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Search for 2008 Olympic mascot begins
2004/05/15
Towards 2008 is compiled by Simon Cousins
A global search for an official mascot for Beijing 2008 will
be launched this month, according to BOCOG Vice President Jiang
Xiaoyu. "The selection will be kicked off [in May]", Jiang said
at the Olympic Games Mascot Design Conference, held in the
capital on April 26.
Jiang expressed BOCOG's wish that "the mascot design will
hopefully be finalized by the end of May next year". The "open
and fair" competition will include thorough appraisals and
approvals, with special regard being paid to the mascot being
"a symbol of China", being "well accepted by the world" as well
as being an appropriate candidate for global trade marking. The
influential BOCOG official hinted that some animal figures
might be ruled out, due to pre-existing rights for some
candidates being unavailable. The International Olympic
Committee also has an important role to play in the
collaborative process of selection, Jiang said.