The XX Olympic Winter Games 2006 is the 20th Olympic Winter Games, which was held in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006 to February 26, 2006.

This winter Olympic Games is the second time for Italy to hold the Winter Olympic Games after the 1956 Winter Olympic Games in Cotinado. If the 1960 Rome Olympic Games were included, it would be the third time in the history of Italy to become the host country of the Olympic Games. There are 7 sports, 15 major events and 84 minor events in Turin Winter Olympic Games.

The slogan of the Winter Olympics in Turin is "Passion lives here", and the mascots "Neve" and "Glitz" symbolize snow and ice respectively.

Ignition

At 12:30 local time, the ignition ceremony was held in Hera Temple, not far from the ancient Greek arena. Unfortunately, Apollo, the sun god, did not hear the prayer of Sharku, the priestess. The sky over the ancient Greek town of Olympia was overcast, and it was impossible to collect kindling with a condenser. However, Sharku, the stage performer and TV amphibious star, who was in his first priestly role. Since the 1936 Olympic Games began to collect flame in Greece, this is the fourth time that the"backup" kindling has been used due to rain.

Sharku, along with 17 other priestesses, escorted the torch in ancient Greek containers to the tomb of Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games, where 19-year-old Greek pole vaulter Philipdis, the first torchbearer in white and orange sportswear, was waiting. After a grand ceremony, Sharku used the flame to light the torch in the hands of Philipdis, and the torch relay of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games began.

Mascot

"Neve" and "Glitz", mascots of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. Neve's image is a little girl in red, with a round head, like a snowball; glitz is a little boy in blue, with a square head, like a small cube of ice. They symbolize the two indispensable elements in the Winter Olympic Games: snow and ice. The mascot was officially announced on September 28, 2005 and was designed by Pedro Albuquerque, a Portuguese designer.

Today, Zhou Mei, the volunteer of Xiamen Olympic Museum, will share the story of the mascots of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

Mascots of 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin

Hello, everyone. I'm Zhou Mei, the volunteer of Xiamen Olympic Museum. Review the Olympic history, inherit the Olympic spirit. In this issue, I'd like to tell you the origin of the mascots of Turin Winter Olympic Games and the story of Turin's successful bid for the Winter Olympic Games.

Mascot of 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games

The mascots of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy are Neve and Glitz. Neve's image is a little girl in red, with a round head, like a snowball. Glitz is a little boy in blue, with a square head, like a small cube of ice. They symbolize the two indispensable elements in the Winter Olympic Games: snow and ice.

If you like, you can also call them Xue er and Bing er. Xue er’s name is Neve, which means "Snow" in Italian. Bing er's name is Gliz, which is transformed from the Italian word Ghiaccio, which means "ice" in Italian. Among the two mascots, Neve is a female, dressed in red, smooth and round shape represents the harmony and elegance of sports. Glitz is a male, dressed in blue, and angular shape represents the strength and perseverance of athletes. These two cartoon images are not only the symbol of a new generation full of passion, love sports and dare to challenge life, but also reflect the spirit of "participation, respect and friendship" advocated by the Olympic movement.

The mascot of the Olympic Games (referred to as the Olympic mascot, the Olympic mascot) is the animal or character image that represents each Olympic Games. No matter what the appearance of the Olympic mascots is, their common point is to show the unique geographical characteristics, history and culture of the host city with the Olympic Games. The Olympic mascot is the most popular and memorable Olympic brand image.

In order to design the mascots of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, on the third anniversary of the countdown to the Winter Olympics in Turin, the Organizing Committee of the Winter Olympics in Turin organized a design competition attended by advertising and graphic design institutions and independent graphic designers. A total of 237 design manuscripts were received in the competition, and Pedro Albuquerque from Portugal won the competition. Pedro's mascots are anthropomorphic snowballs and ice cubes, representing two essential elements of the Winter Olympics: snow and ice.

About Turin

The 20th Winter Olympics was held in Turin, the capital of Piedmont, Italy, from February 10 to 26, 2006. This winter Olympic Games is the second one held by Italy after the 1956 Winter Olympic Games in cortinathan Pezzo. It would be the third time in the history of Italy to become the host country of the Olympic Games, including the Rome Olympic Games in 1960.

Turin (English, Italian Torino) is located in the valley of the upper reaches of the Po River. It is the third largest city in Italy, the capital of Piedmont, the largest automobile production place in Europe, and also an ancient city with a long history. It has a large number of classical and Baroque buildings. The home of the world famous football club Juventus is in Turin.

Turin used to be an important political center in Europe. After the Second World War, it was also the most important distribution center of industry, commerce and trade in Europe. Turin is also an ancient city of culture and art. There are many squares in the city, with a large number of Renaissance art treasures and architectural monuments, such as St. Giovanni Batista church, Walden Xi'an church and luxury palaces. Turin, a city of only 130 square kilometers, has more than half the population associated with Fiat. It's no exaggeration to say that Turin's economic lifeline is firmly controlled by the car brand. As a result, Turin is known as the "hometown of Sofia". Because one third of Italy's chocolate factories are located in Piedmont, this ancient city is known as the sweetest place in Italy, enjoying the reputation of "Chocolate City".

History, culture, art, automobile, football and chocolate are the rich gifts given to the world by Turin, which are full of passion and creativity. The 20th Winter Olympic Games was held in Turin. After the 1956 Winter Olympic Games in Cotinadanpezo, Italians once again dedicated their passion and dream for ice and snow sports, just like the slogan of the Winter Olympic Games - "passion burns in Turin". The Winter Olympics in Turin has provided people around the world with a high-level ice and snow feast.

Thank you for listening. I'm Zhou Mei. See you next time.