The name "mascot" comes from the south of France
and it was also the name of an opera
that was called "The Mascot".
And at that time in 19th century
there was a small jewel made
after this opera and it was called a mascot
and also it gives good fortune to people
It was also very common to have a mascot
in the United States for sports club and even in schools
and so it was quite normal that suddenly a mascot appears in the Olympic Games.
The first official mascot
appeared in 1972 for the Munich Games
it was a dashhound.
This is an example of this mascot
His name is Waldi and
he was chosen because this kind of dog
was rather popular in Germany at that time.
It was full of energy and it was considered
as bringing good fortune to the athletes
and to the Games at that time
It's a way really to communicate the Games,
communicate to people 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 colors of the mascot,
because of the name of the mascot. So it really refers to
to the look of the Games, the identity
of the edition of the Games
The Games are not only the competitions
but it's also the moment for creators, for designers, for architects
to propose new things and the mascots belong to this process
and designers who are in charge of this project
have the possibility to bring new ideas,
and to bring a new touch to the Games as well.
The first edition since 1972 we can find some animals.
There is a beaver for Montreal in 1976,
there is Misha - the bear - for Moscow,
there is Sam the Eagle, for Los Angeles in 1984,
in 1988 there is Hodori, the Tiger,
finally there is Cobi and it breaks the rules really with Cobi.
Because it's really comes from the fantasy of the designer.
Cobi was a little dog that was created by Javier Mariscal, a famous designer
and Coby is completely different from
the previous mascots. He does not belong to the "Walt Disney World"
so it's a dog, but it's a sort of "avant-garde" design.
This mascot was not well received when
people's saw it for the first time.
But gradually it became famous and famous. It was represented
everywhere practicing different sports and
it is certainly one of the most famous mascots in the history of the Olympic Games
With Izzy in Atlanta, it's something completely different.
People didn't know who was this mascot.
It was impossible to make a comparison with an animal.
It was something completely strange
and it's a little bit the same with Wenlock.
The design is very strange as well. It refers also to the stadium of London
the material that was used for the stadium,
but the look is very original.
so it brings the Games to the 21st century.
Brazil is very well known for the variety of its cultures
it blends various different origins,
different cultures, so we can imagine that maybe the mascot will be a good
example of this diversity
Otherwise I don't know.
"Sabiá" is a bird that represents Brazil,
so maybe it can be a possibility.
We are all very curious to know the result.