What's The Story Behind Olympic Games In Paris And Stuffed Animals

The Olympic Games are one of the leading sporting events in the world. Although their history dates back to the 8th century BC, the modern Olympic Games started in 1896. Every four years, around 200 teams from almost all the sovereign states and territories compete in different sports that are part of the Olympics.

Winners get medals, which is considered a source of great pride for the athletes. Millions of fans flock to the country hosting the Olympics and cheer for their favorite teams and athletes. These games are mostly played in a single city, and hosting rights are awarded based on a vote by International Olympic Committee members.

Paris is set to host the 2024 Olympic Games, which will be the city’s third after having hosted the sporting event in 1900 and 1924. The Olympic Games in Paris have been hyped for years, and fans are eagerly waiting for the event to start. But one thing regarding the Paris 2024 Olympics has been in the news lately, and it’s the official mascot for this year’s games.

In this article, we will dive into the details of the Olympic Games in Paris and the official mascot for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Let’s begin!

Paris 2024 Olympics

The Olympic Games in Paris will be the first in many aspects. For the first time in history, the Olympics will have 50 percent women athletes. The opening ceremony will also be the first to be held in a city center instead of a stadium. The fans will witness an extraordinary opening ceremony that will be held along the Seine River.

It is expected that around 300,000 spectators will attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. Another thing that will be in everyone’s focus during these games is the official mascot of the Paris 2024 Olympics. But before we go into its details, let us first see the history of Olympic mascots.

Olympic Mascot History

Although Olympic mascots do not go as far back as the games themselves, they have been around for quite some time now. The 1968 Winter Olympic Games were the first to have an official mascot called “Shuss.” Since then, mascots have been appearing regularly in the Olympic Games, representing the history and culture of the host country.

The mascot embodies the spirit of the Olympic Games and spreads a positive vibe among both the players and the fans. From cowboy-hat-wearing bears to snowmen and even aliens, the Olympic Games have had different creatures as official mascots in the last half-century. The design of the Olympic mascots is selected after careful consideration years before the sporting event takes place.

The host country usually holds a mascot design competition, and good entries are shortlisted. For the Sochi Winter Games, Russia held a mascot design competition in 2014. A record 24,000 drawings were received, and the winner was selected by a public vote.

But a mascot design competition may not always be held, like in the case of the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. These games were heavily funded by the corporate sector, so a bidding system was introduced to choose the designer of the official mascot. It’s worth mentioning that Disney won the private bidding for the mascot design.

Mascots also play an important role in the official merchandise of the Olympic Games. Therefore, this factor is also kept in mind while designing the official mascot. Most of the Olympic mascots are cute and cuddly which is what attracts people into buying them for either themselves or their children.

This is the reason why the bald eagle mascot of the 1984 Olympic Games was exactly the opposite of how an eagle is in real life. The 1984 Olympic Games mascot was short, soft, and stubby in order to appeal to children.

Phryges: Official Mascots Of The Paris 2024 Olympics

The official mascots of the Olympic Games in Paris have been revealed by the Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (COJOP). This mascot, which is designed in the colors of the French flag, is called “Phryges.”

The name should tell you that there are actually two of them, one for the Summer Olympic Games in Paris and the other for the Paralympic Games. A fun fact worth mentioning here is that the Phrygian cap, a symbol of the French Revolution, served as an inspiration while designing Phryges.

A variant of the mascots even serves as a representation of the handicap. The official mascot of the Paris 2024 Games is non-gender-specific. Ever since the mascot was revealed, there have been debates about its appearance, with some suggesting that it resembles a chicken. A lot of debate went into deciding what kind of mascot the Paris 2024 Olympics needed.

One thing that the organizers knew from the very start was that the Olympics in Paris would not have an animal as the official mascot. This is because two-thirds of the Olympic mascots have been animals since 1968, and the majority of them were bears.

Olympic Marketing: Mascots, Posters, And More

Olympic games come with different marketing tactics. The Paris 2024 Olympics also adopted a marketing strategy as soon as it was announced that the city would be hosting the 2024 Games. First of these was the emblem of the Olympic Games in Paris which was revealed on 21 October 2019.

Representing Marianne, the French national personification, the emblem is inspired by Art Deco. It also represents the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris which allowed women participate for the first time in history. Next in the marketing strategy of the Paris 2024 Olympics was the Phryges, the official mascot.

The motto shared by the Phryges says, “Alone we go faster, but together we go further.” The poster for the Olympic Games in Paris was also revealed recently. Having a diptych design, the poster represents both the Olympics and the Paralympics. While it may sound simple, the official poster for the Olympic Games in Paris took six months to complete.

Olympic Games Merchandise

Olympic Games are known for their catchy merchandise. A wide range of different wearables and souvenirs are put on sale for fans to take home as memorabilia of the great sporting event. Most of the merchandise items incorporate the official mascot in one way or another.

For example, t-shirts have the official mascot printed on them. But, the one merchandise item that sells the most is the official mascot plushies. The same is expected for the Olympic Games in Paris. Organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympics are expecting to sell millions of custom Olympic plushies as Paris souvenirs for fans all around the globe.

Concerns About Mascot Manufacturing

The Olympic Games merchandise has a few concerns surrounding it. One such concern is regarding the manufacturing of the Paris 2024 Olympics mascot plushies. There are excellent manufacturers of stuffed animals available in the market, such as CustomPlushMaker.

For the official mascot plushies, two French toymakers have been given the contract, but the point of criticism for the Paris 2024 Olympics organizers is that only 8% of these stuffed toys will be manufactured in France. As for the rest 92%, they are to be outsourced to Chinese manufacturers.

The raw material for the official Olympic plushies will also be Chinese. This decision has attracted a lot of criticism and it is being demanded that the contract should be given to the Western manufacturers who have the capacity to process bulk orders. Climate activists have also joined hands in criticizing the organizers.

They say that shipping toys from China to France will generate a lot of pollution, which our planet cannot afford. The debate has become so heated that outsourcing the manufacturing of stuffed animals for the Olympic Games in Paris was called “a problem” by Christophe Bechu, the environmental transition minister of France.

Final Thoughts On Custom Olympic Plushie

After reading the story behind the Olympic Games in Paris and stuffed animals, you must be wondering where you should get your custom Olympic plushie from? Right? Let’s be honest, all of us want to get something from the Olympic Games merchandise as a souvenir to cherish later in our lives.  But we also want to save our planet and go with an option that is environmentally friendly.

Well, this problem is solved by one of the top stuffed toy manufacturers - CustomPlushMaker. The toys produced by CustomPlushMaker are environment-friendly because the company takes the safety and quality of every single plush stuffed toy very seriously. Although stuffed toys are mostly used by kids, what makes CustomPlushMaker stand out is the fact that it tests its toys for all ages suitability.

So, whether it is a gift for your 2-year-old toddler or 70-year-old grandparent, the premium quality stuffed animal collectibles by CustomPlushMaker are one that’ll put a smile on anyone’s face. Our stuffed toys are affordable, feature innovative designs, and have endless customization options.

If you would like to know more, feel free to reach us at toyseei@customplushmaker.com. We’ll get back to you ASAP!