Obviously, a mascot is a must at major sporting events. That is why we are very pleased to present "Unity", the mascot of the Special Olympic World Games Berlin 2023 to you. Find out more about the story behind the creation, how it got its name and about its unveiling.
The mascot was unveiled in all its glory for the first time today on German TV show ARD-Morgenmagazin. The ARD-MoMa, with an average audience of 3.92 million, switched live to the Brandenburg Gate, where "Unity" was presented to the public for the first time by Sven Albrecht, Managing Director of Special Olympics Germany and the World Games Organising Committee. What can we say: it was a colourful and heartfelt performance in the truest sense of the word.
Emotions turned into a heart
The origin of the mascot lays in the creation of our logo. In a workshop with athletes, we defined elements and symbols that reflect their emotions in sports. We took up these emotions in our mascot and derived the coloring and shape accordingly from our logo.
When we collected the first ideas, it very soon became clear that the heart is the most appropriate symbol for our event. The athletes and all the people behind the scenes put their heart and soul into it and we want to show that to the whole world.
"Unity" is a symbol for togetherness, joy and excitement
As with the logo, the name of the mascot was developed in a digital workshop with athletes from all over the world. With passion and excitement, 9 athletes shared their concepts and emotional feelings that they associate with the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023.
"The mascot means everything we stand for to me: Inclusion, love, togetherness. We are one community, no matter where we come from. Unbeatable together, "Unity" is all of that," said Nyasha Derera, one of the workshop participants and Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger from Zimbabwe.
"Unity" was born and will not only welcome the world in Berlin this summer, but will also accompany us all on the way to #Berlin2023. We hope you share the joy with us and our athletes alike.
