Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 24, 2014 – The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots were revealed yesterday and have already made their first in-person public appearance to more than 100 adoring children. The two unique characters, one inspired by the mixture of all of the Brazilian animals and the other representing a fusion of all of the plants in the Brazilian forests, visited The Ginásio Experimental Olímpico Juan Antonio Samaranch, a government-funded school in central Rio, as a kick-off to their mission of spreading the Olympic and Paralympic values, as well as to celebrate the diversity of Brazilian culture.
The children responded with words such as “cute, colorful, beautiful” when asked for their opinions on the energetic mascots who arrived with the Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes and several Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Paes gifted symbolic keys to the city of Rio to the pair of vibrant mascots, emphasizing the important role they will play in building up excitement and awareness of the Games, as well as explaining how the mascots help foster an emotional link between the Games and the public.
As to the masots’ names? Rio 2016 wants the public to help decide by voting from a short list of possibilities: Oba and Eba; Tiba Tuque and Esquindim, or Vinicius and Tom. Anyone is able to vote here. Additionally, you can find profiles for each mascot on Facebook (Olympic Mascot / Paralympic Mascot) and Twitter (Olympic Mascot / Paralympic Mascot), as well as visit their own website to learn more about these fun new friends.
I’m thinking the Jack Black motorcyclist character on the bridge in Anchorman.