Why do we have mascots in the olympics

It is sometimes depicted in a wheelchair. This mascot has several superpowers. It can fly using its pink ichimatsu pattern cape. Children in 16, Japanese elementary schools, at home and abroad, participated in the voting.

Prior to the voting, mascot candidates were submitted for consideration. Any Japanese national or foreign resident over the age of 18 could contribute. The Tokyo Organising Committee received more than 2, entries. After the selected mascots were unveiled, the Mascot Selection Panel voted on a shortlist of proposed mascot names. The mascots are also considered Games Ambassadors. The Tokyo Olympics ambassadors include nine anime, manga, and video game heroes :. He is mainly involved in weightlifting.

He also edits and writes articles for the IronSet blog where he shares his experiences. Andrey knows everything from warm-up to hard workout. The raccoon is a popular animal from the mountainous region of the Adirondacks where Lake Placid is situated.

Roni means raccoon in the Iroquoian language. Iroquoian is the language of the native people from Lake Placid. The name was chosen by school children in Lake Placid. Misha also called Mishka was the Russian bear and was the official mascot for the summer Olympic games in Moscow, Russia.

The Russian bear was a national symbol of the Soviet Union. Misha is considered as the first mascot of sporting events that gained large-scale commercial success in merchandise. The mascot was used extensively during the event. The Winter Olympic games were held at Sarajevo. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Vucko is a wolf, an animal typically found in the forests of the Dinaric Alps region. The mascot represented the wolf not only because it was found in those areas but due to its representation.

The wolf represents courage and strength and symbolizes winter. Los Angeles, United States was the official host of the summer Olympic games in Sam the Olympic eagle is a bald eagle. Eagle is a national bird and a symbolic figure in the USA. Eagle is a patriotic symbol and was named Sam also suggests a kinship with Uncle Sam, another American symbol. Sam was designed by an artist who worked for Disney — Bob Moore.

The Winter olympic games were hosted by Calgary, Canada. Hidy and Howdy were the official mascots for the games. The two polar bears were designed by Sheila Scott and they represented Western Canadian hospitality.

Hodori was the official mascot for the summer Olympic games held in Seoul, South Korea. Hodori was a tiger cub and was designed by Kim Hyun.

Hodori represented the friendly and hospitality tradition of South Korea. The winter Olympics were hosted by Albertville. Albertville is located in the southeastern part of France. Magique was the official mascot for the games. Magique is a little imp in the shape of a star and a cube. Magique was designed by Philippe Mairesse. Magique is also the first mascot that was not an animal representation.

The star shape symbolizes dreams and imagination and the color scheme was taken from the French flag. Cobi and Petra were respective mascots for the Olympics and Paralympic games. Cobi is a Catalan sheepdog that was designed by Javier Mariscal.

The Olympics are finally back and the athletes aren't the only representatives of the big games. Have you met Tokyo's Miraitowa? Miraitowa is the official mascot of the Tokyo Olympics. Its name is based on the Japanese words 'future' Mirai and 'eternity' Towa , according to Olympic Design , and its body and head contains a blue indigo ichimatsu-pattern resembling the Tokyo Games Emblem.

You'll see Miraitowa at the games, but not competing with the other athletes. It will be in the form of a robot, greeting guests and athletes at the official venues. Mascots started out as a way to attract younger audiences to the games.

Over time, the Olympic committee found that mascots could also be used for promotion and merchandising. But, there is more to it. Mascots chosen each Olympic season have their own special meaning meant to uplift audiences on all walks of life. Let's take a look at this year's mascots for the Olympics and Paralympics: Miraitowa and Someity.