Olympic Mascots

The Olympic mascot is a character, usually an animal native to the area or occasionally human figures, who represents the cultural heritage of the place where the Olympic Games are taking place. Since the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France the Olympic Games have had a mascot. The first major mascot in the Olympic Games was Misha in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Misha was used extensively during the opening and closing ceremonies, had a TV animated cartoon and appeared on several merchandise products. Nowadays, most of the merchandise aimed at young people focuses on the mascots, rather than the Olympic flag or organization logos.