Rio de Janeiro: The 2016 Rio Olympic Games mascot was named Vinicius after a three-week Internet voting while Tom was chosen as the name of the Paralympic Games mascot.
Organisers said the names attracted 323,327 public votes and they are in honour of two greats of the Brazilian music, Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim, reports Xinhua.
Vinicius the mascot is a yellow feline animal representing Brazil’s rich fauna and wildlife. Tom is a predominantly blue and green figure whose head is covered with leaves, depicting the host country’s rich vegetation.
The year 2016 will be the first time an Olympics will be held in the continent of South America, scheduled to take place Aug 5-21.
