10 Best Olympic Mascots......

1. WENLOCK AND MANDEVILLE

10 Best Olympic Mascots

The official mascots of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, were Wenlock and Mandeville. The mascots of the 2012 London Summer Olympics were unveiled on 19 May 2010 which was the second time in history of Olympics when both the Olympic and Paralympic mascots were unveiled at the same date. Wenlock and Mandeville were the creation of a London-based creative agency Iris. Wenlock in Shropshire, England, where the Wenlock Olympian Society held its first Olympic Games in 1850, was the inspiration behind the name of the mascot Wenlock. Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire where the first Stoke Mandeville Games were organized in 1948, was the inspiration behind the name of the mascot Mandeville.

2. THE LEOPARD, POLAR BEAR AND HARE

10 Best Olympic Mascots

The official mascots of the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi, Russia were The Leopard, Polar Bear and Hare. From September 1 to December 5, 2010, a nationwide mascot design contest was held in Russia where judges had 24,000 designs from the participants. A short list of designs had been shown to the public by a live national TV broadcast on Russia’s Channel One on February 7, 2011, that consisted 10 Olympic and 3 Paralympic designs. Russians voted for their favorite mascots, and The Leopard, Polar Bear and Hare were selected as the final mascots for the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The Ray of Light and the Snowflake were also chosen as the mascot of Paralympics besides The Leopard, Polar bear and Hare.

3. MIGA, QUATCHI, SUMI AND MUKMUK

10 Best Olympic Mascots

The official mascots of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada were Miga, Quatchi, Sumi and Mukmuk. They were designed by the Canadian- American agency Meomi Design and was unveiled on November 27, 2007 which was the first time when the Olympic and Paralympic mascots were introduced on the same date. Five were shortlisted by the Olympic committee VANOC after they received 177 designs from all over the world and finally selected concepts from Meomi Design in December 2006. Part killer whale and part spirit bear Miga is a mythical sea bear, sasquatch or bigfoot Quatchi dreams of being a hockey goalie, Sumi with the wings of the Thunderbird and legs of an American black bear was an animal guardian spirit, and small and friendly sidekick Mukmuk is a Vancouver Island marmot.

4. FUWA

10 Best Olympic Mascots

The official mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, China were Fuwa which literally means the “good-luck dolls”. The designs of the mascot dolls were created by a famous Chinese artist Han Meilin. Fuwa was declared the official mascot on 11 November 2005 at an event by the National Society of Chinese Classic Literature Studies. The five Fuwa, i.e. Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini got their names form the sentence “Beijing huanying ni” which stands for “Beijing welcomes you.” The Fuwa made a world-tour visiting all seven continents as the ambassadors of peace. As an interesting fact, 72-year-old Chinese artist Han Meilin suffered two heart attacks while designing the Fuwa mascot for the Beijing Olympics.

5. NEVE AND GLIZ

10 Best Olympic Mascots

The official mascots of the 2006 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Turin, Italy were Neve and Gliz. The Organizing Committee TOROC received 237 proposals at a mascot design contest on May 20, 2003. Five were chosen as the finalists, and eventually Neve and Gliz created by Pedro Albuquerque were selected as the final mascot. Neve, which stands for “Snow” in Italian and represents “softness, friendship and elegance, ” is a humanized female snowball with red costume. Gliz, which stands for “Ice” in Italian and represents “enthusiasm and joy,” is a humanized male ice cube with blue costume. Mascot artist Pedro Albuquerque also designed a stylized snowflake”Aster” as the mascot for Paralympic Games.

6. POWDER, COPPER AND COAL

10 Best Olympic Mascots

The official mascots of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Salt Lake City, United States were Powder, Copper and Coal. The designing of the mascots started in September 1997 and the International Olympic Committee gave the approval to the mascots in December 1998. Steve Small widely famous for his work in Rugrats and Hercules was the main illustrator of the mascot, and Landor Associates of San Francisco and Publicis worked with The Salt Lake Organizing Committee to develop and market the mascot. All three mascots were unveiled at the Triad Center in downtown Salt Lake City on May 15, 1999. Powder is a Snowshoe Hare, Copper is a Coyote and Coal is an American black bear, and they represent Native American legends.

7. SUKKI, NOKKI, LEKKI AND TSUKKI

10 Best Olympic Mascots

The official mascots of the 1998 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Nagano, Japan were Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki also known as the Snowlets. Four mascots denote the gap of four years between each Olympiad. The four Snowlets represent the four major islands of Japan, and individually, Sukki represents the element fire, Nokki represents the element air, Lekki represents the element earth and Tsukki represents the element water. The name “Snowlets” comes from two words, snow which represents the winter Olympics and lets which invites the participants to join the game. The mascots were designed by Landor Associates, and the names of four Snowlets were chosen from among 47,484 suggestions.

8. IZZY

10 Best Olympic Mascots

The official mascot of the 1996 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Atlanta, United states was Izzy. Izzy was the animated character with the ability to morph into different forms and first named as Whatizit which stands for “What is it?” Interestingly, the mascot did not represent any nationally-significant animal or human figure. Izzy was designed by senior animation director of Atlanta-based design firm DESIGNefx John Ryan. The final design was chosen from a competition of twenty design firms racing to build mascot forsummer Olympics. A theme park in Williamsburg, Virginia called Busch Gardens Williamsburg also named a new Wild Mouse roller coaster after the mascot.

9. COBI

10 Best Olympic Mascots

The official mascot of the 1992 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain was Cobi. Cobi was inspired by Las Meninas interpretations of Picasso of a masterpiece from Velázquez, Las Meninas. Cobi was actually a Catalan Sheepdog in Cubist style and was designed by Javier Mariscal. The name of the mascot Cobi was derived from the Barcelona Olympic Organizing Committee or COOB. The mascot officially unveiled in public in 1987. Cobi made his cameo appearance in a variety of advertisements for Olympic sponsors like Brother Industries, Coca-Cola and Danone before and during the 1992 summer Olympics. Cobi also had its own TV-series called The Cobi Troupe.

10. SAM THE OLYMPIC EAGLE

10 Best Olympic Mascots

The official mascot of the 1984 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles, United States was Sam the Olympic Eagle. Sab is actually a bald eagle which is the national bird of United States of America. The name of the mascot Sam denotes the kinship with another American symbol Uncle Sam. Sam was designed by legendary Disney animation artist Bob Moore. The mascot of the 1984 Summer Olympics shares the name of Sam the Eagle from a character of The Muppet Show, but the designs are different in term. After the end of 1984 Summer Olympics, Sam the eagle also used to promote the Mt. SAC Relays a track and field event at Mt. San Antonio College.

The mascot for 2016 Summer Olympics will be unveiled in November 2014. The Pyeongchang Olympic Committee declared their mascot selection contest on June 27, 2014 and the selection process took place from September 15 to September 30 of 2014. The final selection of 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games will soon be unveiled for public.

SOURCE:  http://sporteology.com/10-best-olympic-mascots/