A look back at the most memorable mascots in Olympic history
Since the first mascot skied onto the scene at Grenoble 1968, mascots have become a well-loved feature of the Olympics. Coming in all shapes and sizes, mascots bring fun and festivity to the Games, while giving a concrete form to the Olympic spirit. From dancing bears to a waving Sasquatch, discover the stories of some of the most well-loved mascots from past Olympic Games before the launch of the Paris 2024 mascots on 14 November.
Bring out the bears
While the first mascot bear was introduced at Moscow 1980, when Misha became a household name across the world, “Mikhail Potapych Toptygin” (Misha’s full name) is far from the only bear mascot to have featured at the Games.
Calgary 1988 saw two polar bears, Hidy and Howdy flying the Canadian flag at the Olympic Winter Games, while bears made a return at Salt Lake City 2002 when the black bear Coal was chosen as a mascot alongside Copper the coyote and Powder the snowshoe hare.
Sochi 2014 saw another bear form part of a trio, with the Polar bear joining the Leopard and the Hare at that year’s Winter Games.
And who can forget Beijing 2022’s Bing Dwen Dwen, the ice-covered panda bear that welcomed the world to the second Olympic Games to take place in People’s Republic of China.
Fun fact: While all the bears have been popular mascots across the world, one of them also became famous for an out-of-this-world experience. In June 1978, Misha was blasted into space onboard the Soyuz rocket to spend time on the Salyut 6 space station.
Other furry friends showcase the spirit of the Olympics
Of course, bears aren’t the only animals to have inspired mascots at the Games. Munich 1972 saw the introduction of dachshund Waldi, with the Olympic marathon route that year even taking the shape of the multi-coloured dog.
A beaver took centre stage at Montreal 1976, with Amik (a word that means beaver in the Indigenous Algonquin language of Canada) became the symbol of the Games.
Two years later it was the turn of Roni the racoon to wow the crowds at Lake Placid 1980, followed by Vučko the wolf at the Olympic Winter Games Sarajevo 1984 before Sam the American eagle stole the show at Los Angeles 1984.
Seoul 1988 saw the introduction of tiger Hodori before Pyrenean mountain dog Cobi featured at Barcelona 1992.
More recently, duck-billed platypus (Syd), kookaburra (Olly) and spiny anteater (Millie) became the ambassadors for the Sydney 2000 Games, while the white tiger Soohorang was the symbol of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
Fun fact: Barcelona 1992 mascot Cobi inspired a 26-episode cartoon series named “The Cobi Troupe” that aired on 24 different television channels.
Mascots in human form
While the original Olympic mascot Shuss from Grenoble 1968 may not look entirely human, he was based on the idea of a man on skis. Shuss was created in a single night by designer Aline Lafargue in a last-minute deadline-beating submission.
The 1994 Games in Lillehammer introduced the first mascots in true human form, with the children Haakon and Kristin representing the Games.
And while perhaps more gods than human, Athens 2004 brother-and-sister-act Phevos (another name for the Greek god Apollo) and Athena proved to be highly popular mascots, linking the ancient Greek past of the Olympics to the modern Games.
Fun fact: Haakon and Kristin weren’t the only mascots at the Lillehammer 1994 Games. The organisers also chose eight pairs of real children to represent the regions of Norway as “living mascots”.
“It’s a way really to communicate the Games, communicate that the Games are going to take place soon and it also gives the spirit of the specific edition of the Games, because of the colours of the mascot, because of the name of the mascot. So it really refers to the look of the Games, the identity of the edition of the Games.”
- Anne Chevalley, Head of Educational and Cultural Services at the Olympic Museum talking about the meaning of Olympic mascots in 2014.
The wild and wonderful
Of course, many of the mascots have been figments of the creative minds of their designers, taking on forms that represent distinct features of the countries in which the Games took place or new developments of the day.
Innsbruck 1976 saw Schneemandl the snowman chosen as the mascot, while an imp named Magique was the mascot at Albertville 1992.
The bright blue Izzy lit up Atlanta 1996, based on the idea of advances in information technology, while snowlets Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki were featured at Nagano 1998.
Snowball Neve and ice cube Gliz were chosen for Turin 2006, while the mythical animals Sasquatch (Quatchi) and sea bear (Miga) were the stars of Vancouver 2010.
And who can forget London 2012’s Wenlock, a creature made from the last drop of steel used in the construction of the Olympic Stadium, Rio 2016's Vinicius, who was a mix of different animals, or the blue and white Miraitowa who made such a splash at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Fun fact: The light that sits on top of London 2012 mascot Wenlock’s head was based on the English capital’s famous black cabs. The design for the mascot beat out over 100 submissions that included a tea pot and a Big Ben figure with arms and legs.
Find out more about the Olympic mascots of the past on the official Olympics.com mascot page