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Blue Peter winner brings hedgehogs and bees to the Summer of World Athletics
Blue Peter winner’s motivating mascots were inspired by the dwindling populations of hedgehogs and bees in the UK.
Elinor, 9, from Birmingham has won Blue Peter’s ‘Design a mascot’ competition which asked viewers to design and name two great mascots that are original, unique characters who are passionate about athletics - one for the World Para Athletics Championships and one for the IAAF World Championships London 2017.
The winning designs, chosen from over 4000 entries were unveiled today as Whizbee the Bee, official mascot of the World Para Athletics Championships , and Hero the Hedgehog, official mascot of the IAAF World Championships London 2017.
Elinor said: “It is so exciting that my designs were chosen as the winner. I chose Whizbee and Hero because they are endangered species and are survivors. It’s really cool getting them made into proper mascots.”
Elinor is now set to receive four tickets to a session at both Championships, a VIP tour of the London Stadium, a framed photo of the finished mascots and a Blue Peter orange competition badge having already seen her designs come to life.
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, who was part of the judging panel, said: ‘There were so many good, creative designs it was pretty hard to choose a winner. I think Elinor’s reason for choosing a bee and hedgehog, and the fact that they are creatures in our everyday lives in Britain, made the designs stand out. Hopefully the mascots will bring a lot of fun and energy to the Championships.”
Fellow judge and double Paralympic champion Richard Whitehead MBE said: “Being part of the judging panel was a great experience. It was difficult to choose the winner from the thousands of youngsters who entered designs through Blue Peter but Whizbee and Hero illustrate exactly what we were looking for.’
Ewan Vinnicombe, Editor, Blue Peter says: "Whizbee and Hero are the perfect partners for the Summer of World Athletics. They really capture the inspirational spirit of the competition whilst also sharing Blue Peter’s passion for raising awareness of the important issues surrounding the environment. Elinor’s designs are simply brilliant.’’
Blue Peter is a trailblazer in inspiring the next generation of sporting talent. The long-running children’s TV show has awarded over 10,000 Blue Peter Sport badges in the last year to viewers who have inspired a friend to take up a new sport.
You can see Elinor’s designs brought to life on Blue Peter on Thursday 20th April at 5:30pm on CBBC.