Mascots

The official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled on May 19, 2010.

Wenlock and Mandeville are animations depicting two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton.

They are named Wenlock, after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock, which held a forerunner of the current Olympic Games, and Mandeville, after Stoke Mandeville, a village in Buckinghamshire where a forerunner to the Paralympic Games were first held.

Logo

The London Olympics logo, designed by Wolff Olins, was unveiled on June 4, 2007 and cost £400,000. It is a representation of the number 2012, with the Olympic Rings embedded within the zero.

This will be the first time that the same essential logo is to be used for both the Olympic and Paralympic games.

The standard colors are green, magenta, orange and blue; however the logo has incorporated a variety of colors, including the Union Flag to promote the handover ceremony.

Motto

The motto of the London Olympic Games - Inspire a Generation - was unveiled by the London Olympics organizing committee (LOCOG) on April 18, 2012 as they celebrate 100 days to go to the Olympic Games.

It is "reflecting the promise made when London bid for the Games, the motto will appear on branding and publications in the run-up to and during, the Games," LOCOG said in a statement before a press conference for the 100 days countdown to the Games opener.

Torch

Dubbed the "cheesegrater", the Olympic Torch is perforated with 8,000 holes that represent each person who will carry it on the British leg of the torch relay. It weighs 1kg including the burner and gas canister and stands 800 millimeter high.

Its triangular shape symbolizes the three times that London has been awarded the Games in 1908, 1948 and 2012; the faster, higher stronger motto of the Olympic movement and the sport, education and culture triple vision of the 2012 Games.

Medals

The Olympic medal, designed by British artist David Watkins, weighs 375-400g and is 7mm thick, with the sport and discipline engraved on the rim.

The medals' circular form is a metaphor for the world. The front of the medal always depicts the same imagery at the summer Games - the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, stepping out of the depiction of the Parthenon to arrive in the host city. On the reverse of the medals, the dished background suggests a bowl similar to the design of an amphitheatre.

Participation

Some 10,500 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees are expected to participate. As of May 18, 2012, 182 countries have qualified at least one athlete.

The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee, which had planned to continue functioning after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, had its membership withdrawn by the IOC Executive Committee in June 2011. But Dutch Antillean athletes who qualify for the 2012 Olympics will be allowed to participate independently under the Olympic flag.