Olympics 2012: London's mascots Wenlock, Mandeville unveiled; what the heck are they?

At first glance, London's mascots for the 2012 Olympic games appear to be some kind of mini futuristic cyclops creatures.

So what exactly does that have to do with London?

Named Wenlock and Mandeville after small English towns, these one-eyed creations are based on a story by children's author Michael Morpurgo in which they're formed by a welder from the last drops of steel used to build the girders for the Olympic stadium in east London.

And if you're wondering about the significance of the orange light atop their heads (or giant eyes, rather), that's supposed to represent a London taxi light. The over-sized eye represents a camera lens that will capture their experiences on the way to 2012.

The new mascots were unveiled to the media at the St. Paul's Whitechapel primary school in east London on Wednesday (May 19). While adults might have been left scratching their heads, children responded with cheers and played with the life-sized versions on the playground.

"We've talked to lots of children and they don't want cuddly toys," said London 2012 organizing committee chairman Sebastian Coe. "They want something they can interact with and something with a good story behind it."

And the Olympic committee is banking kids loving these odd-looking steel creatures, since the mascots will be an important revenue-generating tool. London Olympics chief executive Paul Deighton said the sale of mascots should raise 10-20 percent of London's merchandising budget of $106 million.

What do YOU think of London's choice of mascots? Should they have gone with something more London-related -- like the British bulldog, or a spin on Big Ben?






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Photo credit: AFP