Nameless instead of pantsless!
Now it has finally been presented: our new mascot for the home EM 2024. What BILD already reported in advance is now official: It is a bear – but has no name yet.
This is our EM mascot – with pants!
Fans can now vote for two weeks on the Uefa website. The choice of names: Albärt, Bärnardo, Bärnheart or Herzi von Bär.
+++ Alternatively, you can also vote for other names at BILD! +++
+++ App users come here to vote: What should the EM mascot be called? +++
Grinning euphorically, the bear trudged into the gymnasium of a Gelsenkirchen elementary school and waved his four fingers at the cheering children. At 10:40 a.m., the mascot finally made its first official appearance ahead of the 2024 home tournament.
+++ App users come here to vote: How do you like the EM mascot? +++
curious: Because of the high summer temperatures, it was a short five-minute performance accompanied by tournament director Philipp Lahm (39) and DFB vice-president Celia Sasic (34).
Noticeable: The new EM bear has an oversized face with brown fur, big black eyes and three hairs. He is wearing black, red and gold shoes, white socks, a colorful top with the colors of all European flags and the number 24 – and above all: short blue pants!
That was different 17 years ago: At the home World Cup in 2006, the world was still making fun of our pantsless “Goleo”, mocking the lion as “long misery” or “shaggy cattle”.
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Ex-DFB captain Lahm explains: “I really like the mascot. It has blue pants, that’s important to us, it had to fit. A bear is just cute, they run around everywhere. I think everyone used to have a teddy bear, so we want to appeal to the five to twelve year olds in particular.”
The mascot will be available as a cuddly toy in the fan shops around Christmas. There will be a total of ten original mascots at the tournament, one for each EM stadium.
The bear starts straight away with a marathon of performances, intended to get the younger fan generations excited about the Euros: After the premiere in the elementary school, there will be an official presentation in a Gelsenkirchen comprehensive school in the afternoon. After the test against Colombia, the EM bear then has his first appearance in the Arena at Schalke.
Hopefully, thanks to the new mascot, the home EM will also be back for our national team BÄR!