Wenlock and I never got to meet our successors in Rio. It takes real graft and no small amount of talent. It's not like anyone can just put on a costume and lark about and fall over and stuff. "They were going to fly us out to Rio, to help coach Vinicius and Tom. "We were promised consultancy work," says our anonymous mascot. Sometimes Seb would force us to bow down before him in mock admiration, like he was the star or something."įollowing the Games, the work soon dried up. Wenlock particularly hated all that clowning around with Seb Coe. I'll tell you now: it's not the glitz and glamour lifestyle it's made out to be. "The endless luncheons, the whirl of celebrity parties, the falling over at lots of children's parties.
![london olympic mascot london olympic mascot](https://blog-tom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2012-London-Mascot-primary.jpg)
![london olympic mascot london olympic mascot](https://www.spotsound.ca/10872-large_default/one-eyed-soft-white-and-orange-olympic-mascot-mandeville.jpg)
One of the mascots, speaking to Londonist on condition of anonymity, recently revealed how the experience 'burned me out'. "I know I couldn't have reached the heights I did without these inspiring eye-monsters urging me on from the sidelines." Experts agree that Wenlock and Mandeville are the most successful mascots in Olympic and Paralympic history, eclipsing even Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat from the Sydney 2000 games.īut the pair could not live at this pace forever. A tearful Jessica Ennis-Hill recently reflected on the enormous contribution made by the playthings: "If it wasn't for Wenlock and Mandeville, I'm not sure the Games would have succeeded," she said. The pair played a blinder at the 2012 games, eclipsing the athletes, performers and volunteers with their can-do spirit and ability to fall over at children's parties.
![london olympic mascot london olympic mascot](http://images.smh.com.au/2010/05/21/1491947/cy_mascots-600x400.jpg)
Paralympic mascot Mandeville, meanwhile, delighted the crowds with his cheeky chappie personality and crotchless romper suit. Wenlock, with his indeterminate genus, continental salutes and single glaring eyeball was seen as a peerless embodiment of the Olympic spirit. While all of this is interesting, it remains to be seen whether these efforts will be successful.For many, Wenlock and Mandeville were the undisputed highlights of the London 2012 games. Even though these characters don’t have much in the way of defining characteristics, kids are supposed to find them appealing. The goal is to turn the characters from static mascots into virtual friends that kids identify with and want to know better. That’s why the Olympic committee has given Wenlock and Mandeville Facebook pages through which children can virtually interact with them and piece together a narrative. Also, the research showed that kids like characters with strong stories behind them, and that no amount of cuteness or cuddliness can make up for a nonexistent narrative. The researchers supposedly found that children these days are much more comfortable with non-animal characters with a high-tech aesthetic. Research into what types of characters appeal to children. What about drops of steel with cameras for eyes is supposed to represent the United Kingdom? Are the camera eyes supposed evoke the thousands of controversial security cameras that are said to keep every outdoor Londoner on camera at all times? If so, why call attention to this fact? According to the Olympic organizing committee, the mascots are based on extensive As if that weren’t weird enough, the really strange thing about these mascots is that they’re supposed to represent their home country while also appealing to children. At first glance, it’s impossible to tell what they’re supposed to be-although we’re informed by their creators that they’re “drops of steel” with cameras for eyes. Unlike the cuddly bears, otters, owls, and eagles of erstwhile Olympic games, these mascots are steely, aerodynamic, and futuristic. Named Wenlock and Mandeville, the two marshmallowy cyclopses have little in common with the mascots we’re used to. Remember when the Rorschach test-like logo for the 2012 London Olympics was released, and everyone said that it looked either vaguely dirty or like a distorted swastika? That minor controversy was nothing compared to the firestorm that has attended the release of the 2012 Olympic mascots.