Can a logo describe the meaning of the Olympic Games?

As Rio de Janeiro prepares for the world's two most important sporting events – the 2014 Fifa Soccer World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games – Brazilians and foreign visitors alike describe what they feel when coming in contact with the Olympic games logo produced in 3D. It's like holding in your hands a piece of history yet about to be made.

The logo was created by Fred Gelli, creative director of Tátil Design in Brazil. Initially, the logo caused controversy and accusations of plagiarism surfaced. That happened because of the similarities between the Rio2016 logo and the Telluride Foundation logo, where similar colors and the idea of people holding hands make the two logos look like they came from the same family.

According to Gelli, however, the logo was examined and researched for six weeks as a measure to prevent such accusations. At the same time, Gelli explains that people holding hands is an universal concept and the possibility of this logo being compared to other existing brands they had never seen before was still possible.