Tokyo Olympics won’t seek public input on mascot name

from here:

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics organizing committee said the name of the games’ official mascot will not be taken from the general public but from creative professionals.

Once a panel selects the design of the mascot through a public competition, organizers will open the process to those with knowledge and experience in not just creative writing but also in dealing with trademarks, officials said Monday.

The design competition will be open to Japanese citizens and non-Japanese residing in Japan. The winner is expected to be involved in the selection of the name in some capacity.

The organizing committee’s meeting on Monday to decide the mascot selection process was the sixth of its kind and was initially scheduled to be the last. But the panel has decided it will continue to meet to finalize details of the process, which must be submitted to the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee by the end of March.

“We discussed the possibility of asking the public about the name of the mascot. But as you know, it’s a much tougher task (than the design) when it involves trademark rights,” said the panel’s vice chairman, Yoshiko Ikoma.

“We’ll concentrate on the naming once the design is decided. We’ve yet to discuss how to choose the people who will decide the name, but we have to overcome the trademark issue both in Japan and abroad,” Ikoma said.

“We need more than a name that sounds cute. It’s not so simple.”

The committee had agreed during in late February to incorporate opinions of children, from preschool to high school, regarding the design.

The design competition is open to everyone in Japan regardless of occupation or experience. Those under 18 can enter as long as they have a guardian’s approval.

All designs, which will be reviewed by a selection panel, must be drafted from six different angles with various expressions and poses as well as a narrative.

The IOC and IPC will give the final nod ahead of the mascot’s planned unveiling in summer 2018.

Olympic fans name Rio 2016 mascots

http://www.olympic.org/news/olympic-fans-name-rio-2016-mascots/242217

              

The mascots for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been named Vinicius and Tom respectively, following a public vote.

The names, which honour Bossa Nova musicians Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim, won 44% of the valid votes, with more than 320,000 votes received during the three-week poll. The other choices were Oba and Eba and Tiba Tuque and Esquindim.
"The names of Vinicius and Tom are recognised worldwide as a synonym for excellence, which is in line with what we want to achieve with the Rio 2016 Games,” said Carlos Arthur Nuzman, President of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee.
The mascots, which were unveiled on 23 November, are inspired by the various animals and plants found in Brazil and will play a key role in engaging the public – and especially young people – in the build-up to the 2016 Olympic Games.
“In addition to representing the Brazilian fauna and flora, our mascots also connect to the best of our music,” added Nuzman. “We are certain that they will be an inspiration to the youth.”
Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim were two of the best-known pioneers of the bossa nova genre of music – a fusion of samba and jazz – that developed in Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s. The duo also wrote The Girl from Ipanema – one of the most played songs in the world.
“The choice of the names Vinicius and Tom adds even more ‘Brazilianness’ to our mascots, which are ambassadors of the Games,” added Beth Lula, Brand Director of Rio 2016. “Their role is to share the messages of the event and the values of the Olympic and Paralympic movements to various audiences, especially children and youth.”