Mass entries vie for 2008 Olympic mascot
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-12-14 21:51

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) said yesterday that its campaign to select an Olympic mascot has entered the appraisal stage with the mascot expected to be unveiled in June next year.

The BOCOG said on its website that by December 1, the deadline for submission, it had received a total of 662 valid entries from home and abroad. Thirty-seven designs came from overseas, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the UK and the United States.

"A final winner will come out next June before it gets approval from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the BOCOG completes trademark registration for it," the BOCOG said in a press release.

Since the BOCOG unveiled the seal-like emblem in the form of a Chinese character last year, the mascot has been keenly anticipated.

"Most of the works display the characteristics of Chinese culture and draw on the successful elements of previous Olympic mascots," the BOCOG said.

The mascot was first introduced to the Olympic Games at the 1972 Munich Games.

The BOCOG confirmed the giant panda, China's most treasured native animal, the Tibetan antelope and the "Monkey King," the widely beloved figure of China's noted classical work "Journey to the West," are among the designs up for the ultimate prize.

However, officials played down their chances, citing intellectual property rights.

Close

Today's Top News     Top China News
Target jobless rate to see first drop after years         Party school raises AIDS awareness         State enterprises welcome investors         Mass entries vie for 2008 Olympic mascot         Fed raises US interest rate to 2.25%         National Theater to be completed in 2005	WFP: Country aiding fight agaist world hunger       Guangdong to seek cash from vessels over spill       Taiwan's Chen resigns as separatist party leader       Vanuatu's one-China policy praised       China sets up "small satellite" engineering center       Beijing plans to shut down non-coal mines