Picture Credit: Commonwealth Games
10-year-old Emma Lou was ecstatic on hearing her design for the Commonwealth Games 2022 mascot has been finalized and will feature at the opening ceremony on August 28. Lou, who won the nationwide competition in the United Kingdom that was held amongst children aged between five and 15, came up with the design 'Perry the Bull'.
Emma Lou said she was overwhelmed to see that Perry the Bull had come to visit her. The 10-year-old said that she did not expect it at all. Lou then explained her choice of design and said that she chose a bull because it related to the famous bull ring at Birmingham.
It feels amazing, I didn’t expect this at all." The 10-year-old then went on to explain her design of choice by adding, "It has hexagons because it has three equilateral triangles. It means everyone relies on each other." When asked about the bull, Lou replied, "Because of the famous bullring at Birmingham [the host city].
In a later interaction with the Birmingham Mail, Lou provided a more detailed response about her design by stating, "I am really excited to come to the Commonwealth Games and it will be amazing to see Perry in the Opening Ceremony. I chose a bull because of the Bullring in Birmingham, and I decided to use hexagons because they are the strongest shape and the whole world depends on each other. I am so excited that my design will be seen by so many people!"
Notably, the 28th edition of the Commonwealth Games is all set to take place in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The quadrennial event will take place from 28 July to 8 August. The opening ceremony of the Games featuring Lou's Perry the Bull will be live on 28 August.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has announced a 322-member squad (215 athletes and 107 officials and support staff) for the same on July 16 that includes some of the country's top athletes. Other than Tokyo Olympics 2020 gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, the squad also includes other prominent names such as P.V Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu, Lovlina Borgohain, Bajrang Punia, Manika Batra, Vinesh Phogat and Ravi Kumar Dahiya.