The Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics is fast approaching. Kicking off on the 5 August in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, athletes and sports fans around the globe are currently getting set for the biggest sporting event on the planet.
The final countdown now upon us, Team GB are already making their mark, with Adidas and British designer Stella McCartney today revealing new kit designs, complete with a new official and unique British Coat of Arms – commissioned by Adidas and created by The College of Arms.
The official Team GB website states: "The unique coat of arms will be used across Team GB and ParalympicsGB during Rio 2016 and was specifically designed as a unifying symbol across the two teams and the multiple sports that will feature at the Games this summer.
"The principal element of the shield is a unified group of the floral emblems of the four Home Nations and the motto 'Iuncti In Uno' means 'Conjoined in One'".
The kit also features the Union Flag, depicted through the use of silhouettes and textures. Designed to optimise the athletes performance, the clothing is, on average, 10 per cent lighter than the 2012 kit.
The final design is a result of a two-year design process, which included extensive consultations with some of Team GB's most famous faces, including Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis, Olympic diver Tom Daley and gold medalist and professional cyclist Laura Trott.
Mixing tradition with 21st Century attitude, the new designs have already provoked strong reactions from the public, both in favour and against. Love it or hate it, one thing's for sure, we can't wait to see it in action.
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See the full Team GB kit range here.
