Leopard, Hare and Polar bear Леопард, Зайка, Белый Мишка (in Russian) | |
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Mascots of the 2014 Winter Olympics (Sochi) | |
Creator | Silvia Petrova, Vadim Pak and Oleg Serdechny |
Significance | A leopard, a hare and a polar bear |
Snowflake and Ray of Light Снежинка, Лучик (in Russian) | |
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Mascots of the 2014 Winter Paralympics (Sochi) | |
Creator | Natalia Balashova and Anna Zhilinsky |
Significance | A snowflake and a ray of light |
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The mascots for the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2014 Winter Paralympics were revealed on February 26, 2011. [1] A shortlist of ten Olympic and three Paralympic designs had been shown to the public on February 7, 2011. [2]
Along with the 2008 Russian presidential election, on 2 March 2008 there was an unofficial election held in Sochi to elect the mascot for the 2014 Winter Olympics. 270,000 voters along with their ballots received a coupon with four mascot candidates: Ded Moroz, a snowflake, a polar bear and a dolphin. According to a representative of Sochi city administration, the majority of Sochians voted for the dolphin. [3] However, representatives of the Sochi Organizing Committee, which officially selects a logo and a mascot, commented that while respecting the opinion of Sochians, such a procedure is usually held later. They also pointed out, that the final version of the mascot should be a consensus of opinions of all citizens of the country and the result of work by professional designers and market analysts. [4]
A nationwide design contest was held in Russia, from September 1 to December 5, 2010. [5] 24,000 designs were sent in for the contest. [2]
A short list of designs were announced in December 2010, after a jury had reviewed thousands of designs. [2] It was now down to eleven design ideas for the Olympic Games, and two design ideas for the Paralympic Games. The shortlisted designs were presented to the public on February 7, 2011. A live national TV broadcast, on Russia's Channel One, [6] included a nationwide text message voting, where Russians voted for their favorite mascot. [2]
Despite the success of the mascot selection process, some accusations have been brought against the mascots. The possibility of telephone vote rigging was brought up when the mascot that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had said was his favorite. [9] [10] The bear was also seen by politician Sergey Mironov as resembling the mascot of the United Russia political party, the current ruling party, leading to accusations of political propaganda. [11]
Viktor Chizhikov, the designer of the 1980 Moscow Games mascot Misha, accused the designer of the polar bear mascot (named Bely Mishka) for the 2014 Sochi Olympics of plagiarism. Chizhikov noted that the Bely's facial features were all taken from Misha, saying "they just pumped him up and made him fatter". Chizhikov also complained that Bely and the other two mascots (the Hare and Leopard) was lacking personality. As a result of these issues, as well as being denied the copyright to Misha, Chizhikov declined to help when asked by the organizers of the 2014 Winter Olympics closing ceremony. [12]
Zoich (or ZOIЧ) was a proposed mascot for the XXII Winter Olympics, which took first place in the official online poll to select a mascot for the 2014 Sochi games. Despite being a popular Internet character, the committee chose not to introduce it to the final round of the voting. Upon introduction and until the end of the online voting, it was the most popular mascot from those submitted. It also took only about 40 minutes for Zoich to take the top spot.
Misha, also known as Mishka or The Olympic Mishka, is the name of the Russian Bear mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. He was designed by children's books illustrator Victor Chizhikov.
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sochi 2014, was an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening rounds in certain events were held on 6 February 2014, the day before the opening ceremony.
Ded Moroz or Morozko is a legendary figure similar to Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus who has his roots in Slavic mythology. The tradition of Ded Moroz is mostly spread in East Slavic countries and is an important part of Russian culture. At the beginning of the Soviet era, communist authorities banned Ded Moroz. Nevertheless, he soon became an important part of the Soviet culture. The literal translation of Ded Moroz is Grandfather Frost.
The Western Caucasus is a western region of the Caucasus in Southern Russia, extending from the Black Sea to Mount Elbrus.
The 2014 Winter Paralympics, the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), held in Sochi, Russia from 7 to 16 March 2014. 45 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) participated in the Games, which marked the first time Russia ever hosted the Paralympics. The Games featured 72 medal events in five sports, and saw the debut of snowboarding at the Winter Paralympics.
The Paralympic symbols are the icons, flags, and symbols used by the International Paralympic Committee to promote the Paralympic Games.
Victor Alexandrovich Chizhikov was a Russian children's book illustrator and the designer of the Olympic mascot, Misha, of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.
Fisht Olympic Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Sochi, Russia. Located in Sochi Olympic Park and named after Mount Fisht, the 40,000-capacity stadium was constructed for the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, where it served as the venue for their opening and closing ceremonies.
Sochi National Park is Russia's oldest national park, established on May 5, 1983. It is located in the Western Caucasus, near the city of Sochi, in Southern Russia.
The 2018 Winter Paralympics, the 12th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), that was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 18 March 2018. They were the second Paralympics to be held in South Korea, following the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul.
The Closing Ceremony of the 1980 Summer Olympics was held at 19:00 Moscow Time (UTC+3) on 3 August 1980 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium. It was attended by the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet Presidium, Leonid Brezhnev. IOC President Lord Killanin closed the Games for the final time and passed the position on to Juan Antonio Samaranch.
Alena Igorevna Zavarzina is a Russian former snowboarder specializing in parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom disciplines. She is the 2011 World champion and bronze medalist from the 2014 Winter Olympics in parallel giant slalom. She won the parallel giant slalom crystal globe in 2016/17 World Cup season.
Zoich was a proposed mascot for the XXII Winter Olympics, which took first place in the official online poll to select a mascot for the 2014 Sochi games. Despite being a popular Internet character, the committee chose not to introduce it to the final round of the voting. Upon introduction and until the end of the online voting, it was the most popular mascot from those submitted. It also took only about 40 minutes for Zoich to take the top spot.
Uzbekistan competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia from 7 to 23 February 2014. A team of three athletes in two sports competed for Uzbekistan.
The opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics took place at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia, on 7 February 2014. It began at 20:14 MSK (UTC+4) and finished at 23:02 MSK (UTC+4). It was filmed and produced by OBS and Russian host broadcaster VGTRK. This was the first Winter Olympics and first Olympic Games opening ceremony under the IOC presidency of Thomas Bach. This was also the second consecutive Winter Olympic opening ceremony to be held in an indoor stadium.
The closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics was held on 23 February 2014 from 20:14 to 22:25 MSK (UTC+4) at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia. It was designed to show Russian culture, through a European perspective, and featured performances by Yuri Bashmet, Valery Gergiev, Denis Matsuev, Hibla Gerzmava, and Tatiana Samouil, among others.
Azat Karachurin is a Russian Paralympic biathlete who won gold medal for the 12.5 km standing event despite missing one target on March 11, 2014 at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. After the event, he received congratulations from the Russian President Vladimir Putin who said that his hard work earned him a medal. He was also a winner of bronze medal for the 7.5 km biathlon race in the same place.
Zabivaka was the official mascot of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Russia. The name is a blend of the Russian words волк ("wolf") and забивать.
2014 Winter Olympics marketing was a long running campaign that began when Sochi won its bid to host the games in 2007.