Olympic Games mascots represent good luck and usually reflect the culture or nature of the host region. Some of the earliest unofficial mascots include 'Schuss' the skier from the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games. Official mascots began with 'Waldi' from the 1972 Munich Games. Mascots often take the form of animals or people and have included polar bears, owls, pandas, and more to symbolize different host cities and cultures over the years.

1. Olympic Games Mascots

4. “ Waldi " , the first official mascot to appear for the 1972 Munich Games

6. 1976 - Montreal - Amik

7. 1980 – Moscow - Misha

8. 1980 - Lake Placid - Roni

9. 1984 – Los Angeles - Sam

11. 1988 – Seoul - Hodori

13. 1992 – Barcelona - Cobi

16. 1996 – Atlanta - Izzy

20. 2004 – Athens

22. 2008 - Beijing

23. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.

24. When you put their names together - Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni – you get the greeting : “ Welcome to Beijing “, that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.

25. Apr-08 Credit for some of the photos and the information: IOC