Izzy (mascot)
Izzy was the official mascot of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta .
description
Izzy is the first non-representational mascot in Olympic history, which means it is neither based on a living being nor on a specific object. Izzy is blue, wears red sneakers and has the five Olympic rings on his body . It has lightning bolts instead of eyebrows and stars as pupils.
history
The designer John Ryan created the first draft of Izzy in 1992. This was, still under the name Whatizit ( “What is it” , German: “Was ist es” ), presented to the public during the closing event of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona . The unusual design received mostly negative reviews, which is why the Atlanta Committee of the Olympic Games had the design revised. In June 1993, the new mascot look was presented to the public. Among other things, the face was revised and the appearance itself made more athletic. In parallel to the redesign, the committee called a competition for children to find a name for the mascot. A total of around 3,300 proposals were submitted, from which a group of Atlanta children eventually chose the name Izzy .
reception
The revised version of the mascot also met with mixed reactions. So who called NBC -Sportreporter Bob Costas Izzy as "genetic experiment gone terribly wrong is." Matt Groening , the inventor of the Simpsons , described it as a "bad marriage of the Pillsbury batterman and the ugliest California raisin". The public, in turn, took Izzy much more positively. All of the mascot's merchandising items became bestsellers, and Izzy became a very popular figure, especially with children.
Others
The game developer US Gold released the jump-'n'-run video game Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings in 1995 , which first appeared on the American market for the Sega Genesis . In Europe, the game was released for Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo in early 1996 .
The American television station Turner Network Television broadcast the animated film Izzy's Quest For Olympic Gold in August 1995 . The main features of the plot of the film produced by Carol Corwin were worked out through a writing competition. The Great Adventures of Izzy competition started in October 1993 and challenged American children to come up with stories about Izzy. A total of over 85,000 ideas were submitted, from which screenwriter Sindy McCay worked with the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Properties (ACOP) , the marketing division of the Atlanta Committee of the Olympic Games, to develop the film's story.
Web links
- Atlanta 1996 Mascot: Izzy on the official website of the International Olympic Committee (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mascot "Izzy": Games of the XXVI. Olympics - 1996, Atlanta. German Sport & Olympia Museum, accessed on August 11, 2020 .
- ^ Atlanta 1996 - Mascot Izzy. The Olympic Design, accessed August 11, 2020 .
- ↑ Kevin Sack: Atlanta and Izzy; No Medals for the Olympic Mascot. The New York Times, June 30, 1996, accessed August 11, 2020 .
- ↑ Tommy Glide: Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings. In: GamePro. April 1995, accessed on August 11, 2020 .
- ↑ Oliver Ehrle: Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings in the Classical Test (SNES). Maniac, June 23, 2018, accessed August 11, 2020 .
- ^ Frankie Kowalski: The Great Adventures of Izzy - An Olympic Hero for Kids. Animation World Network, accessed August 11, 2020 .