WITH 1,000 days to go before the Olympics, Beijing yesterday ended years of wrangling and weeks of secrecy by unveiling not one but five mascots for the 2008 games.

The climax of a gala evening of song and dance at the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing was the appearance on stage of dancers representing a panda, a Tibetan antelope, a swallow, a fish and the spirit of the Olympic flame.

The five mascot dolls — the “Five Friendlies” — will be coloured in the hues of the Olympic rings and represent the sea, forests, fire, earth and air. They are called Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. The first syllables of their names put together create the phrase “Beijing welcomes you”.

Record profits are expected from the sale of Olympic merchandising before the Beijing Games. Sales of such products brought in almost £200 million at both the Sydney and Athens Olympics. Host cities keep up to 15 per cent of the royalties, helping to defray the cost of the Games.

Lobbying from various interest groups and regions in China to have input into a mascot was intense. Officials decided to select five as a compromise to cause the least offence.

A host of real and mythic creatures were among the candidates considered by Chinese leaders, Olympic officials and design specialists.

Among those that did not make it were the dragon and a mischievous magical monkey out of Chinese folklore.

The Beijing organising committee received 662 suggestions and the final choice, made by senior leaders and organisers, was approved by the International Olympic Committee in August.

It is the highest number of mascots any Olympic Games has had in more than 30 years. The Salt Lake City and Sydney Games each had three.

Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the IOC’s Co-ordination Commission, said: “We have approved them. That means we like them, otherwise we wouldn’t have done that.”

Not everyone felt the same way. Zhong Ling, a university student, said: “The colours look fine together, but if I look at each separately they seem a little like the uninspiring figures from the Chinese cartoons of my childhood.”

Beijing is beginning an extensive marketing campaign for the mascots. An animated film put together by Han Meilin, who headed the design team, was screened at the unveiling and will be replayed on Chinese television in coming days.

From today, postage stamps and more than 300 other licensed products featuring the mascots go on sale at 188 authorised venues across China, widening a product line of T-shirts, caps, pens and bags bearing the 2008 Games logo.

The mascot products will range from fluorescent pens for 60p to souvenirs made from precious metals selling for thousands of pounds.

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