MASCOTS OVER THE YEARS

A mascot acts as the representative of the games. Ever since the 1972 Munich Olympic Games introduced a mascot, it has been a tradition in the Olympics to showcase the mascot before the actual events begin.

A mascot is related to the Olympic Games; it manifests the Olympic spirit, and communicates the concepts of each Olympic Games, promotes the history and culture of the host city and creates a festive atmosphere for the games. Mascots act as a vehicle for expressing the Olympic spirit to the general public, especially children. Whatever shapes they have, mascots must be able to convey the theme of the Olympic Games, showcase the distinctive features, history, and culture unique of the host city.
 

Waldi – the dachshund was the first mascot of the Olympics introduced in 1972, Munich Olympic games in Germany. Waldi also possesses qualities that are indispensable to an athlete: resistance, tenacity, and agility. He was dressed in pastel colors to express the gaiety and joy of the Olympic festival.

1976 Olympic Summer Games in Montreal, Canada saw the beaver- the national animal of Canada as the mascot.

                                                                                          

In the 1980 Olympic summer games in Moscow, the mascot, Misha, was a bear, developed by the renowned illustrator of children's books Victor Chizikov.

In 1984 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles, USA, the mascot was Sam; a cartoon eagle designed by Walt Disney, who is dressed in the style of the legendary Uncle Sam, with a star studded background in red, white, and blue, the national colors of the United States. A mascot for the Olympics was commercially used for the first time.

For the 1988 Olympic Games, held in Seoul-Korea, Hodori, a tiger designed by Kim Hyun was chosen as the mascot. Ho is derived from the Korean word for tiger, and Dori is a diminutive for boys in Korea. The friendly tiger wore the Olympic Rings around its neck, much like a medal, while sporting a traditional Korean dance hat on its head.

The mascot of the Barcelona Olympics in Spain, 1992, was a dog named Cobi. The Valencian artist, Javier Marisca created it.

Izzy, the mascot of the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta, was the first mascot designed on a computer. Izzy is an amorphous abstract fantasy figure whose name was derived from the question, “What is it?" because no one knew exactly what Izzy was.

Syd, Olly and Millie, designed by Matthew Hattan,

are three native Australian animals chosen as mascots

for the Sydney 2000 Games. Olly, representing air,

is a name derived from ‘Olympic’. It is a kookaburra

that stands for the spirit of generosity in the

Olympics. Syd, named after the capital of Australia

Sydney, is a platypus, representing the water element.

Millie symbolizing the millennium is an echidna. It

represents the Earth element.

The Athens Olympic, 2004 saw the

mascots, Athena and Phevos, with their wide feet, long necks and tiny heads, one in orange and the other in deep blue are based on dolls, thousands of years old, found at archaeological sites in Greece. Greek mythology says that Phevos and Athena are brother and sister, named after two Greek gods: Phevos, the god of light and music, and Athena, goddess of wisdom and patron of the city of Athens.

The 2008 Beijing Summer Games, the Mascots were called the Fuwa meaning "Good luck dolls." The Fuwa were designed by Han Meilin. They embody the natural characteristics of china’s popular animals-the fish, panda, Tibetan antelope, swallow and the Olympic flame.

The mascots for the London Olympics 2012 are Wenlock and Mandeville. They are animations depicting two drops of steel, designed by the London steel company.
Wenlock's name was inspired by the Wenlock Olympian Society, an annual Olympic event held in Wenlock, England. Mandeville takes his name from the Stoke Mandeville Games. Wenlock wears five bracelets in the five Olympic ring colors. The three points on his head symbolize the three podiums of the winners  (for first, second, and third place), the shape of his head is the same shape as the Olympic stadium and on his body the logo of the game is printed. Mandeville wears a pink watch set to 0:20:12, and on his head there are three points in red, blue, and green representing the agitos, which is the symbol of paralympic games.

Himadyuthi M.

2^nd BA (PJoE)