Some Olympic mascot dolls were displayed in a shopping center in Hong Kong.
The Olympic mascots are fictional characters, usually an animal native to the area or human figures, who represent the cultural heritage of the place where the Olympic and Paralympic Games are taking place. Ever since the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, the Olympic Games have always had a mascot. The first major mascot in the Summer Olympic Games was Misha in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Starting with the 2010 Vancouver mascots (since 1992), the Olympic and Paralympic mascots have been presented together.
History
The first Olympic mascot was born at the Grenoble Olympic Games in 1968. It was named "Schuss" and it was a little man on skis, designed in an abstract form and painted in the colors of France: blue, red and white.[1] However, the first official Olympic mascot appeared in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. It was Waldi, a Dachshund dog, a popular breed in Bavaria and it represented the attributes required for athletes – resistance, tenacity and agility. On it were three of the colors of the Olympic flag (blue, yellow, green).[1][2][3]
The success of those first mascots helped the idea of a mascot become a symbol of the Olympic Games and developed into an institution. Mascots are very popular and despite the importance of the message they convey, they are designed in a simple manner with bright, happy colors appropriate for the 'festive' atmosphere of the Olympic Games.
Olympic mascots
| Games | City | Name | Species | Designer | Significance | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles | Smoky | Scottish terrier | Born in the Olympic Village before the Olympics | unofficial |  |
| 1968 Winter Olympics | Grenoble | Schuss | Skier | Aline Lafargue | (unofficial) |  |
| 1968 Summer Olympics | Mexico City | Red Jaguar | Cat | Unknown | (unofficial) | |
| 1972 Summer Olympics | Munich | Waldi | Dachshund dog | Otl Aicher | A popular breed in Bavaria, it represented the attributes required for athletes – resistance, tenacity and agility. | |
| 1976 Winter Olympics | Innsbruck | Schneemann | Snowman | Walter Pötsch | It represents the Games of Simplicity. | |
| 1976 Summer Olympics | Montreal | Amik | Beaver | Yvon Laroche, Pierre-Yves Pelletier, Guy St-Arnaud and George Huel | One of the national symbols of Canada. | |
| 1980 Winter Olympics | Lake Placid | Roni | Raccoon | Donald Moss | Its face design resembles the hat and goggles used by competitors. Named for the Adirondack mountain range. | |
| 1980 Summer Olympics | Moscow | Misha (Миша) | Brown Bear | Victor Chizhikov | The bear was the national symbol of the Soviet Union. |  |
| 1984 Winter Olympics | Sarajevo | Vučko | Wolf | Jože Trobec | Symbolizing the desire of humans to befriend animals. According to the IOC, it helped change the common perception in the region of wolves as frightening and blood-thirsty. | |
| 1984 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles | Sam | Bald eagle | Robert Moore (from The Walt Disney Company) | The symbol of the United States. | |
| 1988 Winter Olympics | Calgary | Hidy and Howdy | Polar bears | Sheila Scott | Both represent Western Canadian hospitality. | |
| 1988 Summer Olympics | Seoul | Hodori (호돌이) | Siberian tiger | Hyun Kim | Common in Korean legends. |  |
| 1992 Winter Olympics | Albertville | Magique | Man-star/snow imp | Philippe Mairesse | ||
| 1992 Summer Olympics | Barcelona | Cobi | Catalan sheepdog | Javier Mariscal | Drawn in avant-garde, cubist style | .jpg.webp) |
| 1994 Winter Olympics | Lillehammer | Håkon and Kristin | Humans | Kari and Werner Grossman | Both are dressed in Viking clothes. First mascots to be human figures. | |
| 1996 Summer Olympics | Atlanta | Izzy | Unknown | John Ryan | The first computer-generated mascot. (USA) | |
| 1998 Winter Olympics | Nagano | The Snowlets: Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki | Owls | Pierre-Laurent Thève/Landor Associates, Paris | Representing the four major islands of Japan. The first syllable of each name combines phonetically to create the word "Snowlets". | |
| 2000 Summer Olympics | Sydney | Olly (from "Olympic") | Kookaburra | Jozef Szekeres, Matthew Hatton | Representing the Olympic spirit of generosity. | |
| Syd (from "Sydney") | Platypus | Representing the environment and energy of the people of Australia. | ||||
| Millie (from "Millennium") | Echidna | Representing the Millennium. All three mascots are common wild animals found in Australia. | ||||
| 2002 Winter Olympics | Salt Lake City | Powder (a.k.a. Swifter) | Snowshoe hare | Steve Small, Landor Associates and Publicis[4] | All three mascots are indigenous animals of the U.S. state of Utah, and are named after natural resources important to the state's economy. These animals are major characters in the legends of local American Indians, and these legends are reflected in the story of each mascot. To remind them of this heritage, all mascots wear a charm around their neck with a petroglyph image.[5] | |
| Copper (a.k.a. Higher) | Coyote | |||||
| Coal (a.k.a. Stronger) | American black bear | |||||
| 2004 Summer Olympics | Athens | Athena and Phevos (Αθηνά, Φοίβος, Πρωτέας) | Brother and sister | Spyros Gogos | Two modern children resembling ancient Greek dolls. | |
| 2006 Winter Olympics | Turin | Neve and Gliz | Snowball and Ice cube | Pedro Albuquerque | "Snow and Ice". Neve ("Snow" in Italian) is a humanized female snowball that wears red and represents "softness, friendship and elegance." Gliz (a shortened form of Ghiaccio, "Ice" in Italian) is a humanized male ice cube who wears blue and represents "enthusiasm and joy." |  |
| 2008 Summer Olympics | Beijing | The Fuwa (福娃): Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini | Koi, giant panda, Olympic Flame, Tibetan antelope, swallow | Han Meilin | The five names form the Chinese phrase "Beijing huan ying ni" (北京欢迎你), which means "Beijing welcomes you". Each representing an Olympic ring and Feng Shui element. | .jpg.webp) |
| 2010 Winter Olympics | Vancouver | Miga | Sea Bear | Meomi Design (a group of Vicki Wong and Michael Murphy) | Part orca and part kermode bear | .jpg.webp) |
| Quatchi | Sasquatch | From Canadian mythology | .jpg.webp) | |||
| Mukmuk | Vancouver Island marmot | Not an official mascot, but their designated "sidekick". | ||||
| 2012 Summer Olympics | London | Wenlock[6] | A drop of steel with a camera for an eye. | Iris[7] | Named after the village of Much Wenlock in Shropshire – which hosted a precursor to the modern Olympic Games in the 19th century. It represents the UK's start of the Industrial Revolution. | .jpg.webp) |
| 2014 Winter Olympics | Sochi | Bely Mishka (Polar Bear), Snow Leopard (leopard), Zaika (the dore hare) (Леопард, Зайка, Белый Мишка) | Silvia Petrova, Vadim Pak, Oleg Serdechny | First mascots decided by popular vote. |  | |
| 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro | Vinicius | A hybrid animal representing all Brazilian mammals | Luciana Eguti and Paulo Muppet | Inspired by Brazilian fauna. Named after the poet and bossa nova composer Vinicius de Moraes decided by popular vote. |
|
| 2018 Winter Olympics | Pyeongchang | Soohorang (수호랑) | A white tiger | MASS C&G | A white tiger. The tiger is an animal closely related to Korean mythology, and is a symbol of trust, strength, and protection. |  |
| 2020 Summer Olympics | Tokyo | Miraitowa (ミライトワ) | Robot | Ryo Taniguchi | A superhero-inspired robot that embodies both old tradition and new innovation. The Olympic mascot was chosen from several designs submitted by schoolchildren and illustrators throughout Japan. | |
| 2022 Winter Olympics | Beijing | Bing Dwen Dwen (冰墩墩) | Panda | Cao Xue | With a suit of ice, a heart of gold and a love of all things winter sports, this panda is ready to share the true spirit of the Olympics with the whole world. | |
| 2024 Summer Olympics | Paris | The Olympic Phryge[8] | Phrygian cap | Joachim Roncin | Based on the Phrygian Cap that Marianne used at the time of the French Revolution. It was revealed on 14 November 2022. | |
| 2026 Winter Olympics | Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo | Early 2024 | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
| 2028 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles | Will be unveiled in late 2026 | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
| 2030 Winter Olympics | TBA | Will be unveiled in late 2028 | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
| 2032 Summer Olympics | Brisbane | Will be unveiled in late 2030 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Youth Olympic mascots
| Games | City | Name | Species | Designer | Significance | Picture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Summer Youth Olympics | Singapore | Lyo and Merly | Red male lion (Lyo), Blue female merlion (Merly) | Cubix International | The two characters are an allusion to the "Lion City" label of Singapore, and the Merlion, a national symbol of Singapore, respectively. |  |
| 2012 Winter Youth Olympics | Innsbruck | Yoggl | Alpine Chamois | Florencia Demaría and Luis Andrés Abbiati of Argentina | Yoggl represents the character of the host city of these games[9] |  |
| 2014 Summer Youth Olympics | Nanjing | Lele(砳砳)[10] | Yuhua Stone | LeLe is inspired by a unique natural feature of the host city known as the "Rain-Flower Pebble" (also translated as "Riverstone"). The design of the mascot takes the typical shape and appearance of this stone but in a creative and artistic way, highlighting the colours from the emblem's palette. The word 'lele' represents the sound of stones colliding together and is pronounced like the Chinese word meaning happiness or joy. | ||
| 2016 Winter Youth Olympics | Lillehammer | Sjogg | Lynx | Line Ansethmoen | .jpg.webp) | |
| 2018 Summer Youth Olympics | Buenos Aires | Pandi | Jaguar | Human Full Agency | Pandi is young jaguar. Its name "#Pandi" is a combination of the scientific name of the species (Panthera onca) and the relationship of the mascot with the "digital world".[11] | _138.jpg.webp) |
| 2020 Winter Youth Olympics | Lausanne | Yodli | A cow, Saint Bernard dog and a goat hybrid. | ERACOM | A yodel singing technique, popular in Switzerland and in areas of France, was the inspiration for the name of the mascot. Yodli is a cross between a cow, goat, and the Saint Bernard breed of dog, all of which are commonly found in the Swiss mountains. |  |
| 2024 Winter Youth Olympics | Gangwon Province | Moongcho | A snowball born from a snowball fight between Soohorang and Bandabi. | Soo-Yeon Park | ||
| 2026 Summer Youth Olympics | Dakar | TBA |
See also
References
Notes
- 1 2 "History of Olympic Mascots 1968–2014 – Photos & Origins". www.olympic.org. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ↑ "Olympic Games Mascots". www.topendsports.com. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ↑ "Ολυμπιακές Μασκότ Χειμερινοί Αγώνες – Athens Info Guide". www.athensinfoguide.com. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ↑ Utah Travel Industry. "2002 Winter Olympics: Emblems and Mascots". Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
- ↑ Salt Lake Organizing Committee (2001). Reach: An Educators Guide to the Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002. p. 16. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ↑ Farquhar, Gordon (19 May 2010). "BBC Sport – London 2012 unveils Games mascots Wenlock and Mandeville". BBC Online. BBC Online. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ↑ "2012 London Mascots launched to the World". Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ↑ "Avec ses produits dérivés, Paris 2024 veut faire sauter la banque". 29 October 2021.
- ↑ "Olympic News – Official Source of Olympic News | Olympic.org". www.innsbruck2012.com. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ↑ "Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games Mascot Unveiled". www.olympic.org. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ↑ "Buenos AIres 2018 on Twitter". Twitter (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 May 2018.
La elección de #Pandi se debe a la combinación entre su nombre científico que es "Panthera Onca" y su relación con el mundo digital.
External links
- Official site of the Olympic Movement – Images and information on every game since 1896
- OlympicHistory.info: Mascots (in Russian)
- Canadian Olympic Mascots 1976 – 2010
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