12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics berlin 2009™

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World Championships Mascot is Named “Berlino”

Author: BOCCurrent events Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

The berlin2009&trade -mascot now has a name: More than 40% voted for "Berlino"
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Following the presentation of 17 active German track and field athletes who are the German “Faces of the World Championships” last Monday, today the World Championships Organising Committee berlin 2009™ presented the 18th face (now with a name to go with it) of the World Championships: The official mascot for the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics is named “Berlino”.

Lamine Diack, president of the IAAF, the world’s governing body for athletics, is looking forward to the mascot’s activities prior to the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics: “Berlino will add one more face to the World Championships in Berlin, helping to further increase the worldwide presence of the event. This warm and friendly figurehead is sure to help boost the preparations for the World Championships.”

Klaus Wowereit, the mayor of Berlin and president of the World Championships Organising Committee, is just as excited about the Championships mascot: “Berlino is an excellent ambassador for the city of Berlin and the World Championships in Athletics. In the past few weeks he has already demonstrated how much he appeals to the Berliners, and with his mobility and exuberance, he brings a friendly face to the Championships.”

Since the official presentation of the mascot on January 22, 2009, over 2,100 name suggestions were submitted on www.berlin2009.org from 18 countries (Poland, Czech Republic, USA, France, Austria, Malta, Italy, Dominican Republic, Belgium, Netherlands, Russia, Great Britain, Jamaica, Iceland, Greece, UAE, Switzerland, and Spain). The winner was chosen through Internet poling. 40% of the more than 4,700 votes went to Berlino.

The majority of the suggestions made some reference to the city of Berlin and/or the bear. More than 60% of the names suggested started with the letter “B”. The winning suggestion “Berlino” was originally submitted 80 separate times.

Beginning in May, the mascot will also be available as a stuffed animal in various sizes, as well as on bags, t-shirts and key rings.

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