2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots
Encyclopedia
The mascots for the 2014 Winter Olympics
and the 2014 Winter Paralympics
were revealed on February 26, 2011. A shortlist of 10 Olympic and 3 Paralympic designs had been shown to the public on February 7, 2011.
A nationwide design contest was held in Russia, from September 1 to December 5, 2010. 24,000 designs were sent in for the contest.
, and 3 design ideas for the Paralympic Games
. The shortlisted designs were presented to the public on February 7, 2011. A live national TV broadcast, on Russia's Channel One
, included a nationwide text message voting, where Russians voted for their favorite mascot.
Olympic Games
Paralympic Games
had said was his favorite, the snow leopard, polled the most votes in the voting process after a sharp climb in the number of votes. The chosen mascots have been criticized as bad choices that do not represent Russia and are simply results of sheer poor taste. Also, Viktor Chizhikov, the designer of the 1980 Moscow Games
mascot Misha
, accused the designer of the bear mascot for the Sochi Games of plagiarism, noting that the bear's facial features were all taken from his own work. The bear was also seen by politician Sergey Mironov
as resembling the mascot of the United Russia
political party, the current ruling party, leading to accusations of political propaganda.
2014 Winter Olympics
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event scheduled to be celebrated from 7 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi, Russia with some events held in the resort town of Krasnaya Polyana. Both the Olympic and...
and the 2014 Winter Paralympics
2014 Winter Paralympics
The 2014 Winter Paralympics, officially known as the XI Paralympic Winter Games, will be held from March 7 to March 16, 2014 in Sochi, Russia...
were revealed on February 26, 2011. A shortlist of 10 Olympic and 3 Paralympic designs had been shown to the public on February 7, 2011.
History
Shortlisted designs
A short list of designs were announced in December 2010, after a jury had reviewed thousands of designs. It was now down to 10 design ideas for the Olympic Games2014 Winter Olympics
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event scheduled to be celebrated from 7 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi, Russia with some events held in the resort town of Krasnaya Polyana. Both the Olympic and...
, and 3 design ideas for the Paralympic Games
2014 Winter Paralympics
The 2014 Winter Paralympics, officially known as the XI Paralympic Winter Games, will be held from March 7 to March 16, 2014 in Sochi, Russia...
. The shortlisted designs were presented to the public on February 7, 2011. A live national TV broadcast, on Russia's Channel One
Channel One (Russia)
Channel One is the first television channel to broadcast in the Soviet Union. The channel was renamed Ostankino Channel 1 in 1991, after the Soviet Union broke up and the Russian SFSR became the Russian Federation. According to a recent government publication, the Russian government controls 51%...
, included a nationwide text message voting, where Russians voted for their favorite mascot.
Olympic Games
- Ded MorozDed MorozDed Moroz is a fictional character who in some Slavic cultures plays a role similar to that of Santa Claus. The literal translation of the name would be Grandfather Frost, although the name is often translated as Father Frost....
- Father Frost was later removed from the list of official candidates, because if it had been chosen as mascot, it would have become the property of the IOCInternational Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president... - Brown BearBrown BearThe brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
- LeopardLeopardThe leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
- Olympics Mascot - Polar BearPolar BearThe polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
- Olympics Mascot - Zaya the doe hareHareHares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
- Olympics Mascot - Little SunSunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
- Fire Boy & Snow Girl - Paralympics Mascot
- BullfinchBullfinch* A Bullfinch is one of two groups of passerine birdsBullfinch can also refer to:* Bullfinch , an obstacle seen on the cross-country course in the sport of eventing* USS Bullfinch, the name of two US Navy ships...
- Matryoshka dolls
- DolphinDolphinDolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
Paralympic Games
- BullfinchBullfinch* A Bullfinch is one of two groups of passerine birdsBullfinch can also refer to:* Bullfinch , an obstacle seen on the cross-country course in the sport of eventing* USS Bullfinch, the name of two US Navy ships...
- DolphinDolphinDolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
- Nested doll/Tumbler toy
Controversy
Despite the success of the mascot selection process, some accusations have been brought against the mascots. The possibility of telephone vote rigging was brought up when the mascot that Prime Minister Vladimir PutinVladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
had said was his favorite, the snow leopard, polled the most votes in the voting process after a sharp climb in the number of votes. The chosen mascots have been criticized as bad choices that do not represent Russia and are simply results of sheer poor taste. Also, Viktor Chizhikov, the designer of the 1980 Moscow Games
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
mascot Misha
Misha
Misha , also known as Mishka or The Olympic Mishka is the name of the Russian Bear, the mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games . He was designed by children's books illustrator Victor Chizhikov....
, accused the designer of the bear mascot for the Sochi Games of plagiarism, noting that the bear's facial features were all taken from his own work. The bear was also seen by politician Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov , is a former chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament and a leading figure in the A Just Russia party.- Biography :...
as resembling the mascot of the United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
political party, the current ruling party, leading to accusations of political propaganda.