Wenlock and Mandeville

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Wenlock (left), mascot of the Olympics, and Mandeville (right), mascot of the Paralympics Wenlock and Mandeville.svg
Wenlock (left), mascot of the Olympics, and Mandeville (right), mascot of the Paralympics
Mandeville (left) and Wenlock (right) inside the Olympic Stadium Olympic mascots (cropped).jpg
Mandeville (left) and Wenlock (right) inside the Olympic Stadium

Wenlock is the official mascot for the 2012 Summer Olympics, and Mandeville is the official mascot for the 2012 Summer Paralympics, both held in London, England, United Kingdom. [1] Named after Much Wenlock and Stoke Mandeville, they were created by Iris, a London-based creative agency. [1] [2] The mascots were unveiled on 19 May 2010, [3] marking the second time (after Vancouver's Miga, Quatchi, Sumi and Mukmuk) that both Olympic and Paralympic mascots were unveiled at the same time.

Contents

Characteristics

According to the associated (fictional) storyline by Michael Morpurgo, [4] they were formed from the last girder of the Olympic Stadium. Their skins are made of highly polished steel allowing them to reflect the personalities and appearances of the people they meet. Their one eye is a camera and on their heads are yellow lights symbolizing those of a London Taxi.

Wenlock

Wenlock's name is inspired by Much Wenlock in Shropshire, England, where in 1850 the Wenlock Olympian Society held its first Olympian Games, regarded as an inspiration for the modern Olympic games. [3] The five friendship rings on his wrists correspond to the five Olympic rings, and three points on his head represent the three places on the podium. [4] The pattern on his body symbolises the whole world coming to London,[ citation needed ] and the shape of his helmet represents the shape of the Olympic Stadium. [4]

Mandeville

Mandeville is named after Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. In 1948, Stoke Mandeville Hospital organised the first Stoke Mandeville Games, considered to be the precursor to the Paralympics. [3] The three spikes on Mandeville's helmet represent the Paralympic Agitos. He also represents friendship.

Animated shorts

Wenlock and Mandeville
Genre Sports
Fantasy
Animation
Created by Michael Morpurgo
Composer Thomas Hewitt Jones
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes4
Production
Running time5-10 minutes
Production companyCrystal CG
Release
Original network BBC
YouTube
UK Cinemas
Original releaseMay 19, 2010 (2010-05-19) 
May 28, 2012 (2012-05-28)

The British children book writer Michael Morpurgo wrote the story concept to go with Wenlock and Mandeville and an animation titled “Out of a Rainbow” was produced by the London office of Beijing-based Crystal CG. [5] [6] [7] This was followed by a sequel, "Adventures on a Rainbow", which was released on 1 March 2011. The video featured guest appearances from Olympic athletes: Phillips Idowu, Shanaze Reade and Tom Daley as well as Paralympic athletes: Ellie Simmonds and Mandip Sehmi. [8] These were followed by "Rainbow Rescue" (5 December 2011) and "Rainbow to the Games" (28 May 2012). The music for the animated films series was scored by British composer Thomas Hewitt Jones. [9]

The official theme song, "On a Rainbow", was written by McFly's Tom Fletcher. [10]

Comic strip

The mascots featured in an Olympic-themed comic strip in The Beano , starting in issue 3601. The strip, written by Ryan C. Gavan and drawn by Nigel Parkinson, ran until the Olympics began in July 2012. [11]

Reception

The mascots received mixed reviews. Creative Review said "Both are clearly of the digital age. And we have to say, we think they look rather good". [12] However, others were more critical, with one columnist claiming that the pair were the product of a "drunken one-night stand between a Teletubby and a Dalek". [13] Others have compared the mascots to Izzy, the mascot of the 1996 Summer Olympics, another critically panned mascot. [14] Still others have remarked that the pair resemble Kang and Kodos from The Simpsons . [15] Media critic James Bridle has observed that the characters' huge eyes make them fitting mascots for London, the most surveilled city on earth, with the highest ratio of CCTV cameras to inhabitants. [16]

Character appearances

The mascots were available to make appearances at schools and community events around the host nation. The then Chair of the London Assembly Baroness Dee Doocey raised the issue of the fees. She suggested only the "richest of schools" would be able to afford the appearances. Appearances were £850, rising to £1,720 for events requiring an overnight stay, and £2,450 for a trip to Scotland or Northern Ireland. Although LOCOG insisted they only charged the Appearance fee, the fee actually covered the performers, cohort, van hire, and accident liability insurance.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IWAS World Games</span> Parasports competition

The International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) World Games (or IWAS World Games) are a multi-sport competition for athletes with a disability, which were the forerunner of the Paralympic Games. The competition has been formerly known as the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games, the World Wheelchair Games, the International Stoke Mandeville Games, the Stoke Mandeville Games (SMG), and in the 1960s and 1970s was often referred to as the Wheelchair Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke Mandeville</span> Human settlement in England

Stoke Mandeville is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located three miles (4.9 km) from Aylesbury and 3.4 miles (5.5 km) from the market town of Wendover. Although a separate civil parish, the village falls within the Aylesbury Urban Area. According to the Census Report the area of this parish is 1,460 acres (5.9 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Summer Paralympics</span> Multi-parasport event in New York City, US

The 1984 International Games for the Disabled, canonically the 1984 Summer Paralympics, were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. There were two separate competitions: one in Stoke Mandeville, England, United Kingdom for wheelchair athletes with spinal cord injuries and the other at the Mitchel Athletic Complex and Hofstra University on Long Island, New York, United States for wheelchair and ambulatory athletes with cerebral palsy, amputees, and les autres [the others]. Stoke Mandeville had been the location of the Stoke Mandeville Games from 1948 onwards, seen as the precursors to the Paralympic Games, as the 9th International Stoke Mandeville Games in Rome in 1960 are now recognised as the first Summer Paralympics. As with the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Soviet Union and other communist countries except China, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Yugoslavia boycotted the Paralympic Games. The Soviet Union did not participate in the Paralympics at the time, arguing that they have no disabled people in the country. The USSR made its Paralympic debut in 1988, during Perestroika.

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Wenlock may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wenlock Olympian Games</span>

The Wenlock Olympian Games, dating from 1850, are a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games. They are organised by the Wenlock Olympian Society (WOS), and are held each year at venues across Shropshire, England, centred on the little market town of Much Wenlock. One of the two mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics was named Wenlock in honour of the Wenlock Olympian Games.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia at the 1984 Summer Paralympics</span> Sporting event delegation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olly, Syd, Millie and Lizzie</span> Official mascots of the 2000 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Sydney

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinicius and Tom</span> Official mascots of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro

Vinicius is the official mascot of the 2016 Summer Olympics, and Tom is the official mascot of the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Both events were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mascots were created by São Paulo-based animation company Birdo, which was selected by a national tender process that began in November 2012. Vinicius' design represents Brazilian fauna, combining aspects of cats, monkeys, and birds, while Tom's design represents Brazilian flora.

The Cerebral Palsy Games are a multi-sport competition for athletes with a disability, which under the former name of the International Stoke Mandeville Games were the forerunner of the Paralympic Games. The competition has been formerly known as the International Cerebral Palsy Games or the Stoke Mandeville Games. Since the 1990s the Games are organized by the organisation Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA), so they called also CPISRA World Games.

References

  1. 1 2 Gibson, Owen (19 May 2010). "London Olympics 2012: Meet Wenlock and Mandeville, drips off the old block". The Guardian . Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  2. "iris worldwide | London 2012 Mascots". Irisnation.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  3. 1 2 3 "London 2012 unveils Games mascots Wenlock & Mandeville". BBC News. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "London 2012 Mascots: Wenlock". www.olympic.org/london-2012-mascots. International Olympic Committee . Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  5. "The London 2012 mascots". London 2012. 19 May 2010. Archived from the original on May 21, 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  6. "animates London 2012 Mascots". Crystal CG. Archived from the original on 2011-03-27. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  7. "Organisation". Crystal CG. Archived from the original on 2010-04-13. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  8. Laing, Jemima (2 March 2011). "Plymouth diver Tom Daley stars in animated Olympic film". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013.
  9. "London 2012 Mascots Wenlock and Mandeville return to the big screen for the final time". Inside the Games. 12 May 2012.
  10. "McFly singer Tom Fletcher writes London 2012 mascots song". The Mirror. 17 November 2011.
  11. "Beano Comic Issue 3601". The Beano . Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  12. "Wenlock & Mandeville: London's Olympic mascots". Creative Review. Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  13. "Behold the One-Eyed Compromise Monster", Globe and Mail, 21 May 2010
  14. Rhone, Nedra (2010-05-21). "Atlanta's Olympic mascot meets its ugly match". ajc.com. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  15. Alpert, Emily (26 July 2012). "London Olympics: Making sport of mascots Wenlock, Mandeville". Los Angeles Times.
  16. HOLO Magazine, Volume 1. August 2013.
Preceded by Olympic mascot
Wenlock

London 2012
Succeeded by
Preceded by Paralympic mascot
Mandeville

London 2012
Succeeded by