Olympic games mascots

Since the Olympics games in London 2012 arrived why not speak a little bit about mascots, a mascot is like a charm to some events, it can be a person, an animal or an object to bring luck, back to 1972 the events hosting countries competed In making the most weird attracting and unique mascots in order to make the event remarkable.

1-Schuss (1968 - Grenoble Winter Games)

Schuss, a cartoon-like character on skis, was the unofficial mascot of the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble. Since then, every Olympic Games has had a mascot except for the 1972 Winter Games.

2-Waldi (1972 - Munich Summer Games)

Waldi, a long-haired dachshund, was the first official Olympics mascot. He appeared in several flavours - his vertical stripes could contain any three of the five Olympic colours. Though Waldi was available as a plush toy and a plastic toy, and appear on buttons, posters, and stickers, the pin bearing Waldi didn't come out until some years after the Olympics.

3-schneemann (1976 - Innsbruck Winter Games) 

                                              

its German for snowman, schneemann was the first official winter games mascot, he was available as a plush toy, pins and other souvenirs.

4- Amik (1976 - Montreal Summer Games)                                                   

Amik the beaver, was the mascot for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Amik means beaver in the Alqonquin language and the beaver is the national symbol of Canada.

5-Roni (1980 - Lake Placid Winter Games)                                                     

Rocky, a live raccoon, was supposed to be the mascot of the 1980 Winter Olympics, but he died before the Games began. He was replaced by Roni, the first mascot to be shown in several different sporting poses on various products.

6-Misha (1980 - Moscow Summer Games) 

                                                      

Victor Chizikov, an illustrator of children's books, designed Misha the bear, whose full name was Mikhail Potapych Toptygin. Chizikov spent six months drawing more than a hundred variations for use on many products. The sailing events had a separate mascot of their own, Vigri the seal.

7-Vucko (1984 - Sarajevo Winter Games)

Readers of Yugoslav newspapers were asked to choose the mascot for the 1984 Winter Olympics from a list of six finalists. The winner was Vucko, the little wolf, designed by Joze Trebec. The other finalists were a chipmunk, a lamb, a mountain goat, a porcupine, and a snowball.

8-Sam (1984 - Los Angeles Summer Games)

Sam the Eagle was designed by C. Robert Moore of Walt Disney Productions. The bird was chosen because the bald eagle is the national symbol of the United States.

9-Hidi and Howdy(1988 - Calgary Winter Games)

The first male and female pair of mascots were Hidi and Howdy, brother and sister polar bears designed by Sheila Scott of Great Scott Productions. The names were chosen from nearly 7,000 entries in a contest sponsored by the Calgary Zoo.

10-Hodori (1988 - Seoul Summer Games)

The Seoul Games had dual mascots, Hodori and Hosuni, but Hodori was by far the most popular. The tiger was selected because it appears in many Korean legends. Kim Hyun designed the mascots. The name was chosen from a list of 2,295 submitted by the public.

11-Magique (1992 - Albertville Winter Games)

A mountain goat named Chamois was originally going to be the mascot of the Albertville Games, but no one really liked it, so Philippe Mairesse was called in to design something else. He came up with magique the snow imp.

12-Cobi (1992 - Barcelona Summer Games)

Cobi, designed by cartoonist Javier Mariscal, was supposed to be a dog, but many people weren't sure and the mascot seemed to be a flop. But then he began to catch on and became very popular by the end of the Games and afterward.

13-Haakon & Kristin (1994 - Lillehammer Winter Games)

The first humanoid mascots were Haakon and Kristin, doll-children from Norwegian folklore. An interesting twist was that several pairs of real-life portrayed them to publicize the 1994 Winter Olympics before and during the Games.

14-Izzy (1996 - Atlanta Summer Games)

Izzy was probably the least successful mascot of all. No one knew exactly what he (or she or it) was supposed to be. Originally, he was called Whatizit or Whatizhee, and Izzy was simply a shortening of those names. Izzy was also someting of a shape shifter. As time went on, he grew a nose, gained weight and muscle, and developed stars in his eyes.

15-Snow Owls (1998 - Nagano Winter Games)

As with Albertville in 1992, the original mascot was fired. It was a weasel named Snowple, who was generally disliked and was therefore replaced by four snow owls, Sukki, Nokki, Lekki, and Tsukki. They weren't much more popular at first, but gained popularity as the Games went on.

16-Olly, Syd, and Millie (2000 - Sydney Summer Games)

For the Sydney Olympics, Matthew Hatton designed three Australian animals with multiple layers of meaning. Olly, a kookaburra, is named for the Olympics and represents universal generosity; Syd, a platypus, is named for Sydney and represents the energy of Australia and the Australians; Millie, an echidna, is named for the millennium and is an information whiz.

17-Hare, Coyote, Bear (2002 - Salt Lake City Winter Games)

The three animals symbolizing the 2002 Winter Olympics were chosen from Native American folklore to represent the three elements of the Olympic motto: The snowshoe hare is faster (Citius); the coyote is higher (Altius) because he once climbed a mountaintop and stole fire to warm the earth; the black bear is stronger (Fortius).

18-Athena & Phevos (2004 - Athens Summer Games)

Athena and Phevos are two doll-like children, brother and sister, whose design is based on an ancient Greek terra cotta doll dating to the 7th century BC. Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom, the namesake and protectress of Athens, while Phevos is the god of light and music.

19-Neve & Gliz (2006 - Turin Winter Games)

Neve is a snowball, Gliz an ice cube. They were created by a Portuguese artist, Pedro Albuquerque, who won an international competition conducted by the Turin Organising Committee.

20-The Fuwa (2008- Beijing Summer Games)

Beibe the blue female  kind of a fish which symbolizes the  European Continent and aquatic sports  , Jingjing the black panda symbolizing Africa, weightlifting, judo  and others, Huanhuan inspired from the Olympics red flames and the chinise Mogao Grottoes symbolieig amirica and ball sports/racquet sports,Yingying the orange Tibetan Antelope symbolising asia and track and field  sports and Nini the green swift inspired mascot which symbolizes Oceania and gymnastics.

21-Miga, Quatchi, Sumi and Mukmuk (2010-vancouver winter games)

Miga - A mythical sea bear, part orca and part kermode bear living off the coast of Vancouver Island.     Quatchi - A sasquatch. He comes from the mysterious forests of Canada, wears blue earmuffs.

Sumi - An animal guardian spirit with the wings of the Thunderbird and legs of a black bear who wears an orca-like hat in an artistic style of Haida people. His name comes from the Salish word "sumesh," meaning "guardian spirit."

Mukmuk - A Vancouver Island marmot described as "small and friendly", Mukmuk is not an official mascot but acts as their "sidekick".

22-Wenlock and Mandeville(2012 Summer Olympics)      

Named after the village of Much Wenlock in Shropshire - which hosted a precursor to the modern Olympic Games in the 19th century. Mandeville is named after Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, UK, where the first Paralympic Games were held, in 1948. Both designed after a camera and a webcam represent the UK's start of the Industrial Revolution.