Olympic mascot Wenlock visits Shrewsbury

Official Olympic mascot Wenlock has visited Shrewsbury as part of a whistle-stop tour of the region ahead of the London 2012 Games.

The Great McDonald’s Mascotathon made its stop in Shrewsbury as Wenlock and Mandeville, the Olympic and Paralympic mascots, drum up support for the Games.

The tour, which stopped off at the McDonald’s restaurant in Meole Brace on Friday, aims to get as many families as possible excited about the Games and encourage children to get active through play.

Research conducted by McDonald’s to coincide with the tour found Olympic Games fever really has caught children’s imaginations, with 50 per cent of children in the West Midlands revealing they want to get out and try new sports as London 2012 approaches.

Meole Brace McDonald’s franchisee Bob Beckett said: “Through our involvement in the Olympic Games we want to help motivate as many children as possible to get into the spirit of the Games, and feel the Mascotathon tour is a really fun way to do so.

“We hope having Wenlock come to our restaurant will really help build the excitement among the kids and inspire more young people to take up sports.”

Through the promotion they are giving 100 children the chance to win tickets to an Olympic or Paralympic event, the chance to meet an Olympian and also to go behind the scenes at the Games. Children can register for the competition online.