Spoiler : The novel mascots for the 2026 Winter Games are sooooo cunning .

This is the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic mascot: a Phryge!

You might be wondering…what are those things? And that would be fair.

People were understandably quite puzzled by what looked like giant red blobs as the Paris Olympic mascot.

I learned the mascots for the 2024 Paris Olympics are call the Phryges and are based on the Phrygian crownwork . I get that the cap is a symbol of exemption but what ? France has so much cool clobber and they went with a limp cap?We motivation to stop L.A. from doing a beanie mascot in ' 28pic.twitter.com/h3VGAFfGhI

It’s not immediately clear what they are, so there have been comparisons to…other things.

Really , who recollect this years Olympic mascot up , I know it ’s supposed to be a French hat but I just keep seeing the emoji 😂 🇬 🇧 @TeamGBGood hazard anyway#teamgbyou are doing brilliantly at#Paris2024pic.twitter.com / yq6n1yeIBP

The Phryges have elicited some testy reactions.

With all that ’s being said about the Olympics in France , not enough attention has been given to the mascot . What the screw is this ? see at its creepy-crawly eyes . This demon would n’t burn in the devil ’s own furnace.pic.twitter.com/jnHkkSrRmD

Phryges are people too, guys.

It ’s getting lost in the preaching that this class ’s Olympics mascot is really weird.pic.twitter.com/K6QrQdlmQr

Well, the answer is that they’re anthropomorphized Phrygian caps, which came to symbolize freedom during the French Revolution — thus the Parisian connection.

The Phryges are the latest in a lineup of Olympic mascots dating back to 1968, so let’s take a little trip down memory lane…

2022 Beijing: Bing Dwen Dwen

2020 Tokyo: Miraitowa

2018 Pyeongchang: Soohorang

2016 Rio de Janeiro: Vinicius

2014 Sochi: The Hare, the Polar Bear, and the Leopard

2012 London: Wenlock

2010 Vancouver: Quatchi and Miga

2008 Beijing: The Fuwa

2006 Turin: Neve and Gliz

2004 Athens: Phevos and Athena

2002 Salt Lake City: Powder, Coal, and Copper

2000 Sydney: Syd, Olly, and Millie

1998 Nagano: Sukki, Nokki, Lekki, and Tsukki

1996 Atlanta: Izzy (formerly “Whatizit”)

1994 Lillehammer: Haakon and Kristin

1992 Barcelona: Cobi

1992 Albertville: Magique

1988 Seoul: Hodori

1988 Calgary: Hidy and Howdy

1984 Los Angeles: Sam

1984 Sarajevo: Vučko

1980 Moscow: Misha

1980 Lake Placid: Roni

1976 Montreal: Amik

1976 Innsbruck: Schneemandl / Schneemann

1972 Munich: Waldi

1968 Grenoble: Shuss / Schuss

P.S. The 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in northern Italy (“Milano Cortina,” broadly), and their mascots were unveiled earlier this year: Meet Tina and Milo!

They’re stoats, aka ermines, short-tailed weasels who live in northern climates. Tina and Milo are super cute, but TBH, I think the real thing is even cuter:

Olympic and Paralympic mascots walk on a red carpet promoting Paris 2024, both are whimsical red characters with large eyes and sneakers

A pile of red plush mascots with wide eyes and tricolor stripes, representing the 2024 Paris Olympics

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A vintage illustration of a woman from France wearing a red hat with a blue and white rosette and a red scarf. She is smiling and facing forward

Miraitowa, the mascot for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is waving. The character features large eyes, a futuristic design, and is blue and white

A person in dark clothing holds a plush toy of Soohorang, the official mascot of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, featuring a hat with colorful elements

Vinicius, the Rio 2016 Olympic mascot, stands in an arena next to an image of Tom, the Rio 2016 Paralympic mascot, with an arrow pointing to Tom

Three large mascots—a white rabbit, a beige bear, and a brown leopard—stand on stage at an event, surrounded by performers in white outfits holding lights

Wenlock, the silver mascot of the 2012 London Olympics, is standing with arms raised. The statue has a single large eye and orange Olympic symbols

Sumi and Quatchi, mascots of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, leap joyfully in front of a digital countdown timer. Sumi is dressed as a bear with wings, and Quatchi is a sasquatch in earmuffs

Inflatable mascots from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini, are displayed among red balloons on a grassy hill

Two mascots from the 2006 Winter Olympics in costume, Neve (left, snowball-like) and Gliz (right, ice cube-like), standing side by side, smiling

Two plush mascots from the Athens 2004 Olympics, dressed in orange and blue outfits, are posed together with a view of a cityscape in the background

Three mascots from the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics: Powder, the snowshoe hare; Coal, the black bear; and Copper, the coyote

A man in a suit stands with Olympic mascots Syd the platypus, Olly the kookaburra, and Millie the echidna, cutting a large cake with Sydney's skyline in the background

Four colorful owl mascots stand amidst a crowd in front of a traditional Japanese temple

Hodori, the friendly tiger mascot of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, waves while wearing an Olympic rings necklace and a traditional Korean hat

two bear mascots wearing clothes in the mountains

Olympic mascot Sam the Eagle, wearing a top hat with the Olympic rings, walks on a track with a crowd of people and large balloons in the background

Two young figure skaters hold hands with an Olympic mascot. The skaters are dressed in matching outfits with ice skates. Olympic rings are visible in the background

A large crowd at a stadium for the 1980 Moscow Olympics opening ceremony. A giant mosaic of Misha the bear is displayed under the Olympic torch

Hockey players Gilbert Perreault and Bryan Trottier stand on the ice with a Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympics mascot

Snowman olympic mascots in Germany

A dachshund sits on a sidewalk with two striped plush toy dachshunds. A yellow arrow points to one of the plush toys

Giant sculpture of a whimsical red-headed figure skiing with a smiling face, viewed through a display case

Two mascots, representing the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, stand in a plaza outside a modern building, waving and smiling

A Eurasian ermine stands alert on a rock in a grassy, natural environment