On Friday, July 23, against all odds, the Tokyo Olympics finally began. Amidst all the cheer and excitement, the uniforms of athletes from different countries stood out.
For many members of the Chinese audience, the Olympics means another display of “scrambled eggs with tomato” from their home team.
Weibo: “There was a video discussing the Olympic uniforms of different countries, and when it got to China, started talking about how China’s team has always been “tomato and scrambled eggs” in the past, and even provided two videos…so I went and made myself a tomato and scrambled egg…”
Because of the colors on China’s flag, the uniforms of Chinese athletes in the Olympics opening ceremony always feature some bold combination of red and yellow. It’s always either bright red suits with bright yellow ties, or bright yellow suits with bright red ties.
This is a formula that has long been ridiculed by the Chinese audience as “unfashionable.”
This sentiment evolved to the point where it became a running joke for the entire nation that China’s Olympic garb is akin to a platter of “scrambled eggs with tomato,” a common recipe in China.
Compliation of China’s uniform for the opening ceremony in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics, and 2016 Rio Olympics
Example photo of tomato and scrambled egg, one of the most commonly made home-dishes in China for how easy it is to make and how delicious it is
And although the attire for the actual Olympic awards haven’t nearly been ridiculed as much, the similar red-yellow color palette has made them a part of the “scrambled egg” joke.
2008 Beijing Olympics attire, badminton awards. From left to right: Malaysian athlete Li Zongwei for silver, Chinese athlete Lin Dan for gold, and Chinese athlete Chen Long for bronze
2012 London Olympics attire, badminton awards. From left to right: Malaysian athlete Li Zongwei for silver, Chinese athlete Lin Dan for gold, and Chinese athlete Chen Long for bronze
2016 Rio Olympics attire, women’s Volleyball awards. China’s team for gold
This year, though, China’s uniform design for the awards ceremony has had a big overhaul. The famous Oscar-winning visual designer Timmy Yip designed the uniforms .
Yip wanted China’s athletes to march into Tokyo not only in style, but in clothes that clearly represented China’s culture and values.
Instead of the usual red and yellow combo, Yip chose to highlight China’s signature colors with large areas of white. He further introduced elements of traditional Chinese design.
For example, the frog buttons at the collar create one of the most memorable Olympic uniforms for China in the last decade.
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