Twins will be the mascot of the championship
570 days before the opening match of EURO 2012, UEFA presented in Warsaw the official mascots of the championship. Just as four years ago during the European Football Championship in Austria and Switzerland, a pair of humanoids will be the mascots of the championship to take place in Poland and Ukraine. The mascots wear the national colours of the two countries: white and red, and yellow and blue, respectively. Warner Bros, who had created, inter alia, Bugs Bunny, was in charge of the design.
The following officials participated in the presentation ceremony which took place in the Polish Theatre in Warsaw: Minister of Sport and Tourism Adam Giersz, presidents of Poland’s and Ukraine’s national football federations, Grzegorz Lato and Hrihoriy Surkis, and UEFA EURO 2012 ambassadors – Zbigniew Boniek, Andrzej Szarmach, Andriy Shevchenko and Oleg Blokhin.
“The mascots show Poland and Ukraine in a very interesting, fresh and modern way. I believe they will contribute to the success of our promotion campaign targeting foreign tourists. Thanks to them Poland and Ukraine will become better known in the world” said minister Adam Giersz just after the mascots’ presentation.
Director of UEFA Events David Taylor emphasized that the presentation is yet another phase in the promotion of European Football Championship 2012.
“Less than a year ago, we presented the Championship logo in Kiev. Since then great progress has been made: stadiums and airports have been opened, the official match calendar has been prepared, accommodation centres have been located. In short, I may say that 570 days before the beginning of the championship, UEFA is really pleased with the progress made in the two countries” said David Taylor, the Director of UEFA Events.
The mascots will now go on a tour, during which they will visit all the host cities of Euro 2012. The first public presentation will take place on November 17th 2010 in Poznań during a friendly match between Poland and Ivory Coast.
So far, the twins have no names. UEFA will conduct a special poll on the names for the mascots; votes will be accepted until December 3rd 2010. Fans from all over the world may choose one of three options:
- Slavek and Slavko
- Siemko and Strimko
- Klemek and Ladko
You may vote through the UEFA website – UEFA.com, in McDonald’s restaurants in Poland and Ukraine, and in the host cities during the mascots’ promotion tour.
The twins’ names will be announced on December 4th 2010.