The History of Mascots

Stylised skier, Schuss - a toy created for the 1968 Olympic Winter Games in Grenoble (France). Badges and figures of Schuss became so popular that he became the unofficial mascot of the Games.

The 1972 Olympic Winter Games in Sapporo (Japan) did not have a mascot. However, the Summer Games of the same year in Munich (Germany), had the dachshund Waldi as the mascot. This is where the tradition of official Olympic mascots began.

The 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck (Austria) Originally the XII Olympic Winter Games were going to be held in Denver (USA). However, in a referendum residents of the city decided not to host the Games because of the threat to the environment. After a competition, the Games were moved to Innsbruck, which had hosted the Games in a previous year. The Organizers dubbed these Games “the Games of Simplicity”. The chosen mascot - an Olympic snowman - was supposed to represent this quality.

The 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid (USA): Roni the Racoon was chosen as the mascot, as the marks on the face of this traditional American animal resemble the goggles and winter hats worn by the competitors. This was the first time the mascot represented a competitor in a winter sport.

The 1984 Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo (Yugoslavia): Vučko the Little Wolf was voted the mascot from a choice of six candidates by the readers of three popular Yugoslavian newspapers. This symbol received a mixed response because the wolf is traditionally a frightening image. According to the designer, the little wolf symbolised the human desire “to befriend animals and become closer to nature”.

The 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary (Canada): The polar bears Hidy and Howdy were the first pair of mascots (according to their story they are brother and sister, and their names come from the word “hi”.)

The 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville (France): The 1992 Winter Games in France were the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games. After this there would be a two year gap between the sporting events; this was also the first time the Paralympic Games were held. The mascot for the Games was a mountain elf, Magique, in the shape of a star and in France's national colours. This was the first time the mascot was changed. Two years before the Games the mascot was a mountain chamois, but it was not very popular and was changed.

The 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer (Norway): At the Games in Lillehammer the mascots were people for the first time: a boy and girl, Håkon and Kristin, brother and sister from Norwegian folklore. The heroes' images were actively used to advertise the Games, which made them very popular among athletes and fans.

The 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano (Japan): The Snowlets, owlets Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki, which symbolised wisdom and the four seasons of the year. Their names were chosen from 47,484 suggestions, which were submitted to the Organizing Committee by residents of Japan. Since the four owlets of the Nagano Games, neither the summer nor the winter Games (not counting the Paralympic Games) have had single mascots.

The 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City (USA): The mascots were a hare, a coyote and a bear with very specific national characteristics. Their images were supposed to resemble the main sources of income of the city: powder, copper and coal. These characters also symbolised the Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (“Faster, higher, stronger”).

The 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin (Italy): The snowball Neve and ice cube Gliz, mascots for the Turin Games, were aimed at a young audience. Their main qualities included enthusiasm, passion for sport and care for the environment. The images were created by designer Pedro Albuquerque, who won an international design competition run by the Turin 2006 Organizing Committee.

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver (Canada): The 2010 Winter Games had a group of mascots: Quatchi and Miga for the Olympic Games, and Sumi for the Paralympic Games. An “unofficial” mascot was also created - Mukmuk, their so-called “sidekick”. According to the organizers, the mascots, as personifications from mythology, fulfilled an important goal - to tell the world about Canada, a country inhabited by distinctive ethnic groups.

The 2002 Winter Paralympic Games in Salt Lake City (USA): The mascot was Otto the Otter, an animal frequently mentioned in Native American mythology. This choice also had an ecological aspect as otters in this region were almost extinct due to contaminated water and poaching. Thanks in no small part to the popularity of the mascot, the situation has improved since.

The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games in Turin (Италия) The mascot for the 2006 Paralympic Games was Aster the snowflake. It symbolised the spirit of the Paralympic Games, paying more attention to the sports achievements of the competitors than to the obstacles they had to overcome.

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver (Canada): Sumi, the Paralympic mascot, was part of the group of mascots for the 2010 Games. This was the first time that the Olympic and Paralympic mascots were represented together.