Counting the 12 Olympic mascots since 1972： Fuwa ranked seventh in terms of face value.
Reference message networkReported on August 6Western media said that it is not easy to create an Olympic mascot, and it is even more difficult for people to like it and stay in memory. Mascots first appeared at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in Germany. "National newspaper" organized a number of design experts to count and rank 12 mascots since Munich Olympic Games.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais on August 4th, the original mascots often faithfully reflect the most representative animals in the host city or country. Many mascots are conservative in design and lack innovation. So Spanish designer Javier Mariscal brought the mascot Cobi to the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Cobi outlined by abstract lines brings infinite imagination to people, but we can still see the appearance of Spanish shepherd. Izzy, the mascot of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, is a completely imaginary creature. Design experts point out that high recognition is very important for a mascot. The image of the mascot should not be a cliche, at least let the audience spend a second thinking: why is it designed like this?
According to the report, in the minds of several design experts, the mascot of the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, Beaver Amik, ranked first from the bottom, the mascots of the Barcelona, Rio and Munich Olympic Games occupied the top three, and the mascot of the Beijing Olympic Games, Fuwa, ranked seventh in the middle reaches. The following will introduce these 12 Olympic mascots one by one from back to front:
Twelfth place: Amik, the mascot of the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.
Amik’s image is a realistic beaver. Beaver is a unique animal in Canada, and Amik means "beaver" in aboriginal language. Design experts believe that Amik’s design is too simple, lacking originality and dull in color. Many spectators forgot all about this dusty beaver after this Olympic Games.
Eleventh place: Izzy, mascot of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
No one knows what Izzy really is. It was the first Olympic mascot that didn’t represent any real animals. In fact, its original name was "What’s this". According to the designer, Izzy is a little boy who lives in a city among the Olympic flame and dreams of participating in the Olympic Games. The reason why Izzy hangs the Olympic rings on his eyes and tail is to be able to transform at will and have stronger athletic ability. Although Izzy’s birth broke the old rules, the sense of over-exertion in design did not win the favor of the audience and experts.
Tenth place: Sam, mascot of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Sam, the mascot designed by the American Disney Company, is a perfect interpretation of the United States, and almost all the cultural representative elements of the United States are collected. Sam is a bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, with the same name as the American symbol "Uncle Sam", and the color of his clothes is taken from the American flag. It is worth noting that the last Los Angeles Olympic Games was held in Moscow, when the United States and the Soviet Union were in the cold war. Therefore, experts agree that Sam’s interpretation is more like patriotism than the Olympic spirit.
Ninth place: Misha, mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.
Misha is a Russian bear, created by a famous Soviet illustrator for children. Its image has been used in hundreds of Olympic souvenirs such as T-shirts, backpacks and cups, so it has made great achievements in the commercialization of mascots. However, experts believe that Misha’s design is not successful, because its audience seems to be limited to children, and it can’t convey the Olympic spirit well.
Eighth place: Olly, Sid and Millie, mascots of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games
Olly, Sid and Millie are three endemic animals in Australia: Kookawa, platypus and echidna. Experts believe that these mascots are really cute, interesting and different, but it seems that this is more because of the selection of rare species as mascots than because of the brilliant design. If nothing else, these mascots at least enable the audience to distinguish the mole from the echidna and know that the platypus is a mammal.
Seventh place: Fuwa, the mascot of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
The five Fuwa are called Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini, and their shapes incorporate elements of fish, panda, Olympic flame, Tibetan antelope and swallow. The colors of the five Fuwa are taken from the Olympic rings, and they also represent the five elements of China — — Gold, wood, water, fire and earth. Interestingly, reading their names together means "Welcome to Beijing". Experts believe that the image of Fuwa is quite Asian, but the five mascots seem to be too scattered. For ordinary people, it is not easy to keep all their names in mind and correspond to them one by one.
Fifth place: Hodori, the mascot of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, and Athena and Phevos, the mascots of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
The mascot of Seoul Olympic Games is a little tiger named Hodori. Experts believe that this little tiger, which looks rather like a cat, is very cute, symbolizing friendship, joy and respect.
With Hodori tied, Athens Olympic mascots Athena and Phevos were brothers and sisters. Their creations are inspired by ancient Greek clay sculptures. Experts pointed out that the unique image of the two brothers and sisters broke the tradition, and the hand-in-hand gesture conveyed the spirit of world harmony and friendship first.
Fourth place: Wenlock, the mascot of the 2012 London Olympic Games.
According to the designer, Wenlock is made of the last drop of molten iron left when casting the steel beam of London Olympic Stadium. Wenlock’s name is to commemorate the wenlock Games held in March wenlock, England. Coubertin, the father of the Olympics, was inspired by the wenlock Games, and then founded the modern Olympic Movement. Experts believe that Wenlock’s image is completely out of animal nature and quite innovative.
Third place: Waldi, mascot of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
The first mascot in the history of the Summer Olympic Games was Waldi the dachshund. Dachshunds are produced in Bavaria, Germany. They are very cute with long body and short legs. Waldi’s image represents the tenacity and agility of athletes. However, some experts pointed out that the five rings represent five continents, and Waldi has only three colors, which is suspected of ignoring Africa and America.
Second place: Vinicius, mascot of Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
This half-monkey, half-cat, blue and yellow mascot is inspired by Brazilian animals. Vinicius was named in memory of Brazilian musician and diplomat vinicius de Moraes. Experts believe that Vinicius conveys joy and sportsmanship, with a pleasing image and a sense of the times. Other experts emphasized that designers also expressed their love and respect for the natural environment through Vinicius.
First place: Cobi, mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
Some people may think that Spanish design experts will definitely wear the laurel on the head of the Spanish mascot during the selection. But experts said that Cobi won the first place — — The lovely shepherd image represents joy and innocence, and the simple and smooth lines are not only contemporary, but also impressive. (Compile/Liu Lifei)
Caption: The group of Olympic mascots, from left to right, are Sam, Izzy, Hodori and Cobi, mascots of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games (picture from EL PAIS website).