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The mascots for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024 have been announced as two Phrygian caps draped in France’s national colors. The two figures called the Olympic and Paralympic Phryges, are emblazoned with the golden Paris 2024 logo across their chests and are characterized as having “mischievous and expressive eyes.” The Paralympic mascot is the first to have a running blade, making it the first mascot for the Games with a noticeable physical impairment.
What the President of the Paris 2024 Said about the Mascots and What They Symbolize
Tony Estanguet, the President of Paris 2024, said, “We chose an ideal rather than an animal. We chose the Phrygian cap because it’s a very strong symbol for the French Republic. For French people, it’s a very well-known object that is a symbol of freedom. The fact that the Paralympics mascot has a visible disability also sends a strong message: to promote inclusion.” The Olympic Phryge is regarded as ‘a tactician with a calculating brain’ while the Paralympic Phryge is defined as ‘spontaneous and full of energy and passion.’ Both the mascots share the same motto, “Alone we go faster, but together we go further.” According to the official International Olympic Committee (IOC) website, their name should be pronounced as “fri-jee-uhs.”
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A Brief History of the Olympic Mascots
The first Olympic mascot was created by the French. The Phryges follow in the footsteps of Shuss, the little man on skis from the Winter Olympics 1968 in Grenoble, France. Since the debut of Schuss, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has acknowledged official Olympic mascots. Waldi, a multi-colored Dachshund dog created by Elena Winschermann for the 1972 Munich Games, was the first officially recognized mascot for a summer Olympics. During the medal ceremony, athletes are frequently handed tiny duplicate toys of the mascot. Quatchi and Miga (Vancouver, 2010), Izzy (Atlanta, 1996), Cobi (Barcelona, 1992) and Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini (Beijing, 2008) are a few of the popular Olympic mascots of all time.
When the Paris 2024 marks its beginning
The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics is slated to take place on Friday, July 26, and end on Sunday, August 11, while the Paralympics kicks off on Wednesday, August 28, to Sunday, September 8, right after the Summer Olympics. The organizers have promised distinctive opening festivities in the city rather than the stadium. Popular landmarks in Paris such as the Grand Palais and the Eiffel Tower, are being used as the locations for the event.
