Why does Australia wear green and gold in the Olympics?

The 2024 Paris Olympics officially begin on Friday, July 26 with an Opening Ceremony featuring a breathtaking river parade on the Seine.

Team Australia will be among the 10,500 athletes, representing 206 countries competing, with around 120 heads of state among those cheering them on.

With Australia looking great in uniform as they make themselves at home in the athletes’ village, Aussie fans are asking; why does Australia don the green and gold for sporting events?

To celebrate Australia making its mark at the Olympics, we are taking a look at the history of our Olympic uniform - and how the green and gold began. 

Team Australia in green and gold

While green and gold had been popularly embraced as the nation’s sporting colours since the late 1800s, it wasn’t until 1984 that they were formally recognised as the national colours by Governor General, Sir Ninian Stephen. Before this, our nation colours had been red, white and blue, reflecting our national flag and the first version of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and blue and gold, the colour of the wreath in the Commonwealth Coat of Arms.

Australia’s national colours and Indigenous heritage are proudly on display in the uniforms designed by Asics, Sportscraft and Speedo for the 460 athletes who will represent the country in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics.

Each garment and accessory from the 2024 Olympic uniform features the green and gold colour scheme and incorporates an Indigenous print, making this the largest integration of Indigenous artwork on athlete uniforms in Australian Olympic history.

The symbolism of our national colours

The hues of green and gold have endured. They are symbolic and closely tied to Australia’s unique environment: as well as wattle, the gold conjures images of Australia’s golden sands and sunshine. Green evokes the forests, eucalyptus trees and pastures of the Australian landscape.

Much like Team Australia, this winning colour combination also forms the palette of Australia’s Nation Brand, in which the national colours are reimagined to reflect our country’s premium goods and services.

At its centre is the golden kangaroo - globally recognised as Australian – and bounding ahead with momentum. Co-created with Indigenous designers, Balarinji, the Brand elements are embedded with a cultural richness that speaks distinctively of Australia.

The brandmark and more than 650 free marketing assets and style guide are available at brandaustralia.com to help promote Australia on the world stage. They can be used in this context by any Australian business with an ABN, industry associations and organisations, and Federal, State, Territory, and local governments.

Are you ready to showcase your Aussie pride when promoting your products or services overseas? 

Download Australia’s Nation Brand assets today.

Photo credit: Australian Olympic Committee.