Waldi,
1972 Olympic Summer Games in Munich, Germany
Waldi, the dachshund. Very popular in Bavaria, he possesses
qualities which are indispensable to an athlete: resistance,
tenacity and agility. These are among the reasons he was
chosen to be the mascot. He was dressed in pastel colors
to express the gaiety and joy of the Olympic festival.
Amik,
1976 Olympic Summer Games in Montreal, Canada
A beaver called Ami. The name was taken from the Algonquian
language which is the most popular language amongst the
American Indians in Canada. Amik means beaver.
Misha,
1980 Olympic Summer Games in Moscow
The Moscow Olympic bear, Misha, was developed by the
renowned illustrator of children's books Victor Chizikov.
Sam
the Eagle, 1984 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles,
USA
Designed by Walt Disney, Sam is a cartooned Eagle with
sheer American characteristics who wears the dress of
the legendary American Uncle Sam with red, white and
blue, typical colors of the USA. Commercial use of mascots
was initiated henceforth.
Hodori,
1988 Olympic Summer Games in Seoul, Korea
For the 1988 Olympic Games, a little tiger designed by
Kim Hyun with typical Oriental color, was chosen as the
mascot. Hodori was designed as an amicable tiger which
portrays the friendly and hospitable traditions of the
Koreans. The name was chosen from 2.295 suggestions sent
in by the public. It is derived from the Korean word
for tiger and dori, a diminutive for boys in Korea.
Cobi,
1992 Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain
The mascot was a dog named Cobi. The Valencian artist,
Javier Mariscal, created Cobi, inspired on a sheep dog,
as official mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
The Barcelona Organizing Committee for the Olympics had
specially produced a TV series for Cobi to communicate
the spirits of the Games.
Izzy,
1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta, USA
Izzy
was the first mascot designed by computer. It was an
amorphous abstract fantasy figure. It carried the name
Izzy, derived from "What is it?" because
no one seemed to know exactly what Izzy really was.
Syd,
Olly and Millie, 2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney,
Australia
Olly, Syd and Millie, designed by Matthew Hattan, are three
native Australian animals chosen as mascots for the Sydney
2000 Games. They represent earth, air and water. Olly (from
Olympics), a kookaburra, represents the Olympic spirit
of generosity. Syd (from Sydney), a platypus, represents
the environment and captures the vigor and energy of Australia
and its people. Millie (from millennium), an echidna, is
a techno-whiz and information guru with all the facts and
figures at her fingertips.
Athena
and Phevos, 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens,
Greece
The lovely mascots, Athena and Phevos, with their whacking
feet, longish necks and puny heads, one in deep yellow
and the other in deep blue, are based on dolls, thousands
of years old, found at archeological sites in Greece.
Greek mythology had it that Phevos and Athena are brother
and sister, named after two Greek gods: Phevos, the god
of light and music, and Athena, goddess of wisdom and
patron of the city of Athens.
Beibei,
Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini
2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing, China
The
five mascots are officially called the Five Friendlies.
They are Beibei, the fish; Jingjing, the panda; Huanhuan,
the Olympic flame; Yingying, the Tibetan antelope;
and Nini, the swallow. The first syllables from their
two-syllable names form a line that reads “Beijing
Huanying Ni”, or in English –
“Welcome to Beijing”. The mascot’s
colours were chosen in line with the colours of the Olympic
rings.
In the ancient culture of China, there is a great tradition
of spreading blessings through signs and symbols. Each
of the mascots symbolises a different blessing and will
honour this ancient tradition by bringing their blessings
to the children of the world. Beibei represents the blessing
of prosperity, Jingjing the blessing of happiness, Huanhuan
the blessing of passion, Yingying the blessing of health
and Nini the blessing of good luck.