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Beijing 2022; Design Competition for Olympic and Paralympic Games Mascots Launched

Press release (Source: Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games);

 

Beijing 2022 Launches Design Competition for Olympic and Paralympic Games Mascots

Beijing 2022 today launched a global design competition for the mascots of the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, inviting people from around the world to come up with original designs for these important ambassadors of the Games.

At a ceremony held in Beijing’s Olympic Park, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Beijing 2022 President Cai Qi declared the design competition officially open.

Mascots are among the most memorable symbols of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Beijing 2022 looks forward to receiving creative design proposals from across the globe that embody Olympic and Paralympic values, affirm the vision of the 2022 Games, and reflect Chinese culture.

Designers could submit proposals to Beijing 2022 from October 20-31, 2018, in person or by mail. Beijing 2022 is expected to unveil the winning designs in the second half of 2019.

The launch ceremony for the design competition was held as part of an event to mark the 10-year anniversary of the Olympic Games Beijing 2008. The anniversary celebration also coincided with China’s 10th National Fitness Day, providing a fitting setting to look ahead to Beijing 2022 while celebrating the legacies of Beijing 2008.

The ceremony and the celebrations took place in the plaza between the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium and the “Water Cube” National Aquatics Center. These two iconic Beijing 2008 venues will be used for Beijing 2022, serving as the opening and closing ceremonies venue and the curling venue, respectively.

When the new school year begins in September, elementary and secondary school students across China will be encouraged to create their own mascots for the Games in art classes, as part of Beijing 2022’s Olympic Education Program to engage more youth.

 

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Tokyo 2020; Mascots: Miraitowa and Someity

Mascots: Miraitowa (Olympic Games) and Someity (Paralympic Games)

Image: Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG) on Twitter

 

Announcement video

 

Introduction

Origin of their names
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic mascot’s name was revealed as Miraitowa (pronounced mee-rah-e-toh-wa), based on the Japanese words mirai (future) and towa (eternity) combined. This name was chosen to promote a future full of eternal hope in the hearts of people all over the world.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic mascot’s name was revealed as Someity, (pronounced soh-may-tee) which comes from someiyoshino, a popular cherry blossom variety, and additionally echoes the English phrase “so mighty”. Someity has tactile cherry blossom sensors and exhibits enormous mental and physical strength. It represents Paralympic athletes who overcome obstacles and redefine the boundaries of what is possible.

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Miraitowa has the same indigo blue ichimatsu-patterns as the Tokyo 2020 Games Emblem on its head and body. The mascot’s personality is derived from a traditional Japanese proverb that means to learn old things well and to acquire new knowledge from them. The mascot has both an old-fashioned aspect that respects tradition and an innovative aspect that is in tune with cutting-edge information . It has a strong sense of justice, and is very athletic. The mascot has the special ability to move anywhere instantly.

Someity is a cool character with cherry blossom tactile sensors and super powers. It can send and receive messages telepathically using the cherry blossom antennae on both sides of its face. It can also fly using its ichimatsu-pattern cloak. It is usually quiet, but it can exhibit great power when necessary. It embodies Paralympic athletes that demonstrate superhuman power. It has a dignified inner strength and it also loves nature. It can talk to stones and wind by using its super power, and is also able to move things by just looking at them.

The duo finally made their debut today and are already anticipating a busy schedule ahead.

Between December 2017 and February 2018, more than 75% of the elementary schools in Japan and a number of overseas Japanese schools took part in a selection process and voted for their favourite set of mascot designs.

Miraitowa and Someity live in the digital world, and can move freely between there and the real world via the internet.

 

Source: Website Tokyo 2020

 

Mascot House / Shop

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YOG – Buenos Aires 2018; Youth Olympic Games Mascot Unveiled

Buenos Aires 2018 unveiled the official mascot for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games on Monday. Read the press release by Buenos Aires 2018 below:

 

We are pleased to present #Pandi, the mascot for the next Youth Olympic Games that was inspired by the jaguar. It aims to encourage youth to embrace sport as a tool to build a better world, while also raising awareness about the dangers faced by the species.

The Olympic mascots are ambassadors to the Games and play a fundamental role in spreading the event’s message and the Olympic values of friendship, respect, and excellence among different audiences, especially children and youth.

The Buenos Aires 2018 Organising Committee has launched its Youth Olympic mascot. Inspired by the jaguar, one of the most emblematic wild cat species found in northern Argentina, the mascot aims to inspire youth to embrace sport as a tool to make the world a better place, while also raising awareness about the species’ risk of extinction.

The mascot will be named #Pandi, with a “hashtag” at the beginning to demonstrate its strong online profile.

In the animated short, our young jaguar doesn’t give up when faced with challenges as it tries to reach the ribbons with colours that symbolise Buenos Aires 2018.

During the race it uses the positive energy of the sports found on the Youth Olympic programme to overcome all kinds of obstacles. It starts off with a breaking move; it demonstrates its skill in jumping over various hurdles; it defies gravity with a pole vault; and it ascends quickly just like in sport climbing.

Exhaustion can’t even get in the way of its final goal, to reach the Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires, where it’s embraced by the ribbons to become the mascot for the third summer edition of the Youth Olympic Games.

With perseverance and the festive spirit it reveals upon reaching its goal, #Pandi symbolises the desire for Buenos Aires 2018, the first edition of an Olympic celebration with strict gender equality, to serve as an important source of inspiration to build a better world through sport.

“Like the young athletes that give their best to qualify for the Games, the Buenos Aires 2018 mascot overcomes all types of adversity to reach its goals”, said the president of the Buenos Aires 2018 Organising Committee, Gerardo Werthein.

The Olympic mascots are ambassadors to the Games and play a fundamental role in spreading the event’s message and the Olympic values of friendship, respect, and excellence among different audiences, especially children and youth.

The jaguar, found in Argentina’s northern region, is in great danger due to human causes. Various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have warned about the risk of extinction as a result of the destruction of their natural habitat and hunting.

The Buenos Aires 2018 mascot was designed by the Argentine agency Human Full Agency. The short animation was made by the local production company, Buda TV.

Source: Buenos Aires 2018
Full article: The mascot born in Argentina for the celebration of sport and equality

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Tokyo 2020; Results poll: Which mascot design candidate would you select?

Last week, the mascots for Tokyo 2020 were officially unveiled. These mascots were the winners of elections among Japanese school children.

Our poll shows that design A was also preferred by readers of Architecture of the Games.

 

Image: © The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

 

Which Tokyo2020 mascot design candidate would you select?

  • Candidate A (43%, 22 Votes)
  • Candidate B (31%, 16 Votes)
  • Candidate C (25%, 13 Votes)

Total Voters: 51

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Tokyo 2020; Olympic and Paralympic mascots unveiled

Today, the mascots for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo were officially unveiled.

Press release by TOCOG:

 

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) today unveiled their official Olympic and Paralympic mascots, following an evaluation of three shortlisted design sets by elementary schoolchildren across Japan and at Japanese schools overseas. Design Set A secured the largest number of classroom votes and will accordingly serve as the official mascots of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

205,755 classes at 16,769 schools took part in the election, with the winning Design Set A receiving 109,041 votes. Design Set B attracted 61,423 votes and Design Set C received 35,291. The results were announced in front of around 600 children at Hoyonomori Gakuen School in Tokyo, one of the schools which participated in the voting process. The ceremony was live-streamed in order to allow children all over the country to share the moment and discover the winner in real time. Public viewings were also organised in several schools.

In December 2017, Tokyo 2020 published a shortlist of three mascot design sets, each containing an Olympic and a Paralympic mascot, following a review of 2,042 entries submitted by the public during a nationwide competition. Elementary school classes across the country and in Japanese schools overseas were then invited to evaluate the shortlisted designs, with each class asked to cast a single vote in favour of one of the sets.

The mascot voting process was part of Tokyo 2020’s nationwide educational programme called “Yoi Don!” (“Get Set”), which brings the Olympic and Paralympic Games into schools across Japan and allows students to actively participate in educational initiatives linked to the Games. By encouraging discussion of the mascots in classes, the voting process helped children learn about the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements.

Commented Ryohei Miyata, Mascot Selection Panel Chairperson, “The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games finally have their mascots. This means a lot, especially in Japan. I cannot wait to see these two characters coming to life in the stadiums, on the streets and on TV. The children selected two mascots that embody both ancient tradition and new innovation. I believe this is an excellent choice since Tokyo 2020’s branding vision is “innovation from harmony”, which implies that innovation will occur when the old and the new of Tokyo and Japan come together.”

The Mascot Selection Panel will now decide names for the winning mascots, which will make their official debut in July or August 2018.

The designer of the winning mascots is Ryo Taniguchi. Born in 1974, Taniguchi lives in Fukuoka, in southern Japan. He graduated as an art major from Cabrillo College in California, in the United States, and is currently active as a character designer/illustrator. His work has been featured by companies and at exhibitions in Japan.

Taniguchi and the two runners-up – Kana Yano (Design Set B) and Sanae Akimoto (Design Set C) – attended the ceremony, with each receiving an award.

 

Link

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Tokyo 2020; Shortlisted mascot designs unveiled

Image: © The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Today, three mascot designs for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled. From December 11 to February 22, school childeren will vote from the shortlist. The winner will be announced in February 2018.

You can read the press release by TOCOG here.
More info: Tokyo 2020 Mascot competition website.

 

Video selection process

The selection process to the final three shortlisted entries. (Video by Tokyo2020 on YouTube)

 

Video design candidates movie

From a total of 2,042 applications, 3 Mascot Design candidates have been chosen. Elementary school students across Japan will select the winning Tokyo 2020 Mascot! If you were an elementary school student, who would you select? (Video by Tokyo2020 on YouTube)

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Tokyo 2020; Mascot Design Competition Launched

The Tokyo 2020 Mascot Design Competition was launched earlier this week. You can read the press release by Tokyo2020 below. Or visit this page for more information.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Mascot Design Competition Now Open to Public!
1 August 2017

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) today launched a competition inviting all residents of Japan to submit their own design proposals for the Olympic and Paralympic mascots. If you’re living in Japan, from today until Monday 14 August you can design your own set of mascots and submit these via the Tokyo 2020 website. So it’s time to let those creative juices flow and get designing – yours could be the winner!

To mark the competition’s kick-off, Tokyo 2020 held a ceremony at Kuramae Elementary School in Asakusabashi in Tokyo today that was attended by over 200 excited schoolchildren. At the event, four-time Olympian Ai Sugiyama and three-time Paralympian Aki Taguchi mingled with the children and shared their stories and experiences of being athletes and competing at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In May this year, Tokyo 2020 announced a cool new method they will use to select the winner of the design competition. A Tokyo 2020 mascot review panel will select a shortlist from the submitted design sets by the beginning of December, and schoolchildren at every elementary school across the country, including international schools, will be able to cast their vote and select their preferred set of designs. Tokyo 2020 will select the design set which attracts the largest number of classroom votes and announce the winner in March 2018. It will be a great way to directly involve young people in the Games’ preparations!

At today’s event, children counted down to noon, and as chairperson of the Mascot Selection Panel Ryohei Miyata beat a ceremonial gong, they cheered the announcement that the design entry website was now open. Two cheerleading squads performed in front of the schoolchildren and guests to celebrate the occasion.

Miyata commented, “Japanese mascots are loved by many people around the world. You and your classmates will select the best mascots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games. We are going to ask all elementary school children in Japan to play this important role. We hope many people will enter this competition starting today”

A “creative brief” with a comprehensive set of design guidelines and criteria is available for applicants for download here:

Entry requirement (PDF: 1.1 MB)