Blog: Olympian decision is great news
Thursday 20th May 2010, 10:00AM BST.
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Blog: Wow! The London Olympics is still two years away and Much Wenlock has already struck gold.
The naming of one of the games’ official mascots “Wenlock” is a fantastic boost for Much Wenlock and Shropshire.
And it came completely out of the blue.
What is it worth?
It means that in the build up to the Olympics, and throughout the Olympics, the Wenlock name will be in lights, constantly repeated, on commentators’ lips…
This is free worldwide publicity on a huge scale. If you were paying for it, it would cost you millions.
It puts Much Wenlock on the map while recognising the town’s role in the story of the modern Olympic Games.
Wenlock folk have always claimed that the Wenlock Olympics founded by Dr William Penny Brookes in 1850 helped inspire the modern Olympics.
Now all the world will know of that claim.
As for the one-eyed “Wenlock” mascot, it is modern, cutting edge, futuristic, and with-it, just like Much Wenlock.
Okay, maybe not just like Much Wenlock.
Not everybody is going to find “Wenlock” cuddly. But a young generation brought up on digitally-created characters won’t find it difficult to embrace him/her/it.
So thank you to the games organising committee for their wonderful and much appreciated gesture.
It’s a great result for Much Wenlock and Shropshire. And now we must start thinking about how we can — let’s be blunt — cash in.
Opportunities like this don’t come every day.
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