Lyo and Merly

Lyo and Merly at a Youth Olympic Games friendship camp on December 2009

2010 Summer Youth Olympics
Bid process Venues Mascots Theme song Torch relay Medal table (medalists) Event calendar Chronological summary
IOC · SNOC · SYOGOC

Lyo and Merly were the official mascots of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore. The duo is made up of a red male lion and a blue female Merlion, and was officially introduced by Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan on 21 November 2009 at Suntec City in Singapore.^[1] A contest held to name the two mascots was won by two Singaporeans. It took designers from Cubix International about six months to complete designing the mascots.^[2]

Background

Main article: Olympic mascots

The 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, saw the creation of the first ever Olympic mascot, Schuss, although the mascot was not technically official. The first official Olympics mascot was Waldi in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.^[3] The mascots are typically an animal native to the area where the Games take place, or are based on humans and imaginary creatures. They often reflect the culture and history of the region, and many were also designed to embody the ideals of Olympism and the Paralympic movement. The introduction of a mascot or mascots is often one of the highlights in the lead-up to the Games, with much focus placed on them in contemporary Olympics.^[4] The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics has carried on the tradition of having mascots.

Development

In early 2009, seven shortlisted mascot design proposals were submitted to the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC). Amongst the seven, the proposal of Cubix International, a company specialising in branding, animation and character development, was eventually selected. Cubix initially sought to develop robot mascots, intending to showcase Singapore as a "technologically advanced country". However, research on Olympic mascots prompted them to move away from the robot theme and focus on animal mascots. The company stated it wanted to developed a pair of mascots "who had contrasting yet complementary personalities". Mascots and Puppets Specialists, led by creative director Frankie Malachi Yeo, was hired to transform the mascots from designs to actual models.^[5]

There were issues over the materials used to build the mascot suits. Eventually, foam was selected as the main material. The mascot suits are heavy, with Lyo's head weighing 8 kilograms (18 lb) and Merly's weighing 6 kilograms (13 lb). The heads are strapped on to a harness donned by the mascot wearer. An in-built fan in the suit and optional vests lined with cool packs keep the mascot wearer from overheating.^[5]

Parts of the mascot production process were captured in the documentary, 'Beyond Gold: The Journey to the first Youth Olympic Games', which was commissioned by the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC).^[6]

Mascots

The mascots' designers created elaborate descriptions of Lyo and Merly, which are summarised below:

Name	Lyo	Merly
Colour	Red	Blue
Gender	Male	Female
Creature	Lion	Merlion
Astrological sign	Leo[7]	Aquarius[8]
Favourite foods	Chilli crabs and Hainanese chicken rice[7]	Ice kachang[8]
Personal motto	"Never say never"[7]	"You can achieve anything if you pour your heart into it!"[8]
Olympic values	Excellence, Respect[1]	Excellence, Friendship[1]
Dream	"To win a gold medal in an international basketball championship"[7]	"To become an environmental scientist"[8]
Hobbies	Jamming the guitar, exploring and discovering new things and playing sports, especially basketball[7]	Singing, swimming and returning seashells to the sea[8]
Symbolism	Lion City; fire; "Blazing the Trail" (tagline of the Singapore 2010 bid)	Merlion; water

Merly on the side of a bus

Lyo's name is the initials (L.Y.O.) of "Lion of the Youth Olympics",^[7] while Merly's name is a combination of mer, which means the sea, and the letters L and Y which stand for liveliness and youthfulness. The two characters allude to the "Lion City" label of Singapore, and the Merlion, a national symbol of Singapore, respectively. Dr. Balakrishnan has commented that the duo are "an interesting play on fire and water". He added that "there are aspects of [the mascots] we clearly can identify with as Singaporeans, but really what we hope is these mascots will be embraced by Singaporeans as well as the visitors who come".^[2]

Lyo's mane resembles the Flame of Passion of the Spirit of Youth, the emblem of the Games. It is also a reference to the Singapore 2010 bid tagline "Blazing the Trail". The pad on his paw is shaped like the island of Singapore.^[7] Merly is vegetarian due to "a deep respect for all living creatures", and her paw pad is shaped like a heart.^[8]

Outreach

Merly and Lyo at the official opening of the Youth Olympic Games Superstore in front of Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road on 5 May 2010

The two mascots appeared in various activities and programmes, including events in schools, launches and roadshows. The Olympic theme featured in Singapore's 2010 National Day Parade, also held in the month of August, and Lyo and Merly participated in pre-parade activities.^[9]

Lyo and Merly were also widely featured in Games memorabilia sold at the official Youth Olympic Games Superstore in front of Ngee Ann City shopping centre on Orchard Road, Singapore's main shopping street, and at competition venues.^[10] Male medal winners at the Games are presented with a Lyo plush toy during victory ceremonies, and female winners receive a Merly toy. Four postage stamps depicting the mascots in poses featuring the Games' Culture and Education Programme (CEP) and Olympic sports were also launched by the SYOGOC and Singapore Post. In addition, a limited-edition Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games Commemorative Pack, which depicted the journey taken by the country since it won the bid to host the Games, featured an exclusive MyStamp Sheet of the mascots in all 26 sport poses.^[11] Lyo and Merly also appeared on three coins released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to commemorate the Games.^[12] A mural of the duo made by artist Charlene Tenio was showcased at a party held at the official hotel partner, Fairmont Singapore, to commemorate the 150-day countdown to the Games.^[13]

See also

Olympics portal

• List of Olympic mascots

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Introducing Lyo & Merly - Mascots for the 1st YOG" (Press release). Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC). 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sCUzJ4EM. Retrieved 23 August 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Patwant Singh (21 November 2009). "Lyo and Merly to be mascots for inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games". Channel NewsAsia. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1019684/1/.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 
3. ^ "Olympic mascots". Hickok Sports.com. 18 February 2009. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sCVZuXPl. Retrieved 23 August 2010. ; "World's first Olympic mascot". The Longest List of the Longest Stuff at the Longest Domain Name at Long Last. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sCWMqvCq. Retrieved 23 August 2010. 
4. ^ "Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games mascots". Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sCWzXvOy. Retrieved 23 August 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Amanda Zhang (23 November 2009). "The creators of Lyo & Merly". SYOGOC. http://www.singapore2010.sg/public/whyohgee/en/en_the_games_section/en_updates/en_mascot.html. Retrieved 23 August 2010. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ http://www.singapore2010.sg/public/sg2010/en/en_news/en_media_releases/en_20100721_watch_beyond_gold_the_journey_to_the_1st_yog_captured_through_the_eyes_of_young_athletes.html
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Lyo". SYOGOC. 19 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sCZxsp09. Retrieved 23 August 2010. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Merly". SYOGOC. 19 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sCaMwBIj. Retrieved 23 August 2010. 
9. ^ Satish Cheney (29 July 2010). "August a month of fanfare and festivities with YOG & NDP". Channel NewsAsia. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1072226/1/.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 
10. ^ Patwant Singh (22 November 2009). "Official Olympic Store selling YOG merchandise opens". Channel NewsAsia. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1019868/1/.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 
11. ^ Lynda Hong (26 July 2010). "Four postal stamps featuring YOG mascots launched". Channel NewsAsia. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1071631/1/.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 
12. ^ Alvina Soh (29 June 2010). "MAS launches YOG commemorative coins". Channel NewsAsia. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1066498/1/.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 
13. ^ Dylan Loh (17 March 2010). "150 days to YOG, organising committee says all on track". Channel NewsAsia. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1044244/1/.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 

External links

• Mascots - Singapore 2010 official site
• Media Release - Introducing Lyo & Merly - Mascots for the 1st YOG - Singapore 2010 official site