The Olympic Games have always been about more than sport. 

Since 1896, each edition has produced an official poster, a small piece of graphic history that captures the design language of its time.

Since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, official posters have played an important role in shaping the identity of each host city. Early designs leaned heavily on classical imagery - statues, athletes, and references to ancient Greece that reinforced the historical roots of the Games. These posters were often richly illustrated and symbolic, presenting the Olympics as both a sporting and cultural event.

A major shift arrived around the 1960 Winter Olympics, when poster design began to move away from historical references and toward more modern graphic approaches. Designers started to experiment with cleaner layouts, bold colour, and simplified forms, reflecting broader shifts happening across graphic design at the time.

The 1968 Mexico City Olympics marked another milestone with the introduction of pictograms representing each sporting discipline. These icons quickly became a universal visual language for the Games and remain a core part of Olympic branding today.

Perhaps the most celebrated example came with the 1972 Munich Games. Their vibrant, modernist graphics and systematic approach to colour and layout still feel remarkably contemporary today, often referenced as one of the most successful design programmes in Olympic history.

The project was curated by Circular Agency, bringing it all together with the kind of precision that made the whole thing work.

Seen together, Olympic posters form a visual timeline of design itself. Each one reflects the culture, aesthetics, and creative thinking of its era, proof that while the athletes compete on the field, another kind of competition has always existed on the poster wall.

Shot of the good stuff.