Organisers defend high cost of Olympic mascot

Olympic mascot Wenlock hopes to make as many friends as possible in the run-up to the London Games and always looks on the bright side of life, according to Games officials.

But the character, named after the Shropshire town considered to be the birthplace of the modern Olympic movement, is not proving as popular as he had hoped – because it costs £850 for him to appear.

The fee, set by Sebastian Coe's London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog), rises to £1,720 for events requiring an overnight stay, and £2,450 for a trip to Scotland or Ireland.

A row has now broke out over the fee amid fears schools across the country are missing out on the chance to meet Wenlock and his Paralympic counterpart Mandeville.

But Locog today defended the cost and insisted it ran a scheme called Get Set, which gives schools the chance to apply to meet the Olympic mascots for free.

A spokesman for Locog said that since 2010 more than 300 schools had benefited, including William Brookes School in Much Wenlock.

Affluent

But those who are not selected or do not apply, will have to pay.

Lib Dem peer Baroness Doocey has raised the issue in the House of Lords, suggesting only the richest of schools would be able to afford the appearance fees.

She said: "When Sebastian Coe launched the mascots he said they had been created for the children.

"He didn't say, providing the children were from affluent families."

Wenlock, who was named after Much Wenlock, the home of William Penny Brookes who inspired the modern Olympic Games, has visited his namesake town twice, but as both visits were arranged by Locog, there was no charge.

A spokeswoman for the school said: "They visited us at the launch of the video stories about them, and then last summer they were here for the primary sports day."

See also:

• Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville snubbed over appearance fees