Like a Fairy Tale: Hansel and Gretel - Mascots of The World Games 2017
Hansel and Gretel are the mascots of The World Games, 20-30 July 2017. They were selected in a multi-stage competition gaining 31.1% of all votes cast by Internet users.
Almost 16,000 people took part in the survey on the website of the City of Wroclaw. The mascots of The World Games 2017 were first presented this summer, during the 11th Superfinal of the Polish American Football League. Just before the match started, they were introduced into the Stadium of Wrocław, greeted by applause from 15,000 spectators.
The idea for the mascots was created by two schoolgirls from one of Wrocław high schools: Magda Włoczka and Ola Gromadowska. Winning the contest by beating students from all over Poland was like a fairy tale for the two pupils. They took as their reference two twin, medieval tenement houses located in the Northwest corner of Wrocław Market Square. These two houses are well known in the city as “Hansel and Gretel” – the two heroes of the fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.
“We were looking for symbols of Wrocław, and since our class is in the architectural stream, we thought about the tenement houses of Hansel and Gretel. What is more, Hansel resembles a dwarf”, they explained shortly after the announcement of the official results, Magda Włoczka and Ola Gromadowska explained further how they found their poll-winning idea:
The tenement buildings originally housed church curates. They captivate people not only with their small size, but most of all because of the archway that connects them, which is associated with the siblings holding hands. It is worth pointing out that next to Hansel there is a secret entrance to the Land of Dwarfs, characters that fit firmly into the Wrocław landscape.
There are several hundred small figurines of dwarfs in the city. One of the great attractions is to walk through the capital of Lower Silesia with a map on which the dwarfs’ locations are marked. Hansel and Gretel, in the design of the two schoolgirls, convey the impression of a dwarf motif too.
"Hansel" is also an important place on the cultural map of Wrocław. In 1995, the building was handed over to the professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, a famous engraver called Eugeniusz Get-Stankiewicz, who established his studio there.
Since their inauguration during the summer, the mascots have regularly appeared at various sports competitions and events to promote The World Games 2017 in Wrocław.They are always welcomed by the city's residents and visitors. They will play a leading role when it comes to presenting the merchandising products, and in the advertising for TWG 2017.