Carrying forward the Olympic spirit 'together' for a shared future

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2021 revised the Olympic motto to include the word "together" in a bid to highlight the importance of solidarity.

The original motto – Citius, Altius, Fortius, which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger" – was adopted in 1924 and featured for the first time in the Summer Olympics held in Paris that year.

A century later, the Games are returning to the French capital with the new slogan "Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together," which was approved at the 138th session of the IOC on July 21, 2021.

"Solidarity fuels our mission to make the world a better place through sport. We can only go faster, we can only aim higher, we can only become stronger by standing together - in solidarity," IOC President Thomas Bach said at the time.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has appealed for global solidarity on many occasions and pushed for a community with a shared future for mankind, which also resonates with the revised Olympic motto.

When hosting a banquet to welcome international dignitaries who attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games in February 2022, Xi said, "We shall promote the spirit of the Olympic Movement and meet the common challenges facing the international community through solidarity."

He added that the only way for all countries to address the various challenges effectively is to strengthen solidarity and cooperation and work together for a shared future.

During his state visit to France in May this year, President Xi called the Olympic Games "a symbol of solidarity, friendship and mutual learning between civilizations," and urged the two sides to practice the Olympic motto and write a new chapter in building a community with a shared future for mankind.

When jointly meeting the press with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Xi also announced that China is willing to launch an initiative with France calling for a worldwide truce during the Paris Olympic Games.

George Hirthler, a lead writer and communications strategist for many international Olympic bid campaigns, has pointed out that sport is a means to a greater end – building a community with a shared future for mankind as Xi expressed.

From his perspective, Hirthler said Xi's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind is an appeal to find unity in our diversity. "That's the same appeal that Baron Pierre de Coubertin made in founding the modern Olympic Games – to find unity in our diversity and to meet each other on the field of play as an important step in building mutual respect between all nations regardless of cultural, religious, ethnic or political differences."

President Xi has, in effect, summarized very well the mission of the Olympic Movement – to build a better world through sport, he added.