“NANJINGLELE”, the 2014 Youth Olympic Games mascot is a colourful pebble

It is rising up its right hand, smiling and spreading around its positive attitude with its big eyes and colored stripes. It's called NANJINGLELE and it will be the mascot for the next Youth Olympic Games. “NANJING” is the host city name, while “LELE” recalls the sound of colliding stones and the Chinese word for "happiness". NANJINGLELE's design comes from a Nanjing-typical pebble, known as the “riverstone”, whose shape inspired the mascot. The stripes' colors come from the YOG emblem's palette, in order to realize a certain uniformity in all the elements of the event.

The riverstone is also called “The Queen of Stone”, because of its naturally achieved throughout the millennia aspect. That's why NANJINGLELE stands for the natural beauty and communicates the value of “approaching and enjoying nature”.
That is a real YOG principle, especially adressed to young people around the world, in order to promote an healthier lifestyle among them. NANJINGLELE and its naturalistic ideals also represent the host city bid to soon become a “Modern and International Green City”.

“Mascot NANJINGLELE portrays the collective wisdom of Nanjing people - said Li Xueyong, Governor of Jiangsu Province and President of NYOGOC - and the good wish of a harmonious relationship between human beings and the nature.”

A design competition was launched by NYOGOC all over China to decide what the mascot would have looked like. More than 1.2 milion students from more than 900 schools took part in the competition. The winner was Mr Cui Xinye, a 25-year-old college student.

The 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held in Nanjing (CHI) from August 16^th to 28^th. Shooting will be part of the competition, together with 27 other sports, exactly as in the 2012 Olympics. Education, Olympic values, social challenges and cultural diversity: this is how the YOG want to become an high level international sporting event. With NANJINGLELE too, of course.