Miga, Quatchi, Sumi and Mukmuk

Miga, Quatchi, and Sumi (who had a sidekick, Mukmuk) were the mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Paralympics. The four mascots were introduced on November 27, 2007.[1] They were designed by the Canadian and American duo, Meomi Design. It was the first time the Olympic and Paralympic mascots were introduced at the same time.

Development

The emblem of 2010 Winter Olympics, "Ilanaaq the Inukshuk", was picked through an open contest. However, it met criticism from some aboriginal groups over its design.[2] So the mascot artist was selected through a competition.[3][4][5]

Through the process where 177 professionals around the world were submitted their ideas, five were made final. In December 2006, VANOC eventually selected concepts from Meomi Design.[6][7] Formed in 2002, Meomi is a group of Vicki Wong, a Vancouver-born Canadian of Chinese descent who worked in graphic and web design, and Michael Murphy, born in Milford, Michigan,[8] who worked in design and motion graphics.[9] Writing for Sports Illustrated, experts Michael Erdmann and John Ryan, while making comments on the mascots of the Olympic Games held in Canada, pointed out that Meomi's character drawing styles "are more closely related to Urban Vinyl [...]".[10]

After the selection, Meomi provided more than 20 different concepts to VANOC, and three concepts were selected.[11] The conception of the mascots were based on the local wildlife, as well as First Nations legends, mythologies and legendary creatures. During the design process, an early name for Quatchi was dismissed when the undisclosed word was found to have a rude connotation in another language.[11] An animated video by Buck, a design studio based in New York and Los Angeles, with music provided by Kid Koala was screened on the first public presentation of the mascots.[12][13] Details about mascots were kept secret until November 27, 2007 when they were unveiled to the public.[14]

Mascots

The first public presentation of the mascots took place before 800 schoolchildren at the Bell Centre For Performing Arts in Surrey, British Columbia. This represents the first time that the Olympic and Paralympic mascots were introduced at the same time. The mascots are:

Miga and Quatchi are mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympics, while Sumi is the mascot for the 2010 Winter Paralympics.[17] Aside of three mascots, Mukmuk is their designated "sidekick". Thus, there are two Olympic mascots and one Paralympic mascot as well as one "sidekick". They made a cameo appearance in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.

Reception

Popularity

Mukmuk, although a designated "sidekick", was a run-away success, "capturing the hearts of Games-goers everywhere"; including an impromptu "protest" at the Vancouver Art Gallery to make him a full-fledged mascot, and making "Top 5" for the Olympic games in the Vancouver edition of 24 Hours.[18]

Criticism and image confusion

When the mascots were unveiled, there were initial concerns over whether they were effective at representing British Columbia and Canada.[11]

On July 3, 2009, Canadian artist Michael R. Barrick created two composite images – one based on the official art, and the other based on a fan art created by Angela Melick[19] – depicting the official mascots alongside Pedobear, an internet meme popularized by the imageboard 4chan. The images were created to make "a visual critique of how the style of the mascots resembles the style of Pedobear."[20] As a result of the images receiving high rankings on Google Images, this image was mistakenly used by other media. The Polish newspaper Gazeta Olsztyńska used one of the images for a front page story about the then-upcoming Olympics, published on February 4, 2010.[21] Similarly, the Dutch television guide Avrobode[22] used one of the images.

After the games

In compliance with the strict orders of the International Olympic Committee which require that the mascots must not be animated or be worn again so that the raw material cannot be reused, 48 of the 61 life-sized mascot costumes were destroyed. Three full sets of costumes are kept in Canada, one full set has gone to the IOC in Switzerland, and one Sumi costume has gone to the International Paralympic Committee in Germany.[23]

See also

Wikinews has related news: Mascots announced for 2010 Games
Wikinews has related news: BC design club president comments on Olympic mascots; sales brisk
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mascots of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

References

  1. "2010 Vancouver Olympics' mascots inspired by First Nations creatures". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. November 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
  2. "Vancouver Olympic emblem comes under fire". CBC News. April 27, 2005.
  3. "vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Videos, Photos, News". vancouver2010.com. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  4. "vancouver2010.com". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  5. "vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Videos, Photos, News". vancouver2010.com. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  6. "vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Videos, Photos, News". vancouver2010.com. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  7. Ken MacQueen (2007-11-28). "Say hello to Sumi, Quatchi and Miga | Macleans.ca - Canada - Features". web.archive.org. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  8. http://www.detnews.com/article/20100226/SPORTS09/2260369/1409/metro/Milford-native-s-mascots-golden-with-Olympic-fans
  9. "We All Live in a Pink Octopod | Scholastic.com". www2.scholastic.com. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  10. "Recent Posts". CNN.
  11. 1 2 3 "2010 Olympic mascots unveiled". canada.com. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  12. "Interview withBuck Art DirectorChristopher Lee - Tuts+ 3D & Motion Graphics Article". ae.tutsplus.com. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  13. http://buck.tv/library/vanoc-2010
  14. "Mascots unveiled for Vancouver Olympic Games". CTV. November 27, 2007.
  15. Bright, William (2004). Native American Place Names of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pg. 422
  16. "Sasquatch". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  17. Lee, Jeff (November 27, 2007), "2010 Olympic mascots unveiled", The Vancouver Sun
  18. "Top 5" (PDF), 24 Hours, February 25, 2010
  19. "Gallery". SpikeComix.com. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  20. Michael R. Barrick (February 10, 2010). "A "Press Kit" of Sorts". LiveJournal. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  21. Matthew Moore (8 February 2010). "Polish newspaper claims 'Pedobear' is 2010 Vancouver Olympic mascot". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  22. Ook AVRO in de fout met Pedobear on Geenstijl, published February 11, 2010
  23. http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Mascots+Quatchi+Sumi+Miga+will+never+animated+again/3002101/story.html
Preceded by
The Fuwa
Olympic mascot
Miga, Quatchi and Mukmuk

Vancouver 2010
Succeeded by
Wenlock
Preceded by
Fu Niu LeLe
Paralympic mascot
Sumi and Mukmuk

Vancouver 2010
Succeeded by
Mandeville
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