Tip 1: Alternative symbols of the Olympics in Sochi

Olympic Games

Tip 1: Alternative symbols of the Olympics in Sochi

Choosing the mascot of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochibegan in 2008 with an informal vote, held by the inhabitants of Sochi. In 2010, there was an all-Russian vote, during which official talismans were approved. At the same time, the inhabitants of Russia continued to create alternative variants of the Olympics symbols, some of which became very popular as well.

Choosing a Mascot

In 2008, Sochi residents were also selected astalisman of the Black Sea dolphin on skis for the authorship of the artist Olga Belyaeva. As an official symbol, the dolphin was not approved, because the Russians decided that he could not represent the Winter Olympic Games. In September 2010, the official All-Russian contest of mascots of the Sochi Olympics started. At the address of the organizing committee came more than 24 thousand works from all corners of Russia. To create a talisman, people came up creatively and even with a fair amount of humor. Immediately arose the favorites of the people, among which the talisman Zoych from Yevgeny Zhgun from Moscow in the form of an anuran amphibian. No less popular became Varezhki. A short scandal arose when contest participants tried to promote satirical images through the Internet and at various exhibitions that denounce Russian authorities of fraud and large-scale embezzlement of budget funds in the construction of Olympic venues. But this incident was quickly hushed up.

Decision of the jury

The expert jury did not include in the list of finalistsabstract and caricature characters, preferring more serious, but at the same time bright and attracting attention. For a long time there was controversy over whether it is worth claiming as a candidate for talismans the image of Santa Claus, whose authors were workers from the tourism industry from Volgograd. As a result, he was excluded from the list of candidates, since after the election the mascot of the Olympics should become the property of the International Olympic Committee. Santa Claus is also a well-established symbol of Russia and Russian traditions. 10 candidates for Olympic mascots and 3 versions for the Paralympic Games took part in the final voting. About 1.5 million viewers voted for the talisman of future games. More than 28% of the votes received Snow leopard or Leopard. 18% of the vote was given to the White bear, and 16% received the Bunny. Thus, the jury decided to select all three characters as the official mascots of the Olympic Games. The organizers did not forget about the Paralympic Games. They were the mascots Snowflake and Luchik.

Tip 2: How to choose the symbol of the Winter Olympics in Sochi

Each Olympic Games have their talismans,which are part of the Olympic symbols and help to better convey the national flavor of the host country competitions, and also bring luck to the athletes. More often than not, an animal or a fictitious being is used as an Olympic talisman. In 2011, the talismans of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi were determined.

How to create talismans

Initially, the inhabitants of Sochi chose their talismanthe upcoming Olympic Games. They became a dolphin on skis, which was painted by Yaroslavl artist Olga Belyaeva. Voting took place in 2008. However, after the publication of the results in the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, they announced that the election of the official mascot of the Games will not be held earlier than 2011. In 2010, an all-Russian competition was launched to create the idea of talismans of the Games for all comers. In total, 24,048 works were sent to the competition from participants from all over Russia, as well as from foreign countries. Contestants sent a lot of comical options, many of which became popular favorites. Among them - the tailless toad Sorg, the Mittens and even the popular pedobir on the Internet. Despite the popular recognition, the Sochi 2014 Olympic Committee and members of the selection committee did not allow dubious contenders for the final vote.

How did the final vote take place

In December, the expert jury summed up the results of the firsttour and chose 11 main contenders for the symbol of the Olympic Games in Sochi and 3 for the Paralympic Games. Before the decisive vote it was announced that the jury excluded from the list of candidates for the title of talisman of the Olympics of Father Frost, because for Russians it is already a symbol of the New Year, and in case of victory it would belong to the International Olympic Committee, as well as the talismans of all Games. In February 2011 of the final ten options were finally selected official talismans. This happened during the voting on the air on the First TV channel. In total, 1.4 million Russians gave their votes. The jury announced three winners, which most correspond to the winter character of the Olympics. They were the Snow Leopard, who collected more than 28% of the vote, White Bear, for whom 18% of viewers and Zayka voted with 16% of the vote. The mascots of the Paralympic Games at the choice of the Paralympic athletes were Snezhinka and Luchik.