Beijing 2008: Meet The Mascots

After years of fierce lobbying and months of secrecy, Beijing unveiled five mascots for the 2008 Olympics on Friday, opening a marketing blitz that is expected to reap record profits.

In an elaborate, nationally televised gala at a Beijing sports arena to mark the 1,000-day countdown until the Games, senior Chinese leaders introduced the mascots — cartoon renditions of a panda, fish, Tibetan antelope, swallow and the Olympic flame, each one the color of one of the Olympic rings.

"The five friendlies are an incredible little family carefully chosen by Beijing 2008 to represent all of China to carry a message of friendship to the children of the world," International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said in a statement that was read at the ceremony.

"China is so lucky to have so many beautiful animals to represent the Olympic spirit," Rogge said.

The animals were introduced as Bei Bei, Jing Jing, Huan Huan, Ying Ying and Ni Ni — which, put together, translates to "Beijing welcomes you!"

It is the most number of mascots any Olympic Games has had in more than 30 years. The Salt Lake City and Sydney Games both had three.

A plethora of real and mythic creatures were among the candidates considered by Chinese leaders, Olympic officials and design specialists over the past year. Among those that didn't make the cut were the dragon and a mischievous magical monkey out of Chinese folklore.

The choice, the subject of lively media speculation for months, has been a secret since it was finalized three months ago, sealed by confidentiality agreements and the habitual secrecy of the communist government.

At stake for China is one of the most marketable symbols in the Olympics — a symbol that stands to generate significant revenues and public support for the Beijing Games, which will cost an estimated $38 billion.

Sales of licensed products, including those with the mascot, have brought in about $300 million at the Sydney and Athens Olympics. Host cities keep 10 to 15 percent of the royalties, helping to defray the costs of staging the Games.

Officials with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games say they expect sales of such products to be higher still.

To capitalize on the mascots' publicity, Beijing is launching an extensive marketing campaign. An animated film put together by Han Meilin, who headed the design team, was screened at Friday night's unveiling and is expected to be replayed on Chinese television in coming days.

"This time the mascot design fully combines traditional Chinese culture," Han was quoted as saying by the Chinese Web site, Sina.com.

On Saturday, postage stamps and more than 300 other licensed products of the mascot go on sale at 188 authorized venues across the country, widening a product line of T-shirts, caps, pens and bags bearing the 2008 Games logo, according to Olympic officials.

To capture an entire range of consumers, the mascot products will range from fluorescent pens for 8 yuan (US$1; 85 euro cents) to souvenirs made from precious metals selling for tens of thousands of yuan.

Beyond the sales expectations, China has tried to use the mascot-selection process to involve communities far from Beijing. On hand for the unveiling at the Workers Gymnasium in eastern Beijing were 100 children "ambassadors" from western provinces.

Organizers of the Games threw open the selection process, inviting suggestions from the public and local governments, and many of the latter lobbied fiercely for the honor.

Sichuan province spent 2 million yuan (US$240,000; euro185,000) in public and privately donated funds on promoting the panda.

Altogether, BOCOG has received 662 suggestions. Organizers whittled those down to 56, which were then put to a ten-member expert committee of designers, which in turn selected six candidates. Organizers and senior leaders then chose one, and the International Olympic Committee approved the choice in August.