Today sees the beginning of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing and with it comes the 27th logo* to represent a city’s hosting of the Games.

From the iconic logos of Mexico 68 (designed by Lance Wyman) and Munich 1972 (designed by Otl Aicher) to the controversial logo for the upcoming London 2012 games (designed by Wolff Olins), the Olympics has inspired designers throughout the world to produce some intriguing and brilliant logo designs.

The ‘Unofficial 2008 Beijing Olympics Blog’ has collated an extensive list of all the Olympic logos from 1896 through to the logo for London’s hosting of the Olympics in 2012 (logos for the Winter Games are omitted but can be found here). It is interesting to see which logos have the longevity of a true timeless classic and which logos immediately feel outdated.

Of course the true Olympic logo that will never feel outdated is the logo of the five coloured interlocking rings designed in the 1920s by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. With each ring representing one of the five continents and at least one of the five colours appearing in every national flag, it has to be one of the greatest logos ever created and a true example of simplicity and excellence in design.

The opening ceremony begins at 13:00 (BST) and the Games run until 24th August.

[*The three missing logos belong to the 1916, 1940 and 1944 Games which were all cancelled because of war.]