2022 Commonwealth Games Mascot Revealed
“Say Hi to Perry”
- Perry is named after Perry Barr area, the home of the Alexander Stadium, which will host the Games’ athletics events & opening and closing ceremonies.
- He is a bull to reflect the city’s long association with the animal, and is covered in multi-coloured hexagons to symbolise the coming together of the Commonwealth in Birmingham in 2022;
- Perry is the first mascot at a multi-sport games to be created in Augmented Reality, allowing people to #PoseWithPerry in their own homes
- Perry is inspired by the design of 10-year-old Emma Lou from Bolton, the winner of a national children’s design competition
- Mascot merchandise is available to buy now from the new Birmingham 2022 online shop – www.shop.birmingham2022.com
Perry is inspired by the design of ten-year-old Emma Lou from Bolton, the winner of a national design competition that took place over the summer of 2020. The competition tasked children aged 5-15 with creating a mascot that reflects the identity, heritage and culture of Birmingham and the West Midlands. The winning design was combined with the findings of the first ever Virtual Mascot Summit in July 2020, hosted by Olympic heptathlon champion and President of Commonwealth Games England Denise Lewis OBE and TV Presenter Radzi Chinyanganya from Wolverhampton. The summit saw more than 50 children from across Birmingham and the West Midlands take part in tasks to develop the mascot’s characteristics, values and movements, helping to inspire Perry’s personality. Perry becomes an icon for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the biggest sports event to be held in the UK for a decade and will be seen by a global audience of more than one billion people.
Who is Perry?
Perry is named after the Perry Barr area of Birmingham, the home of the Alexander Stadium, which will host the athletics events at the Games, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. The stadium is undergoing a £72 million transformation in time for the Games.
The mascot’s rainbow coloured hexagons represent the coming together of the Commonwealth in equal partnership with the diverse communities of Birmingham and the West Midlands at the Games in 2022.
Perry is a friendly, kind and cheeky bull, an animal with which Birmingham has been synonymous for centuries. The city has had a market area known as the Bull Ring since the 16th century; the site is close to the current Bullring shopping centre, with an iconic bronze bull statue at its entrance.
Perry is wearing a medal, which references Birmingham’s iconic Jewellery Quarter, the UK’s centre for jewellery and precious metals for more than two hundred years. The area still produces around 40% of the country’s jewellery and is home to one of the world’s largest Assay Offices, hallmarking millions of gold, silver and platinum items each year.
The mascot’s sports kit includes blue, red and yellow stripes, a nod to the colours of the official flag of Birmingham, and the city’s motto, Forward.
An animated video telling the story of Perry’s personality and characteristics has also been unveiled today. The animation is narrated by comedian Guz Khan, creator and star of critically acclaimed BBC sitcom Man Like Mobeen, a comedic take on life in inner city Birmingham.
A range of mascot clothing and accessories are available to buy from today from the newly launched Birmingham 2022 online shop – www.shop.birmingham2022.com. A range of Birmingham 2022 clothing is also available to buy from today. A Perry plush toy and a wide range of other products will be available to buy this summer.
To find out more about Perry, head to www.birmingham2022.com/mascot – including how to #PoseWithPerry using augmented reality on a mobile phone.
ABOUT COMMONWEALTH GAMES CANADA
Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC) is the franchise holder for the Commonwealth sport movement in Canada. CGC supports Canada’s athletes to achieve excellence at Olympic and Paralympic Games and world championships, enriches the lives of youth across the Commonwealth and hosts the Commonwealth Games. For additional information go to: www.commonwealthgames.ca