Official Mascots

Since the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games, mascots have become a regular and expected feature of the Olympics, and in Rio visitors will be greeted by "Vinicius" at the Olympic Games and "Tom" at the Paralympic Games.  The former is named for cultural icon Vinicius de Moraes, the Brazilian poet and lyricist who wrote all about the charms of Brazil, while the latter is named for Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim, a prime mover behind the uniquely Brazilian bossa nova music genre.  Vinicius and Tom collaborated to produce Garota de Ipanema -- or The Girl from Ipanema -- one of the most-recorded songs of all time and familiar to most people worldwide over the age of 50.  Turn up the volume on your device and take a listen to a pretty good a cappella version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ALhQcpDo-g