Organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics have unveiled their mascots, and they are hats. The mascots are Phrygian caps, also known as liberty caps, which were worn in antiquity by peoples including the Phrygians in what is now eastern Turkey and the Persians. The two mascots— Olympic Phryge and Paralympic Phryge—are based on the cap worn by Marianne, the national personification of France since the French Revolution, NPR reports. They are almost identical, with blue eyes and sneakers, but the Paralympic Phryge has a racing blade instead of a left leg. Organizers say this is the first time a mascot has had a visible disability, reports the AP.
Paris 2024 Brand Director Julie Matikhine said the mascots were inspired by "this French spirit that makes us a slightly out-of-the-ordinary nation," per NPR. She described the Olympic Phryge as a "fine tactician, it's a mascot who is extremely focused, who thinks everything through before it acts ... It is also very French, with a great charm, and with a sensitivity that it tries in vain to hide." Matikhine said the Paralympc Phryge is "a real party animal, extremely extroverted, it is a people person." Merchandise with the mascots went on sale Tuesday.
At a ceremony unveiling the mascots Monday, Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, said, "We chose an ideal rather than an animal. We chose the Phrygian cap because it’s a very strong symbol for the French Republic. For French people, it’s a very well-known object that is a symbol of freedom," per the Guardian. He added, "The fact that the Paralympics mascot has a visible disability also sends a strong message: to promote inclusion." The IOC says Phryges, which it describes as a "tribe of mascots" symbolizing freedom, should be pronounced "free-jes." (More 2024 Paris Olympics stories.)
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