From bird-wing butterflies to multi-coloured mutts, can anything beat a bin chicken?
Brisbane’s infamous “bin chickens” have emerged as an early favourite, but we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of the most public of Olympic roles, writes Rebecca Levingston
Is it Brissie, Brissy or Brizzy?
We need to get it sorted because maybe that should be the name of our Olympic mascot.
Iām going out on a limb. Someoneās got to start making some bold Olympic choices.
Iāve landed on the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly. Iāll explain why, but first a little history on the characters whoāve popped up at Summer and Winter Games over the last century. Hilarious, weird, cute and creepyā¦
Smoky the Scottish Terrier was the first mascot in Los Angeles in 1932. He wandered into the athletes village and proved so popular he became the unofficial āgood dogā for the Games. Scampering between sports and countries, rumour has it he was born on the site and trotted around in a little coat featuring the five Olympic rings.
Schuss the Skier (Grenoble 1968) and Schneemann the Snowman (Innsbruck 1976) opened the door to animated characters via the Winter Olympics.
Waldi the Dachshund was Munichās multicoloured mutt in 1972. Unofficially he was featured marking his territory on a piece of Olympic infrastructure as a protest about the cost of the Games, but he mostly made a happy hot dog impression. Millions in German merchandise dollars arrived in the form of toys (plush and plastic) posters and pins.
Memorable mascots have since become a key communication opportunity and before you decide who Brisbane 2032 might feature, itās worth reflecting those whoāve come beforeā¦
Amik the Beaver (Montreal 1976), Misha the Brown Bear (Moscow 1980), Sam the Bald Eagle (Los Angeles 1984), Cobi the Catalan Sheepdog (Barcelona 1992) and donāt forget Izzy, the first computer generated mascot (Atlanta 1996) who got around with lighting bolts for eyebrows.
In fact, over the last century thereās been a raccoon, wolf, owl, panda, polar bear, sea bear, sasquatch, snowball, ice cube, human siblings plus a robot in Tokyo 2020. Not to be outdone, Paris 2024 is promising red Phrygian hats representing liberty.
And who could forget Sydney 2000 where Australia couldnāt choose between Olly the Kookaburra, Syd the Platypus and Millie the Echidna. A medley of mascots. Borobi the Koala at the Commonwealth Games was a winner worth noting.
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So when it comes to Brisbane 2032 what shall we do? 100 years since the first mascot. The symbolic pressure is onā¦ and I humbly submit Brizzy the Butterfly. I adore the name Bindi Bindi too, which is the Noongar word for butterfly in Western Australia. Here in south east Queensland, Yugara elders use the word Balumbar. Beautiful. Delicate. Graceful. Powerful.
Thereās something spectacular about a species that floats through life, treading so lightly no trail is left, yet it commands attention whenever in view. Magical.
The Richmond Birdwing is the largest subtropical butterfly in Australia. Green and gold feature on its 15cm wingspan. Itās practically wearing an Olympic uniform. Its (rapidly disappearing) habitat in south east Queensland serves as a timely message about protecting biodiversity.
And we havenāt even hit the chaos theory yet. If a butterfly flaps its wings in Brisbane, what effect could it have on the world?
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