Paris 2024 Olympics – Official mascots of Paris 2024 Olympics unveiled – Olympic Committee Head Quarters, Saint-Denis, France – November 11, 2022. Picture taken November 11, 2022 General view as the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic mascots the Phryges are unveiled REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Phrygian caps will be the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots as organisers look to celebrate the French revolution’s spirit.
“‘Phryges’ aim to show that sport can change everything, and that it deserves to have a prominent place in our society,” Paris 2024 brand director Julie Matikhine said on Monday.
The Phrygian caps were favoured over animals, who have mostly been the first choice in other Olympics – such as the ‘Bing Dwen Dwen’ panda at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing this year.
“We were almost ready not to make a mascot if we didn’t find a real reason to do so, and a real message to convey,” said Matikhine.
“The mascot must embody the French spirit, which is something very fine to grasp. It’s an ideal, a kind of conviction that carries the values of our country, and which has been built up over time, over history.”
The red Phrygian caps come in two versions – the Olympic and the Paralympic one – with a blade leg.
The Olympic Games will be held from July 26-Aug. 11 and the Paralympics from Aug. 28-Sept. 8.
—Reuters
More Sport and Fitness Stories:
- Brazilian teens put World Cup sticker craze within reach of poor kids
- A World United: People, Organizations, and Teams Coming Together for the 2022 FIFA World Cup
- John Cena fights back tears during emotional WWE Raw return for 20 year anniversary
- Alphonso Davies: A True Canadian Hero
- Tennis-Wimbledon to give free tickets to Ukrainian refugees
- South Africa’s First Black Hot Air Balloon Pilot Shakes Up Once-Exclusive Sport
- Soccer-U.S. men’s and women’s teams strike equal pay deal with governing body
- Steve Nash’s Off-the-Court Legacy
- Olympics-Snowboarding-American ‘golden girl’ Kim blows away rivals to retain halfpipe title
- Taonere Banda: the Paralympian fighting for children with disabilities to be educated
- Paralympics-‘The world is behind you’, Bayern’s Davies tells refugee athletes
- The Power of Knowing: How SickKids Is Shining New Light on ARVC
- Olympics-Athletics-Friendship first as Nageeye waves Abdi over marathon finish
