mr. Brooks expects more from Beijing in this August.

"For 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Coka Company will be celebrating our 80th years of continuous Olympic sponsorship. So for us, it's a very important Olympics. We're looking forward to a lot of people buying pins, trading pins. And the value for us is in people exchanging, and greeting: 'Hello, Would you like to trade a pin with me? That creates a great human interaction within people. Where're you from? How's your country doing on the Olympics? How do you like Beijing? 'It gives a chance to break the eyes, and meet somebody else and have a fun, exchange with someone else. I'm looking forward this summer to see lots of scenes of young people, old people, especially people from different countries trading pins with each other, laughing with each other, having a fun time, because of the small link and small bridge that pin trading provided to people."

Because of China's large population of people who are passionate about the Olympic Games, the beverage Company has designed a series of pins with Chinese flavor. One of the new pins depicts the "Bird Nest" National Stadium.

Birds Nest Pin Set

Birds Nest Pin Set

"We have a very special agreement with the companies that own the Bird Nest National stadium, where the opening and close ceremony will be held. We have purchased the left of the steel to create Olympic pins. So for the first time every people can buy Olympic pin that is actually made of the same steel that the national stadium is made of. It will have a lot of souvenir value and monumental value for people."

For the Beijing Olympics, the company will place many pin trading locations around Beijing and China.

"For the first time ever, we're going to have a Coca Cola pin trading center inside the Olympic Village where all the athletes and officials live, right next to the main Olympic area in Beijing. There will be a small pin trading center where the athletes can buy the Water Pins to learn about the environment, learn about how to be better environmental ambassadors when they go back to their country. And that for us is a very important first step of bringing the pin trading and bringing these messages to the athletes as well."

David hopes that through the Olympic Pin programs in China, the values and culture of Olympic Pin Trading will be better understood by the Chinese people.

7 thoughts on “Olympic Pin Exchange”

  • C W Cadora

    Enjoyed your pin trading article so much.
    Thank you!!!

    Having worked in olympic broadcasting, I am off, at the last minute, to Beijing...this time not to work but just to enjoy the oneness of humanity, to help promote another green olympics, assist others with English, AND, yup, TRADE PINS!

    I know it will be hot so if you find air conditioned pin trading tents and have a minute to give me a heads up on best locations, would appreciate it. And yes maybe our olympic paths will meet.

    Carole

    Reply
  • anbritt

    I'm hearing that there will be a large pin exchange booth up by the Olympic Green. When we get there next week I will scout it out and post updates here.

    Reply
  • Sandy Scott

    Do the pins have to be Olympic related or can they be like a state flag?

    Looking to buy pins that people would want to trade for?

    Thanks,
    Sandy

    Reply
  • Jim

    I have a 1988 Calgary USA hockey olympic pin to trade for a 2016 Chicago bid pin. Any takers?

    Reply
  • Tom

    Tom from Kodak here. We have been doing pins for a while as well. Here are 20 years of them" Kodak Olympic Pins. We are doing blogs (with pix of course!) and more direct from Beijing here. I do have a Chicago bid pin too - maybe we can do a deal. ;-)

    Reply
  • Charlie

    I have a set of 1992 Kodak Winter Olympic pins set in a 5 x 7 frame. New condition. Would anyone be interested in having them???

    Reply
  • Baseball Pins

    Really interesting topic for discussing. Pin exchange now became a popular subject among people. Like Olympic Pins I'm also interested in Baseball Pins. I've a blog on this too. If you are interested then have a look on it and join me too. I'll very honoured too. Hope you will enjoy.
    Have a look on it : http://baseballtradepins.blogspot.in/

    Reply
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