Guess the Paris 2024 mascot

So, what will the Paris 2024 mascot be? A rooster? A baguette? A camembert cheese? So far, nobody knows.

But in two days, the next mascot will be officially unveiled. It will also mean the world is one step closer to the third Summer Olympics in France, as the mascot is always a key figure during the Games.

Since the Olympic Winter Games Grenoble 1968, mascots have embodied the spirit of the Olympics and promoted the history and culture of the host city. But they also have the role of entertaining the public during the Games.

By looking into the past and calling upon our imagination, Olympics.com looks at what the mascot might be

“Cocorico!”

Let’s start with something that may already be on everyone’s mind: a rooster. Yes, the rooster is an emblem of France and one can even be seen on one of the doors of the Élysée Palace, the official residence of the French president.

That goes some way to explaining why a fowl has been the mascot of each of the three major football tournaments France has hosted: EURO 1984’s Peno and FIFA World Cup 1998’s Footix were both roosters, while the Women’s World Cup 2019 featured Ettie the chicken, a worth heir to her imaginary father Footix. On top of that, another rooster mascot named Jules represented France at the 1998 World Cup.

The rooster is an emblem of France because the Latin word Gallus means rooster and also Gallic, a name for the people that occupied France between the 5th century BC and 5th century AD.

So why couldn't we see a rooster executing a windmill, one of the most famous tricks in breaking, a sport that will make its debut at Paris 2024? Or a rooster doing a kickflip on a baguette instead of a skateboard?

But a rooster isn’t the only option for a Paris 2024 mascot, and in past times the French have created many other types of mascot.

Discover the full list of Olympic mascots since Grenoble 1968

A reference to a past French Olympic mascot?

What if the Paris 2024 mascot pays tribute to its predecessors? The first mascot in Olympic history was a French one named Shuss. He was a “little man on skis in the position to which his name alludes.” A sliding mascot… now that may be possible! Surfing was part of the Olympic programme for Tokyo 2020 and will again feature at Paris 2024.

Perhaps an animal on a surfboard with a French beret and floral belt, to reference Tahiti, the French island where the Paris 2024 surfing competition will take place.

And that’s not to mention the colours of Shuss. The mascots at the Olympic Games Grenoble 1968 and Albertville 1992, France's major football tournaments and the 2017 World Men’s Handball Championships (Rok and Koolette) were all dressed in blue, white and red, the three colours of the French flag.

What about a mascot that is inspired by French culture? In 2016, the World Cup of Ice Hockey took place in France and Germany with Asterix and Obelix, stars of the famous French comic, as mascots. Tintin, even if he's from Belgium, is extremely popular in France, as well as the Smurfs, who are also from Belgium. Could those be clues?

And why not a tribute to Cyrano de Bergerac or the Three Musketeers, who would surely have been experts in fencing? Even some characters from La Fontaine's Fables would make sense. The French poet loved animals…

There could also be a reference to French history. Perhaps Marianne, another emblem of France, who is represented on the Paris 2024 logo. The Paris 2024 women’s marathon route already refers to a key moment in French history - the Women’s March on Versailles that took place on 5 October 1789.

What else could the mascot be?

Animals and humans have been prevalent in the list of past Olympic mascots, however the 1992 Albertville mascot was not an animal or human. Its name was Magique and it was a “little imp in the shape of a star and a cube.” Even Shuss was not really a human - at least in any traditional sense.

Outside of France, many conceptual Olympic mascots have been very successful, such as Izzy for Atlanta 1996, Wenlock for London 2012, and Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini for Beijing 2008.

The Eiffel Tower could also apply for the role of mascot… just about anything is possible.

But in the end, a mascot’s success may come down to how uneasy to predict it is. So even though it’s fun, this exercise may all be in vain.

On 14 November, everything will be revealed. But as Philippe Mairesse, creator of the mascot from Albertville 1992, says:

“The mascot need this extra thing. This thing that makes you say that before it exists, you couldn’t have imagine it but now it’s here, it’s obvious.”