List of Olympic mascots

See also: List of Paralympic mascots

The Olympic mascots are fictional characters who represent the cultural heritage of the location where the Olympic Games are taking place. They are often an animal native to the area or human figures.

One of the first Olympic mascots was created for the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble; a stylized cartoon character on skis named Schuss. The first official Olympic mascot appeared in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and was a rainbow-colored Dachshund dog named Waldi. ^[1]

Since the Games in Vancouver in 2010, the Olympic and Paralympic mascots have always been presented together, which was first done in Barcelona in 1992. The Youth Olympic Games, which are run by the International Olympic Committee, have had mascots as well.

Olympic mascots

Games	City	Name	Type	Designer	Significance	Image	Refs.
1932 Summer Olympics	Los Angeles	Smoky	Dog	—	The only Olympic mascot to be a real live animal. (unofficial)		[2]
1964 Summer Olympics	Tokyo	Kapa	Kappa	Unknown	(unofficial)		[3]
1968 Winter Olympics	Grenoble	Schuss	Skier	Aline Lafargue	Abstract figure with the colors of the flag of France. (unofficial, later recognised by the IOC)		[4]
1968 Summer Olympics	Mexico City	Chac Mool	Jaguar	Unknown	(unofficial)		[5]
1972 Winter Olympics	Sapporo	Takuchan	Asian black bear	Seiko design department	Designed and marketed by sponsors of the Games. (unofficial)		[6]
1972 Summer Olympics	Munich	Waldi	Dachshund dog	Elena Winschermann [7]	A popular breed in Bavaria, it represented the attributes required for athletes – resistance, tenacity and agility.		[4]
1976 Winter Olympics	Innsbruck	Schneemann and Sonnenweiberl	Snowman and Sun woman	Walter Pötsch	Representing the Games of Simplicity.		[4] [8]
1976 Summer Olympics	Montreal	Amik	Beaver	Yvon Laroche, Pierre-Yves Pelletier, Guy St-Arnaud and George Huel	Beavers are one of the national symbols of Canada.		[4]
1980 Winter Olympics	Lake Placid	Roni	Raccoon	Donald Moss	Its face design resembles the hat and goggles used by competitors. It was named for the Adirondack mountain range.		[4]
1980 Summer Olympics	Moscow	Misha (Миша)	Brown bear	Victor Chizhikov	The Russian Bear was the national symbol of the Soviet Union.		[4]
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.[ citation needed ]		[4]
1984 Summer Olympics	Los Angeles	Sam	Bald eagle	Robert Moore (from The Walt Disney Company)	The national bird of the United States.		[4]
1988 Winter Olympics	Calgary	Hidy and Howdy	Polar bears	Sheila Scott	Both represent Western Canadian hospitality.		[4]
1988 Summer Olympics	Seoul	Hodori (호돌이)	Siberian tiger	Hyun Kim	Siberian tigers are common in Korean legends.		[4]
1992 Winter Olympics	Albertville	Magique	Man-star/snow imp	Philippe Mairesse	The colors of the mascot are based on those of the French flag.		[4]
1992 Summer Olympics	Barcelona	Cobi	Catalan sheepdog	Javier Mariscal	Drawn in avant-garde, cubist style		[4]
1994 Winter Olympics	Lillehammer	Håkon and Kristin	Humans	Kari and Werner Grossman	Both are dressed in Viking clothes. They are the first Olympic mascots to be human figures.		[4]
1996 Summer Olympics	Atlanta	Izzy	Unknown	John Ryan	The first computer-generated mascot.		[4]
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".		[4]
2000 Summer Olympics	Sydney	Olly (from "Olympic")	Kookaburra	Jozef Szekeres, Matthew Hatton	Representing the Olympic spirit of generosity.		[4]
		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	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.		[9] [4] [10]
		Copper (a.k.a. Higher)	Coyote
		Coal (a.k.a. Stronger)	American black bear
2004 Summer Olympics	Athens	Athena and Phevos (Αθηνά και Φοίβος)	Daidala Dolls	Spyros Gogos	Two modern children resembling ancient Greek dolls.		[4]
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."		[4]
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.		[4]
2010 Winter Olympics	Vancouver	Miga	Sea Bear	Meomi Design (a group of Vicki Wong and Michael Murphy)	Part orca and part kermode bear		[4]
		Quatchi	Sasquatch		From Canadian mythology
		Mukmuk	Vancouver Island marmot		Not an official mascot, but their designated "sidekick".
2012 Summer Olympics	London	Wenlock	A drop of steel with a camera for an eye.	Iris	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.		[4] [11] [12]
2014 Winter Olympics	Sochi	Bely Mishka, Leopard, and Zaika (Леопард, Зайка, Белый Мишка)	Polar bear, snow leopard, and hare	Silvia Petrova, Vadim Pak, Oleg Serdechny	First mascots decided by popular vote.		[4]
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.		[4]
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.		[4]
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.		[4]
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.		[4]
2024 Summer Olympics	Paris	Olympic Phryge	Phrygian cap	Gilles Deleris	Based on the Phrygian cap, a symbol of the French Revolution.		[13] [14]
2026 Winter Olympics	Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo	Tina	Stoat	Students of the Istituto Comprensivo of Taverna in Calabria	Tina's name is derived from Cortina d'Ampezzo, one of the two host cities.		[15]

Youth Olympic mascots

Games	City	Name	Type	Designer	Significance	Image	Refs.
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.		[16]
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		[17]
2014 Summer Youth Olympics	Nanjing	Lele(砳砳)	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.		[18]
2016 Winter Youth Olympics	Lillehammer	Sjogg	Lynx	Line Ansethmoen	The name "Sjogg" translates to "Snow" in the Gudbrandsdalsmål dialects		[19]
2018 Summer Youth Olympics	Buenos Aires	Pandi	Jaguar	Human Full Agency	Pandi's name is a combination of the scientific name of the jaguar (Panthera onca) and the relationship of the mascot with the "digital world".		[20] [21]
2020 Winter Youth Olympics	Lausanne	Yodli	A cow, Saint Bernard dog and a goat hybrid.	ERACOM	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. It was named after yodeling.		[22]
2024 Winter Youth Olympics	Gangwon Province	Moongcho	Snowball	Soo-Yeon Park	The character was conceived as a snowball created in a snowball fight between Soohorang and Bandabi.		[23]

See also

• List of mascots
• Olympic symbols
• Paralympic mascots
• Paralympic symbols

References

1. "History of Olympic Mascots 1968–2014 – Photos & Origins". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
2. "Smoky Quits Olympic Village: Mascot Settles Down in New Home". Los Angeles Times. 23 September 1932. p. 36. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
3. "Tokyo 1964 – Mythological Creature (unofficial mascot)". TheOlympicDesign. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
4. "A look back at Olympic mascots through the years | NBC Olympics". www.nbcolympics.com. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
5. "Mexico 1968 – Chac Mool (unofficial mascot)". theolympicdesign – Olympic Design Webseite!. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
6. "Sapporo 1972 – Takuchan (unofficial mascot)". TheOlympicDesign. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
7. "Photos and History". International Olympic Committee. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
8. "Innsbruck 1976 – Mascot Schneemandl". theolympicdesign. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
9. Utah Travel Industry. "2002 Winter Olympics: Emblems and Mascots". Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
10. 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.
11. "2012 London Mascots launched to the World" . Retrieved 21 October 2015.
12. Farquhar, Gordon (19 May 2010). "London 2012 unveils Games mascots Wenlock and Mandeville". BBC . Retrieved 19 May 2010.
13. "Avec ses produits dérivés, Paris 2024 veut faire sauter la banque". 29 October 2021.
14. Belam, Martin (14 November 2022). "Meet the Phryges: Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic mascots unveiled". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 August 2024.
15. Fenton, Caela (8 February 2024). "Meet Tina and Milo, the mascots for Milano Cortina 2026". Team Canada – Official Olympic Team Website. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
16. "Singapore unveil mascots for 2010 Youth Olympics". insidethegames.biz. 27 November 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
17. "Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympic Games mascot unveiled". insidethegames.biz. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
18. "Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games Mascot Unveiled". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
19. "Lillehammer 2016 mascot named Sjogg". insidethegames.biz. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
20. "Buenos Aires 2018 unveils #Pandi the jaguar as official mascot". insidethegames.biz. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
21. "Buenos Aires 2018 presents mascot for Youth Olympic Games – Trackalerts.com, track and field news website". 29 May 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
22. "Yodli unveiled as mascot for Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games". insidethegames.biz. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
23. "Designer of Gangwon 2024's official mascot reflects on journey : Korea.net : The official website of the Republic of Korea". korea.net. Retrieved 2 August 2024.

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
• Olympic Marketing Fact File 2024 Edition