Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games - Competition launched to design Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games mascot

Competition launched to design Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games mascot

Glasgow 2014 has joined forces with the BBC to launch a children’s competition to design the official Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games mascot with exactly 1,000 days to go until the Opening Ceremony.

The competition will be launched in Scotland on BBC Radio Scotland's MacAulay & Co show with Fred MacAulay at 1030am. The competition will feature in content right across the BBC on television, radio and online through the Nations. There will also be coverage on BBC Sport and Blue Peter throughout the five-week competition.

The winner of the competition will be given four tickets to the Opening Ceremony.

Mascots are a major part of the Games experience, embodying the values of the Commonwealth Games and character of the host country, and playing a lead role in engaging and inspiring young people.

The Mascot will be a significant personality in the run-up to and during the Games, used by Glasgow 2014 to welcome visitors and spectators, visit schools and community events and appear on signage.

Glasgow 2014 is looking for a mascot that is:

• Original;

• A made up or imaginary character, animal or person;

• Easy to recognise as the official mascot for Scotland and the Commonwealth Games;

• Is appealing to young people;

• Friendly; and

• Incorporates red, yellow, green or blue – or all of these colours.

The entries will be judged in three age categories (6-8, 9-11 and 12-15) and children from all over the UK are being encouraged to enter the competition.

Ten of the best entries from each age category will be selected in the first round of judging. These will then be shortlisted and judged a second time before a final winner is chosen.

Those shortlisted will be contacted by the BBC. The winner will be announced after the London 2012 Paralympics in September 2012, where the winning mascot will be unveiled.

The judging panel will be made up of BBC and Glasgow 2014 staff and external experts.

Entries must be sent in on an A4 piece of paper and must be drawn or painted. For full details of the competition, including how to enter, please visit: www.bbc.co.uk/glasgow2014.

Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive David Grevemberg said:

“This is a great opportunity for someone to become part of Commonwealth Games history by designing our mascot, which will welcome spectators and athletes from all over the world to the Games.

“Designed by young people, for young people, the mascot will be very important to the Games and to Scotland. We believe that one very special person will put pen or paintbrush to paper and come up with something totally original for us to have as our friendly face of the Games.”

Ken MacQuarrie, Director of BBC Scotland, said:

“BBC Scotland is delighted to be involved with the search for a mascot for Glasgow 2014. This is an exciting opportunity for young people across the UK to get involved with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and contribute a lasting legacy.

“It is fantastic that MacAulay and Co on BBC Radio Scotland will be launching the competition and we look forward to seeing the finished result next year."

Seb Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said:

“We’ve seen the role the mascots can play with young people. The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville have been visiting schools across the UK inspiring young people to choose sport.”

Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport Shona Robison MSP said: “The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will be a truly Scottish occasion and I am delighted that young people across the country are being encouraged to get involved through the mascot competition.

“There are 1,000 days to go to the Opening Ceremony of what will be an outstanding Games and giving our young people the opportunity to impact on how the event is marketed across country, the Commonwealth and the world is the perfect way in which to mark such an important milestone.

“The Games will show the world what vibrant and welcoming places both Glasgow and Scotland are and now more than ever it’s important that we involve people and communities from across Scotland in the excitement of the Games. I would encourage all young people to get involved with this competition and play their part as we get ever closer to the opening ceremony in 2014.”

Councillor Archie Graham, Executive Member for the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow City Council, said:

“The creation of a mascot for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games presents another chance for young people to become involved in and inspired by our preparations for this unique event in their lives.

”Those involved in the process will see their winning entry to the competition become a symbol of the Games, recognisable to many millions of people. I look forward to seeing what our young people come up with.”

“The mascot competition is a fantastic opportunity for young people to get involved and use their creative talents to develop a special symbol for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“The mascot is an integral part of the marketing campaigns for the Games and must embody values of the Games as well as bringing a bit of fun and colour to the proceedings. For the athletes, the mascot is a symbol of their participation in the Games, of the friendships made and the medals won.”