Olympic Mascots

##### NAME

Magique [Magic]. Several studies, financed by the Organising Committee (OCOG), were conducted to find a name for the mascot, but in the end none was chosen. However, on re-reading his brief, his creator realised that the word “magique” appeared several times. The enthusiastic OCOG thus decided to name the mascot accordingly.

##### DESCRIPTION

A little imp in the shape of a star and a cube, Magique was the first mascot that was not an animal since the Innsbruck 1976 Games. His star shape symbolised dreams and imagination. His colours came from the French flag.

##### DID YOU KNOW?

Originally, the mascot chosen was a mountain goat, created by illustrator Michel Pirus. This idea gave way to the star-shaped imp two years before the start of the Games.

The mascot had a pedagogical role: with the aim of informing the 7,924 Games volunteers, the OCOG opted for a computer-aided teaching programme. Magique appeared in the various teaching modules and games.

There have been many Olympic mascots over the years!

## Rio 2016

The name of the Olympic mascot pays tribute to Brazilian musician Vinicius de Moraes.

##### DESCRIPTION

Vinicius is a mix of different Brazilian animals. His design takes inspiration from pop culture, as well as video game and animation characters. Alongside his Paralympic Games colleague, Vinicius represents the diversity of the Brazilian people and culture, as well as its exuberant nature.

##### DID YOU KNOW?

The call for tenders for the creation of the Rio 2016 mascots was launched in November 2012, and was aimed at Brazilian companies and professionals in the fields of design, animation and illustration. The country’s major firms took part. After various selection phases, a multi-disciplinary jury unanimously selected the final project in August 2013. The Olympic and Paralympic mascots were unveiled simultaneously to the public on 23 November 2014.

Over the three weeks following the presentation of the Olympic and Paralympic mascots, a public vote took place to select their respective names. Three choices were on offer: Oba and Eba; Tiba Tuque and Esquindim; and Vinicius and Tom. A total of 323,327 votes were registered. The third proposal won the competition, with 44 per cent of the valid votes.

The mascots (life-sized costume versions) made their first public appearance at the Ginásio Experimental Olímpico Juan Antonio Samaranch, named after the former IOC President. This is a school in Rio, opened under the impetus of the Games and aimed at young sporting talents.

## London 2012

##### NAME

Wenlock takes his name from the town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire, which still hosts the traditional Much Wenlock Games. These were one of Pierre de Coubertin's sources of inspiration for the modern Olympic Games.

##### DESCRIPTION

According to the story by Michael Morpurgo, Wenlock's metallic look is explained by the fact that he was made from one of the last drops of steel used to build the Olympic Stadium in London.

The light on his head is based on those found on London's famous black cabs. The shape of his forehead is identical to that of the Olympic Stadium roof. His eye is the lens of a camera, filming everything he sees. On his wrists, he wears five bracelets in the colours of the Olympic rings. And the three points on his head represent the three places on the podium for the medal winners.

##### DID YOU KNOW?

Streets, parks and underground station entrances in London were decorated with 84 sculptures of Wenlock and the Paralympic mascot Mandeville standing 2 metres 30 tall and each weighing a ton, to help guide tourists during the Games. These sculptures were decorated by 22 designers to reflect their surroundings.

The mascots were chosen in a competition launched in 2008. More than 100 designers, artists and agencies submitted proposals. Wenlock and Mandeville were chosen from a series of designs which included a humanised pigeon, an animated teacup and representations of Big Ben featuring arms and legs.

## Beijing 2008

##### NAME

Each name rhymes by repeating the same syllable: a traditional Chinese way of showing affection to children. Linking the five names forms the sentence “Welcome to Beijing” (Bei Jing Huan Ying Nin). The mascots form the “Fuwa”, which translates as “good-luck dolls”.

##### DESCRIPTION

The mascots correspond to the five natural elements and, apart from Huanhuan, to four popular animals in China. Each mascot represents the colour of one of the five Olympic rings. Each also bears a wish, as it was traditional in ancient Chinese culture to transmit wishes through signs or symbols.

**Beibei** the fish is a reference to the element of water. She is blue and her wish is prosperity. The waves on her head are based on a design in traditional Chinese painting.

**Jingjing** the panda represents the forest. He is black and his wish is happiness. Porcelain paintings from the Song dynasty (960-1234 AD) were the inspiration for the lotus flowers on his head.

**Yingying**, the Tibetan antelope, represents earth. He is yellow and his wish is good health. Decorative elements from Western China appear on his head.

**Nini**, the swallow, represents the sky. She is green and her wish is good luck. Her design is inspired by those on Chinese kites. Swallow is pronounced “Yan” in Chinese, and an ancient name for Beijing was “Yanjing”.

**Huanhuan** symbolises fire and the Olympic spirit. His red colour transmits the passion of sport. Dunhunag grotto art inspired the decoration on his head, together with certain traditional good-luck designs.

##### DID YOU KNOW?

The Organising Committee invited graphic designers and communications agencies all over the world to send their suggestions for mascots for the Games and attracted more than 3,000 submissions.

A series of 100 cartoon episodes entitled “The Olympic Adventures of Fuwa” was shown on more than 100 television channels throughout China, on the public transport system in Beijing and on China‟s nationwide rail TV networks.

## Turin 2006

##### NAME

Neve and Gliz: in Italian, “neve” means snow and “gliz” is a nod to the word “ghiaccio”, which means ice.

##### DESCRIPTION

Neve is a snowball; Gliz is an ice cube. Together, they represent the fundamental elements required for successful Winter Games and personify Winter sports. Neve, with fluid and rounded contours, is linked to harmony and elegance of movement. She is dressed in red. The angular and smooth shapes of Gliz recall the power and strength of athletes. He wears a blue outfit.

##### DID YOU KNOW?

The mascots‟ creation was the subject of an international contest, launched three years before the start of the Game. The contest was open to design, advertising and graphic design agencies as well as independent graphic designers. Five finalists were selected out of the 237 proposals received; the winner, a Portuguese designer, was selected by the President‟s Office of the Organising Committee.

Javier Mariscal, the creator of the Barcelona mascot in 1992, was among the jury members.

A cartoon of 52 one-minute episodes was broadcast on Italian TV channels RAI 2 and RAI 3 from October 2005 to February 2006. Each episode covered a subject linked to Olympism: values, territory, sport, etc.

## Athens 2004

##### NAME

Phevos and Athena. The names of the two mascots are a reference to two gods of Olympus: “Phoebos” is another name for Apollo, the god of light and music; “Athena” is the goddess of wisdom and protector of the city of Athens. The two mascots thus symbolise the link between Ancient Greece and the Olympic Games of the modern era.

##### DESCRIPTION

Phevos and Athena are brother and sister. They owe their strange shape to a typical terracotta doll in the shape of a bell from the 7th century BC, the “daidala”. They symbolise the pleasure of playing and the values of Olympism. The choice of a brother and sister was deliberate: they embody the unity of men and women, through equality and brotherhood. Phevos wears a blue tunic to recall the sea and the colour of the Games emblem, while Athena is in orange to evoke the sun and the Paralympic emblem.

##### DID YOU KNOW?

In Ancient Greece, as well as being children‟s toys, daidala had a symbolic function. Before they got married, girls would sacrifice their doll and their dress to the gods for purity and fertility. The example which inspired the mascots is displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

A competition was held to design the mascot. In all, 196 proposals were submitted by design agencies and professionals from all over the world.

## salt lake city 2002

##### NAME

The names Powder, Copper and Coal are an allusion to Utah's natural resources, its snow and its land. Over 42,000 schoolchildren gave their advice on the mascots' names. The Organising Committee then launched a national vote to determine their final names. Other options were Sky, Cliff, Shadow and Arrow, Bolt, Rocky.

##### DESCRIPTION

Powder is a snowshoe hare, Copper a coyote and Coal a black bear. The hare‟s speed, the coyote's ability to climb the highest mountaintops and the black bear's strength illustrate the Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius (faster, higher, stronger). The inspiration for the mascots came from ancient Utah cultures. Each wears a necklace featuring the animal he/she represents in the form of a petroglyph (rock engraving) in the style of the Anasazis or Fremonts, ancient peoples from the region. In addition, the three animals were often the major protagonists in Native American legends, passed on from generation to generation.

##### DID YOU KNOW?

The first sketches of the mascots were submitted to focus groups in three different cities (Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Milwaukee). Some 80 per cent of the participants, of all age groups, chose the snowshoe hare, the coyote and the black bear.

## sydney 2000

##### NAME

Syd is a reference to Sydney, Olly to Olympic and Millie to the new millennium.

##### DESCRIPTION

The three mascots are a duck-billed platypus (Syd), a kookaburra (Olly) and an echidna or spiny anteater (Millie). They symbolise the water, air and earth respectively. Their colours correspond to those of the Games emblem, and all three are typical examples of Australian fauna.

##### DID YOU KNOW?

The choice of mascots was based on a survey in Australia and other countries. Matthew Hatton's duck-billed platypus sketch got him selected for the mascots project. The objective of the project was also to avoid kangaroos or koalas, which is why two other less well known animals were chosen.

This was the first time there had been three official mascots. There had previously been couples, for example Hidy and Howdy for the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, or even a quartet: the four Snowlets or the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano.

The kookaburra and the duck-billed platypus are two emblems of the Australian state of New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital.

## nagano 1998

##### NAME

Owls Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki are also known as the Snowlets. “Snow” recalls the winter season, during which the Games take place, and “lets” refers to “let‟s”, and invitation to join in the Games celebrations. In addition, the first two letters of the four names form the word “snowlets”. “Owlets” means young owls.

##### DESCRIPTION

Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki are four snowy owls. They represent respectively fire (Sukki), air (Nokki), earth (Lekki) and water (Tsukki). The choice of four mascots is a nod to the four years that make up an Olympiad.

##### DID YOU KNOW?

Originally, the Nagano Games mascot was going to be a weasel called Snowple.

Owls are venerated around the world as having the “wisdom of the woods”; in Greek mythology, the owl is associated with Athena, the goddess of wisdom.

The four Snowlets‟ names were chosen from among 47,484 suggestions.

The agency responsible for creating the mascots was the same one that designed the torch for the Atlanta Games in 1996, and also took part in designing the mascots for Salt Lake City 2002.

## atlanta 1996

##### NAME

Originally called “Whatizit”, the name Izzy was chosen by 32 American children aged from 7 to 12 from among the following five names: Kirby, Starz, Zack, Gleamer and Izzy. This shortlist was produced from the more than 3,300 suggestions from children in 16 different countries.

##### DESCRIPTION

A product of information technology, Izzy is blue and wears training shoes. The five Olympic rings are in various places around his body. After the Closing Ceremony of the 1992 Games in Barcelona, where he received a mixed reception when first presented, Whatizit was redesigned and renamed by the children of Atlanta. Over time, a mouth appeared where there had first been only lips; stars appeared in his eyes; and his initially skinny legs became more muscled. Finally, a nose grew in the middle of his face.

##### DID YOU KNOW?

Izzy is an unusual mascot in that he is not an animal, nor a human figure, nor an object.

A 30-minute educational cartoon was created and shown throughout the autumn of 1995 on the Cartoon Network channel. To be able to get to the Olympic Games, Izzy had to win five magic rings.

Izzy was also the hero of a video entitled “Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rin