The mascots of the Rio 2016 Olympic The mascots were unveiled without a name on 23 November 2014. The names of the mascots were determined by a public vote. Vinicius and Tom won over two other sets of names, tallying 44 percent of 323,327 votes, whose results were announced on 14 December 2014. The other choices were Oba and Eba and Tiba Tuque and Esquindim. The mascots' fictional backstories state that they were both born from the joy of Brazilians after it was announced that Rio would host the Games. Brand director Beth Lula stated that the mascots are intended to reflect the diversity of Brazil's culture and people.[1][2] The Olympic mascot is called Vinicius and is named after musician Vinicius de Moraes. The Olympic mascot represents Brazilian wildlife, primarily carrying design traits of mammals: the agility of cats, sway of monkeys and grace of birds. He can stretch his arms and legs as much as he wants. The Paralympic mascot is called Tom, named after the mus...