Mascots unveiled for Vancouver Olympic Games

Organizers of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games unveiled three mascots and an honorary sidekick on Tuesday.

They were presented during a 35-minute live show at the Bell Center for Performing Arts in Surrey, British Columbia.

The mascots were inspired by British Columbia's iconic geography and aboriginal legends. They include:

Miga -- a snowboarding sea-bear inspired by the First Nations' legends of the Pacific Northwest. Miga, described as mischievous and outgoing, is part sea-bear and part orca whale.

Quatchi -- a shy and gentle Sasquatch with a long brown beard and blue earmuffs meant to conjure the mystery and wonder associated with the Canada's wilderness.

Sumi -- an animal guardian spirit, who flies with the wings of the thunderbird, is described as "a natural born leader with a passion for protecting the environment."

Mukmuk -- a Vancouver Island marmot sidekick considered an honorary member of the mascot team.

Quatchi and Miga will represent the Olympic Games while Sumi will represent the Paralympic Games.

More than 800 excited schoolchildren from eight different elementary schools were on hand for the announcement.

The new mascots were designed by Meomi Design based in Vancouver. The company, headed by Vicki Wong in Vancouver and Michael Murphy in Los Angeles, has created art for Google, Electronic Arts, Time Out Magazine and Girls, Inc.

Meomi was chosen by VANOC after an open call for professional artists and design companies to submit proposals on the 2010 website.

The mascots will serve to "bring humor and light-hearted fun to the Games experience and help provide a warm welcome to athletes and visitors from around the world," the Vancouver Olympic Games website said ahead of the announcement.

The first Canadian Olympic mascot, Montreal's beaver "Amik," was unveiled during the 1976 Games in Montreal. Calgary introduced the world to "Hidy" and "Howdy" in 1988, a pair of cowboy hat-wearing polar bears.

The first official Olympic mascot, "Waldi" the dachshund, was unveiled in 1972 at the Summer Games in Munich.