‘Schuss’ the skier (an unofficial

mascot) made his appearance at the Grenoble 1968 Winter Games. He is

widely considered the ‘father’ of all Olympic mascots .

But what is a mascot?

In Olympic Games tradition, a mascot is a person, animal or item that represents good luck. Mascots usually reflect the nature or

culture of a host region or country. The three mascots for the Sydney 2000 Summer

Games, for example, ‘Syd’ (the platypus), ‘Millie’ (the echidna) and ‘Olly’ (the

kookaburra), reflected fauna indigenous to Australia. Representing air, water and earth, they were named respectively after the Host

City, the new millennium and the Olympic Games.

“Waldi", the first official mascot to appear for the 1972 Munich

Games

Winter Olympic Games 1976 - Innsbruck

 This snowman symbolizes the "Games of Simplicity.”

1976 - Montreal - Amik

1980 – Moscow - Misha

1980 - Lake Placid - Roni

1984 – Los Angeles - Sam

1984 – Sarajevo - Vuchko"Vuchko", the tough

and courageous wolf. This wolf has both a serious and a cheerful side, but is happy rather than serious.

1988 – Seoul - Hodori

Calgary ‘88

“Howdy and Hidy” are an inseparable brother and sister pair of polar bears. "Hidy" is an extension of "hi", while "Howdy“ is the

American western slang for "hello."

1992 – Barcelona - Cobi

1992 – Albertville - Magique Half man-half

star. "Magique" plays with the concept of dream and imagination through its star-like shape.

1994 - LillehammerHaakon and Kristin are two small

Norwegian children in traditional costumes.

1996 – Atlanta - Izzy

1998 - NaganoThe Snowlets: Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki are four owls; a bird who has long represented "the wisdom of the woods" in many countries .

2002 – Salt Lake

The Salt Lake 2002 mascots aim to reflect the Olympic motto "Citius, Altius Fortius" (Faster, Higher, Stronger).

2004 – Athens

2006 – Turin – Neve & Gliz

"Neve": she is a gentle, kind and

elegant snowball; "Gliz": he is a

lively, playful ice cube.

2008 - Beijing

Beibei is the Fish,

Jingjing is the Panda,

Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame,

Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope

and Nini is the Swallow.

When you put their names together - Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni – you get the greeting : “ Welcome to Beijing “,that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.

Apr-08Credit for some of the

photos and the information: IOC