Olympic Games Pin trading
Coca‑Cola hosts the 'number one spectator sport' at the Olympic Games
The tradition of Olympic Games Pin trading became popular in the 1980s and has since expanded into a bustling phenomenon during the modern Olympic Games.
The Coca‑Cola Official Olympic Games Pin Trading Centres have been present at every Olympic Games since Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games, and are a place where people can come together to share and celebrate the spirit of the Olympic Games, as well as add to their treasured pin collections.
Did you know? A person who enjoys collecting pins is known as a 'pinhead'. The name comes from the tradition of displaying Olympic Games Pins on hats during the Games
There is a vast array of badges to trade, from souvenir pins commemorating specific Olympic events to medal pins created for winning athletes; 'primary' pins featuring the five Olympic Games rings to official Olympic Games Pins created by sponsors such as Coca‑Cola.
Olympic Games Pins
The popularity of Olympic Games Pin trading is attributed to its reflection of the spirit of the Olympic Games and the way it also involves competition and pursuit, international friendship and the sharing of experiences. This is how the tradition has evolved over the years:
The history of Olympic Games Pin trading
- Pin trading was first introduced during the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. The event's mascot, Sam the Eagle, was depicted on a series of 23 commemorative Coca‑Cola cans and a prototype Olympic Games lapel pin - today a very rare artefact.
- The Calgary 1988 Olympic Games saw the debut of the first Coca‑Cola Official Olympic Games Pin Trading Centre, which drew more than 17,000 visitors each day and transformed pin trading into another tradition - 'the number one spectator sport of the Olympic Games'.
- For the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, we sponsored a nationwide contest among South Korea's 11.7 million students to design the first-ever commemorative pin for an Opening Ceremony.
- Pin trading continued to escalate at the Albertville 1992 Olympic Games, where our main Pin Trading Centre, plus two travelling Coca‑Cola 'PinMobiles' served more than 350,000 collectors, who traded some 1.2 million pins.
- The Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Games gave birth to a new sensation within the Olympic Games Pin trading culture: the Coca‑Cola 'Pin of the Day' series, featuring a different pin design for each day of the Olympic Games.
- At the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games the Pin Trading Centres experienced unprecedented traffic levels, with an estimated 3 million pins changing hands, and hosted lighthearted Pin Trading School sessions, from which more than 2,100 'students' earned their MPA ('Master of Pin Administration') degrees.
- Since the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games we have shared the spirit of the Olympic Games with fans internationally through the Coca‑Cola Official Olympic Games Pin Trading Centres, an expanded Coca‑Cola Pin Trading School and a new Coca‑Cola Pin Club.
Find out more
Download our PDF for the full history of Olympic Games Pin trading.
