2012 Paralympics mascot, audio described video
| 13:23 UK time, Friday, 21 May 2010
Did you see the unveiling of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic mascots this week?
wenlock and Mandeville are their names. wenlock represents the Olympics whereas Mandeville is cheerleader for the Paralympics. The metallic character with a camera as an eye, is named after Stoke Mandeville hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, where the first Paralympic-style games were held in 1948.
As with all good 360-degree digital branding, the characters have a back story. They're brothers, of sorts, fashioned from droplets of steel left over from the construction of London's Olympic stadium. Check out the inclusivity there? It's like they're saying, "The Olympics and the Paralympics are born of the same ideal and we hold them in equal esteem" isn't it? And actually, call me a sad old sap, but I was rather touched by it.
The characters will come to life on the web with regular instalments of their journey to London leading up to the games in 2012. I'm sure there's an iPhone app on the way if it isn't already out there.
the story of Wenlock and Mandeville was written by children's author Michael Morpurgo. And here we're going to direct you to an accessible version of the video:
And now
What do you think of Mandeville and the video which shows living paralympian role models as inspirations to all? Tell us in the comments below.
Lastly, please can someone send me a Mandeville T-shirt? Thanks so much. Channel 4 might be covering the Paralympics this time round but it doesn't mean we stragglers at the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's disability website want to miss out.
[update] we've just been told that . That means he must be real ... and the guys in the office were mocking me for thinking that. Idiots. Does this mean we can get him on our Talk Show?
Comment number 1.
At 22nd May 2010, windwalker89 wrote:I'm all up for mascots but to me Wenlock and Mandeville sounds like a law firm.
Surely it would have made more sense to actually give Mandeville a disability. A wheelchair or something to show everyone can enjoy both versions of the games, especially considering he's already wearing a wheelchair racing helmet.
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At 20th Feb 2011, Kelly Flan wrote:The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August and 9 September 2012. The Games will be held in London, United Kingdom after the city was successful with its bid for the Paralympics and Summer Olympic Games. There will be 1.6 million tickets available for the various events with a predicted sell-out rate of 63%.In their evaluation report, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) states that "With its rich history, the capacities of UK Paralympic Sport are among the best in the world"Even though 2012 will be London's third Olympic Games, it will be the first Paralympic Games to be staged there, as the event was created after the last time the city hosted in 1948.The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will use a mixture of new venues, existing and historic facilities, and temporary facilities, some of them in well-known locations such as Hyde Park and Horse Guards Parade.The majority of venues have been divided into three zones within Greater London: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone. In addition to these are those venues that, by necessity, are outside the boundaries of Greater London, such as the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on the Isle of Portland in Dorset which will host the sailing events, some 125 miles (200 km) southwest of the Olympic Park. The football tournament will be staged at several grounds around the UK.[1]Of the twenty paralympic sports, nine sports will be played in London's Olympic Park which will be built specifically for the Olympic and Paralympic games.[2] The ExCeL Centre will host a further six sports. The shooting events will be held at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, the road cycling at Regent's Park in central London, and the rowing at Dorney Lake.[3] Greenwich Park will host the equestrian events.[4] Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy will host the sailing events
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