Its mascot unveiling time in Rio and Baku
The Baku 2015 European Games has unveiled the official mascots for the inaugural sporting event.The two mascots, Jeyran the Gazelle and Nar the Pomegranate, have been inspired by Azerbaijani nature and heritage. They symbolise the country’s history and future. The mascots will represent the first European Games across the world and also appear on branding to promote the event. How exciting can this get…?
In Brazil, the Olympic mascot represents all of the different animals in Brazil, while the Paralympic mascot is a 
unique mixture of the Brazilian flora. The final two proposals went to a vetting committee, which voted unanimously for the winners. The public is being invited to vote for their choice of names from a shortlist of three pairs of names, one for the Olympic mascot, the other for the Paralympic mascot, respectively.
The name choices are Oba and Eba, Tiba Tuque and Esquindim, and Vinicius and Tom.
The Rio 2016 licensee for the category of plush toys is Honav, a Chinese company which has a long relationship with the Games including as licensee for London 2012 and Beijing 2008.
Separately, Rio 2016 executive director of communications Mario Andrada has claimed "there is not a chance in the world" that the venues for the Olympic and Paralympic Games will not be ready in time. Probably right.
