Neve and Gliz were the official mascots of the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

and Aster was the official mascot of the

2006 Winter Paralympics The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games ( it, Giochi paralimpici invernali del 2006), the ninth Paralympic Winter Games, took place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 19 March 2006. These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy. They were ...

, both held in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Neve and Gliz were created by Pedro Albuquerque. They both represent the characteristics of the Winter Games, including "Snow and Ice". Neve ("

Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

" in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) is a humanized female snowball that wears red and represents "softness, friendship and elegance." Gliz (a shortened form of ''Ghiaccio'', "

Ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...

" in

) is a humanized male ice cube who wears blue and represents "enthusiasm and joy." For the election of the official mascots of the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Organizing Committee of the Winter Games (TOROC) conducted a contest to which 237 proposals were submitted before closure of the nominations on May 20, 2003. Of these candidates, five came to the final round in which they were evaluated by an international jury selected by TOROC. The election was subsequently ratified by the Presidential Committee of TOROC. Finally, the winners, Albuquerque's "Neve and Gliz," were submitted on September 28, 2004, exactly 500 days before the opening of the Olympics. For the Paralympic Games, TOROC subsequently requested Albuquerque for the creation of a new mascot along the creative lines of Neve and Gliz. He created Aster, a stylized snow flake that is to convey the Paralympic ideals: the determination, passion and courage of the disabled athlete. When shown in sport uniforms, Aster is usually represented by the color green. It also completes the colors shown in the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games logo.

External links

Official site for the 2006 Winter Olympics mascot page
''(Internet Archive)''

''(Internet Archive)''
Presentation of the 2006 Winter Olympics Mascots
''( PDF archive)'' Olympic mascots Paralympic mascots Fictional humanoids Fictional characters with ice or cold abilities Fictional Italian people Italian culture {{mascot-stub