Students submit mascot ideas for 2022 Winter Games

Primary and secondary school students nationwide have been encouraged to submit designs for a mascot to accompany the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Young people can send their creations to the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee via social media or through their schools until the end of next month.

“The campaign provides a great opportunity for students to become a part of the Winter Olympics by submitting their own ideas for mascot designs,” said Chang Yu, the committee’s spokesman.

The activity was launched by the Ministry of Education and the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee to encourage more adolescents in the event.

The best 100 student designs will be submitted to the committee by the end of October and will be considered alongside submissions from around the globe. On Aug 8, the committee held an event at Beijing’s Olympic Park to launch an international campaign soliciting mascot designs.

Online submissions to participate will remain open until Oct 31 for any individuals or companies interested, according to the committee.

Winning bids are expected to be announced in the second half of 2019 after evaluation, modification and public review.

Primary and middle school students around China will take part in the event through fine arts classes and class team activities, said Xu Zhen, deputy director of physical health and arts education for the Ministry of Education.

Beijing primary schools started collecting mascots from students in early June and tried to put in more effort as the new semester started for many on Monday.

Liu Shirong, head of the moral education department at Dianchanglu Primary School in Beijing, said her school has been collecting mascots since June 1.

“Even during the summer vacation, we still received hundreds of mascot ideas from students, showing endless creativity,” Liu said.

Wang Bo, a sixth-grade student at the school, said he had an image in mind for the mascot.

“I want to draw a big panda on a snowboard” because the panda represents China, the 12-year-old said. “I think it’s the best symbol for the upcoming Winter Olympics.”

The 2022 Winter Games will use 26 competition and noncompetition venues located across three zones in downtown Beijing, northwestern Yanqing district and co-host city Zhangjiakou in Hebei province.

National Stadium, better known as the Bird’s Nest, will host the opening and closing ceremonies.

Meanwhile, the National Aquatics Center, or Water Cube, will be transformed to host the curling competitions.