Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville snubbed over appearance fees
Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville are being snubbed because it costs too much to hire them, it was today claimed.
Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville are being snubbed because it costs too much to hire them, it was today claimed.
Games supremo Lord Seb Coe said the mascots, one of which is named after the Shropshire town credited with inspiring the modern movement, were designed to inspire young people and 'connect them to the power of sport'.
But unless schools are pulled out of a hat to win a free visit, they have to pay an £850 fee. The fee has only been paid once, by a group of schools who clubbed together.
It backs up claims by Lib-Dem peer Baroness Doocey that the fee was denying the majority of schoolchildren across the UK the chance to meet the two mascots.
The London 2012 Organising Committee said the cost was to cover the fees of two actors plus an assistant.
A committee spokesman said: "Our priority is and has always been to make mascot visits available free to schools via initiatives and competitions.
Students from more than 300 schools have seen the mascots for free through the Get Set scheme."
See also:
London Olympic mascot Wenlock comes home
Olympic mascots off to meet UKs pupils
