Vinicius and Tom

Vinicius and Tom are the official "hybrid" mascots for the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics respectively in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

History

Vinicius at the Parque Olímpico in Barra da Tijuca

The mascots were unveiled without a name on 23 November 2014. The names of the mascots were determined by a public vote. Vinicius and Tom won over two other sets of names, tallying 44 percent of 323,327 votes, whose results were announced on 14 December 2014. The other choices were Oba and Eba and Tiba Tuque and Esquindim. The mascots' fictional backstories state that they were both born from the joy of Brazilians after it was announced that Rio would host the Games. Brand director Beth Lula stated that the mascots are intended to reflect the diversity of Brazil's culture and people.^[1][2]

The Olympic mascot is called Vinicius and is named after musician Vinicius de Moraes. The Olympic mascot represents Brazilian wildlife, primarily carrying design traits of mammals: the agility of cats, sway of monkeys and grace of birds. He can stretch his arms and legs as much as he wants. The Paralympic mascot is called Tom, named after the musician Tom Jobim. He represents the plants of Brazilian forests and can pull any object from his head of leaves and is always growing and overcoming obstacles.^[1]

A cartoon featuring them came to Cartoon Network on August 5, 2015.^[3]

References

1. "Rio 2016: Olympic and Paralympic mascots launched". bbc.com. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
2. "Rio 2016 mascots inspired by animals and plants of Brazil". Reuters. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
3. "News | Rio 2016". Rio 2016. Retrieved 2015-10-22.

External links