List of Paralympic mascots

See also: List of Olympic mascots

Each Paralympic Games have a mascot, usually an animal native to the area or occasionally human figures representing the cultural heritage. Nowadays, most of the merchandise aimed at young people focuses on the mascots, rather than the Paralympic flag or organization logos.

The unnamed mascots of 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, The Netherlands are possibly the first Paralympic mascots. But since Komduri in the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea, the Paralympic mascots has been associated with its Olympic counterparts. Nowadays, most of the merchandise aimed at young people focuses on the mascots, rather than the Paralympic flag or organization logos.

List of mascots

Paralympics City Mascot Character Designer Significance Picture
1980 Summer Paralympics Arnhem a pair of squirrels Possibly the first Paralympic mascots when those Games were still called the World Disabled Games.
1988 Summer Paralympics Seoul the "Komduri" two Asian black bears. [1]
1992 Winter Paralympics Tignes-Albertville Alpy A mountain on a mono-ski. Vincent Thiebaut Represented the summit of the Grande Motte mountain in Tignes. Colors were white green and blue, to represent nature and the lake.
1992 Summer Paralympics Barcelona Petra a stylized girl without arms [2]
1994 Winter Paralympics Lillehammer Sondre troll, with an amputation Tor Lindrupsen The name was chosen in a competition and derives from the great skiing pioneer Sondre Nordheim. [3]
1996 Summer Paralympics Atlanta Blaze a colourful phoenix The phoenix is the symbol of the city of Atlanta. [4]
1998 Winter Paralympics Nagano Parabbit a white rabbit (1 red & 1 green ear)[1] [5]
2000 Summer Paralympics Sydney Lizzie Frill-necked Lizard Her frill was shaped like the combined islands of Australia and Tasmania [6]
2002 Winter Paralympics Salt Lake City Otto otter The otter was chosen because it embodies vitality and agility; and some ancient Native American tribes considered the otter to be one of the most powerful of all animals. [7]
2004 Summer Paralympics Athens Proteas colourfully-striped seahorse
2006 Winter Paralympics Turin Aster A humanized snowflake
2008 Summer Paralympics Beijing Fu Niu LeLe Multi-coloured cow Han Meilin
2010 Winter Paralympics Vancouver Sumi A mythical creature Meomi Design
(a group of
Vicki Wong and
Michael Murphy)		 With wings of a Thunderbird, legs of a black bear, and a hat of an orca whale. Part of Canadian legends.
Mukmuk A Vancouver Island Marmot Not an official mascot, but the designated "sidekick". [8]
2012 Summer Paralympics London Mandeville[2] A drop of steel, painted blue by the rainbow Iris[3] Named after the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire.
2014 Winter Paralympics Sochi TBA TBA TBA
2016 Summer Paralympics Rio de Janeiro TBA TBA TBA

See also

References

  1. ^ Olympic and Soccer Logos and Mascots, aldaver.com
  2. ^ Farquhar, Gordon (19 May 2010). "BBC Sport - London 2012 unveils Games mascots Wenlock & Mandeville". BBC Online. BBC Online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/london_2012/8690467.stm. Retrieved 19 May 2010. 
  3. ^ http://www.irisnation.com/irisnews/work/london-2012-mascots-launched-to-world/