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.
| Games | City | Name | Type | Designer | Significance | Image | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | Smoky | The only Olympic mascot to be a real live animal. (unofficial) | [2] | |||||
| Tokyo | Kapa | Unknown | (unofficial) | [3] | ||||
| Grenoble | Schuss | Aline Lafargue | Abstract figure with the colors of the flag of France. (unofficial, later recognised by the IOC) | [4] | ||||
| Mexico City | Chac Mool | Jaguar | Unknown | (unofficial) | [5] | |||
| Sapporo | Takuchan | Seiko design department | Designed and marketed by sponsors of the Games. (unofficial) | [6] | ||||
| Munich | Waldi | Dachshund dog | Elena Winschermann[7] | A popular breed in Bavaria, it represented the attributes required for athletes – resistance, tenacity and agility. | ||||
| Innsbruck | Schneemann and Sonnenweiberl | Snowman and Sun woman | Walter Pötsch | Representing the Games of Simplicity. | [8] | |||
| Montreal | Amik | Yvon Laroche, Pierre-Yves Pelletier, Guy St-Arnaud and George Huel | Beavers are one of the national symbols of Canada. | |||||
| Lake Placid | Roni | Donald Moss | Its face design resembles the hat and goggles used by competitors. It was named for the Adirondack mountain range. | |||||
| Moscow | Misha (Миша) | The Russian Bear was the national symbol of the Soviet Union. | ||||||
| Sarajevo | Vučko | 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. | |||||
| Los Angeles | Sam | Robert Moore (from The Walt Disney Company) | The national bird of the United States. | |||||
| Calgary | Hidy and Howdy | Polar bears | Sheila Scott | Both represent Western Canadian hospitality. | ||||
| Seoul | Hodori (호돌이) | Hyun Kim | Siberian tigers are common in Korean legends. | |||||
| Albertville | Magique | Man-star/snow imp | Philippe Mairesse | The colors of the mascot are based on those of the French flag. | ||||
| Barcelona | Cobi | Drawn in avant-garde, cubist style | ||||||
| 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. | ||||
| Atlanta | Izzy | Unknown | John Ryan | The first computer-generated mascot. | ||||
| Nagano | The Snowlets
| 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". | ||||
| Sydney | Olly (from "Olympic") | Jozef Szekeres, Matthew Hatton | Representing the Olympic spirit of generosity. | |||||
| Syd (from "Sydney") | Representing the environment and energy of the people of Australia. | |||||||
| Millie (from "Millennium") | Representing the Millennium. All three mascots are common wild animals found in Australia. | |||||||
| Salt Lake City | Powder (a.k.a. Swifter) | 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] [10] | ||||
| Copper (a.k.a. Higher) | Coyote | |||||||
| Coal (a.k.a. Stronger) | American black bear | |||||||
| Athens | Athena and Phevos (Αθηνά και Φοίβος) | Daidala Dolls | Spyros Gogos | Two modern children resembling ancient Greek dolls. | ||||
| Turin | Neve and Gliz | 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." | |||||
| Beijing | The Fuwa (福娃): Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini | 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. | ||||||
| Vancouver | Miga | Sea Bear | Meomi Design (a group of Vicki Wong and Michael Murphy) | |||||
| Quatchi | From Canadian mythology | |||||||
| Mukmuk | Not an official mascot, but their designated "sidekick". | |||||||
| 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. | [11] [12] | |||
| 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. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
| Beijing | Bing Dwen Dwen (冰墩墩) | 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. | |||||
| Paris | Olympic Phryge | Gilles Deleris | Based on the Phrygian cap, a symbol of the French Revolution. | [13] [14] | ||||
| Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo | Tina | 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] |
| Games | City | Name | Type | Designer | Significance | Image | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Summer Youth Olympics | 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] | ||||
| Alpine Chamois | Florencia Demaría and Luis Andrés Abbiati of Argentina | Yoggl represents the character of the host city of these games | [17] | |||||
| Lele(砳砳) | 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] | ||||||
| Lynx | Line Ansethmoen | The name "Sjogg" translates to "Snow" in the Gudbrandsdalsmål dialects | [19] | |||||
| 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". | File:2018-10-08 Shooting at 2018 Summer Youth Olympics – Girls' 10 metre air rifle (Martin Rulsch) 138.jpg}}|120px | [20] [21] | ||||
| 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] | |||||
| Snowball | Soo-Yeon Park | The character was conceived as a snowball created in a snowball fight between Soohorang and Bandabi. | [23] |