Wenlock and Mandeville: Mascots for London 2012 Olympic Games Unveiled

The mascots for the London 2012 Olympic Games has been unveiled. Say hello to Wenlock and Mandeville! Created based on a cartoon by Michael Morpurgo (called "Out of the Rainbow"), both Wenlock and Mandeville "were crafted from the last drops of steel used to build the Olympic Stadium."

Find out more about the cycloptic-duo via their own dedicated website here, and look for them to adorn merchandize and promos galore, leading up to the Olympics. And while folks' reactions to the duo has been divided (as much as I have read online, and I am being kind), the inspiration for their names are pretty meaningful, IMHO ~ CLICK THRU to read.

WENLOCK: "My name is inspired by Much Wenlock in Shropshire, a town that is at the heart of Olympic history. In the 19th century, Baron Pierre de Coubertin was invited there to watch the Much Wenlock Games, which were inspired by the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. De Coubertin was inspired by the Much Wenlock Games, too, and went on to found the modern Olympic movement. The Much Wenlock Games are still held to this day!" [via]

MANDERVILLE: "My name is inspired by Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. On the same day as the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Sir Ludwig Guttmann held his own sport competition in Stoke Mandeville for World War II soldiers with spinal injuries. The Stoke Mandeville Games grew and grew until they became the Paralympic Games." [via]

[Source + quotes via SKY]