Olympic Notes: Nanjing 2014 Unveils Its Mascot, Inspired By Host City Features

The Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee unveiled its official mascot: Nanjinglele. The name is inspired by a unique, natural feature of China's host city, known as the "rain-flower pebble." The word "Lele" represents the sound of stones colliding together and is pronounced like the Chinese word meaning happiness or joy. Nanjinglele was chosen following a nationwide mascot design competition launched by NYOGOC earlier this year. More than 1.2 million students from more than 900 colleges and universities across China participated in the competition.The winner was 25-year-old Cui Xinye (Nanjing 2014). ... Travel and event firm Thomas Cook "has revealed an unwelcome legacy: a £17M ($27.3M) hole in its accounts after a disastrous attempt to cash in on London 2012." It has blamed the loss "on marketing and licensing costs for package deals that offered guaranteed tickets for the Games" (BELFAST TELEGRAPH, 11/29).