By IANS,
London : Organisers of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Wednesday unveiled the one-eyed mascots – Wenlock and Mandeville – saying they will be a big hit among children and young people.
The two animations were created from two drops of steel from a factory in Bolton, and have a single central eye, explained as a camera lens.
Wenlock is named after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock where, in the 19th century, the Wenlock Games became one of the inspirations for the modern Olympic movement, while Mandeville’s name is derived from Stoke Mandeville, in Buckinghamshire, home to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Daily Mail reported.
In the 1940s, Dr Ludwig Guttman came to the hospital to set up a new spinal unit to help former soldiers suffering from spinal cord injuries.
The London 2012 Olympics organisers introduced the mascots Wednesday, and predicted they will be a big hit with children and help inspire young people to get involved in Olympic sports.
Kids don’t want cuddly toys as mascots and prefer “something they can interact with and something with a good story behind it”, organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe was quoted as saying by Xinhua.