Since Grenoble in 1968 for the Winter Olympics with "
Shuss
", a little man on skis, the mascots have entered into the tradition of the Olympic Games and have, edition after edition (summer and winter) taken a special place.
Thanks to high visibility.
A strong identity.
For the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the organizers on Monday presented the "
phryges
", inspired by the Phrygian cap.
"
The mascot always has a powerful symbolic and emotional significance, it weaves a strong link between the children and the Games.
It is visible before and during the Games.
The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic mascots will be on the pitches, around the stadiums, they are what entertain the public, the people who come to visit the Games.
In the history of sport, of the Games, it is often what are called totem animals, symbols of the host country.
Like the panda at the 2008 (and 2022) Beijing Olympics.
Or the dog of the Barcelona 1992 Games. London had, in 2012, made a different choice with a mascot created from one of the last two drops of British steel used for the construction of the Olympic stadium in London.
Paris 2024 has chosen another path.
Discovery.
The spirit:
“
65% of the mascots are animals, with a majority of bears.
That's exactly what we didn't want to do.
And that we didn't.
The initial idea is rupture, revolution.
We thought we would like this mascot to embody the French spirit, to be able to carry an ideal and, through it, to transmit values and a part of our history, traces of which have been found since the 12th century. century during the construction of Notre Dame de Paris cathedral
", summarizes Julie Mathikine, director of the Paris 2024 brand.
The Phrygian cap:
“
We wanted to stand out from an animal for an ideal.
An object, a Phrygian cap, a symbol that embodies the French Republic.
This makes it possible to carry the symbol of French games
", summarizes Tony Estanguet, the president of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games of Parties 2024. "
It is this allegory of freedom, present in the arts through the table of Delacroix ''freedom guiding the people'', with the Marianne styling cap, we find it in our institutions and in daily life, on stamps or on coins that were in francs.
The Phrygian cap does not make him a cute or friendly character, it needed design
, ”says Julie Mathikine.
Before stating:
The purpose of the Olympic mascot and the Paralympic mascot is to demonstrate that sport can change everything and to give impetus to get into or get back into sport, to become over-motivated supporters.
They are two, work as a duo.
It is from the combination of their personalities that balance is born.
Their motto is to say that alone we can go faster but that together we can go further.
“Last clarification: “
We say a mascot but the phryges are genderless.
»
Soft toys:
The Olympic mascot (smaller and stockier) wears sneakers, the Paralympic mascot (taller and thinner) has a basketball and a blade on his right leg.
Blue eyes, they wear a cockade in the eye and wear a red Phrygian cap.
Blue was tested for the Paralympic mascot, before being abandoned, in particular following discussions with children who were presented with the progress of the project.
By -products:
Soft toys (24 to 80 cm), in polyester will be sold from 26 euros.
The share of mascot products could represent 20% to 25% of licensing revenues.
There will also be t-shirts, hoodies, key chains, pins, Paris coins...
Points of sale:
Carrefour will be the official distributor for large food retailers, starting this Tuesday.
Like the specialty stores JouéClub and the Grande Récré.
And the official Paris 2024 store which will open this Wednesday in Paris, at Les Halles.
Manufacturing:
Gipsy and Doudou and company (which will open a factory in Guerche-de-Bretagne on November 29 to produce 15% of the stuffed animals in France), two French companies will be in charge of manufacturing, in China.