On the afternoon of April 18th, the mascot release ceremony of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was grandly held at the HI-Park VIP Basketball Gymnasium in Wukesong, Beijing, 500 days before the event. Fiba Vice President Hamane Niang, FIBA Director of Media and Marketing Frank Lindes, FIBA Director of Sports Competitions Pridlage Bergsavyev, FIBA Director of Marketing David Niver, Executive Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Vice Minister of the General Administration of Sport of China Li Yingchuan, Executive Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Vice Mayor of Beijing Zhang Jiandong Yao Ming, Executive vice Chairman of the organizing committee and President of the Chinese Basketball Association, Li Jinsheng, executive Vice chairman of the organizing committee and vice president of the Chinese Basketball Association, Zhao Wen, executive vice chairman of the organizing committee and director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, Wang Xuan, vice chairman and secretary-general of the organizing committee and Party Secretary and deputy Director of the Basketball Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, Chen Jie, Vice chairman and secretary-general of the organizing committee and deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, Philip Blatter, President and CEO of Infront Sports Group, and the Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the organizing committee attended the ceremony. More than 100 people, including representatives from FIBA, heads of relevant departments of the organizing committee, media reporters and fans, attended the ceremony.
At the ceremony, Hamane Niang, vice President of FIBA, delivered a speech on behalf of FIBA, stating that in just five months since the mascot collection campaign was officially launched, over 100 professional institutions and designers have been enthusiastically involved, providing more than 300 outstanding design works. These works fully demonstrate the designers' love for basketball and their great expectations for this event, and also contain charming Chinese elements. Here, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the designers of the event mascots, the review experts and all colleagues of the organizing committee. Meanwhile, he hopes that in the next 500 days, more people from FIBA, the organizing committee and each sub-region will be involved in the event's preparation work to ensure that the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup can become a basketball event that all athletes and spectators are eagerly looking forward to.
The mascot of the 2019 Basketball World Cup was released and the preparations for the event were fully launched
Li Yingchuan delivered a speech
Li Yingchuan, the executive chairperson of the organizing committee and vice minister of the General Administration of Sport of China, on behalf of the event organizing committee, extended a warm welcome to the FIBA officials who came from afar, as well as representatives from all sides and media reporters who have been concerned about and supported the event's preparations. At the same time, he said that the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup being held in China has added strength and confidence for us to unswervingly pursue the basketball dream and contribute to the realization of the dream of becoming a sports power. Over the past two years since its preparation, under the guidance of FIBA and with the united efforts of the organizing committee and the eight host cities, all aspects of the event's competition organization, publicity and promotion have been steadily advancing as planned. The release of the mascot is the latest achievement of the event's organizing work. It embodies the wisdom and hard work of the designers, as well as the enthusiasm and expectations of many friends at home and abroad. It is believed that the mascot of the event will spread the concept of the Basketball World Cup and the spirit of basketball to all corners of the world with its cute and vivid image logo, and play an important role in enhancing the influence of the Basketball World Cup.
As the most exciting moment of this ceremony, Vice President Hamane Niang, Deputy Director Li Yingchuan, Vice Mayor Zhang Jiandong, President Yao Ming and Director Zhao Wen jointly unveiled the mascot of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup - "Son of Dreams" to the world! Vice Mayor Zhang Jiandong presented an award to the representative of Dongdao Brand Creative Group, the design team of the event mascot.
The mascot of the 2019 Basketball World Cup was released and the preparations for the event were fully launched
Dream Child was elected as the mascot
The mascot collection campaign for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was officially launched on November 20, 2017, and quickly received extensive attention and active participation from the whole society. The event was carried out in all eight host cities through various forms such as the event's official website and new media. By the end of the collection activity on January 7, 2018, the organizing committee received over 300 entries from the general public, professionals from well-known domestic art colleges and social organizations within one and a half months. After careful and meticulous review by the selection committee, 10 preliminary shortlisted works were selected. On January 23, 2018, the release ceremony of the shortlisted mascot works for the event was successfully held in Wuhan City. The organizing committee announced 10 shortlisted works on the spot to the public. Subsequently, the selection committee selected three candidate mascots, "Dream Child", "Speed Tiger" and "Qiuqiu", on the spot. At the same time, the voting channels for the mascots were announced to the public through the media. From January 23rd to February 7th, a total of over 40,000 people cast their votes through three channels: the event's official website, the FIBA official website, and the official wechat public account of the organizing committee. The organizing committee, based on the results of public voting and the opinions of the review experts, finally selected the mascot of this event, "Son of Dreams".
The mascot of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, "Dream Child", was born on the Chinese mainland. Its design is based on the mythical animal "dragon", which symbolizes auspiciousness, kindness and excellence in traditional Chinese culture. Since ancient times, the sons and daughters of China have always called themselves "descendants of the dragon" and strived for self-improvement and progress. Therefore, the "children of dreams" are endowed with inherent dignity, honor, wisdom and an unafraid spirit of bravery. The mascot is named "Dream Child", which is derived from the concept of the "Chinese Dream", aiming to convey the modern Chinese spirit of national prosperity, people's happiness and harmonious coexistence of the world. The overall design of "Dream Child" is friendly, positive and upward. The facial features are derived from the colors and composition of the event LOGO. The dragon horns represent that the Basketball World Cup held in eight cities in China will attract the attention of the whole world. "Dream Child" has a well-proportioned figure, is full of explosive power and vitality. Meanwhile, the overall design mainly features red, yellow and basketball as the main colors. On the basis of highlighting the visual unity of the event brand, it integrates the competitive charm of basketball, the friendly wishes of the Chinese people and traditional Chinese culture. The "Dream Children" will bring friendship, unity and passion to every corner of the world with the warm hospitality of the Chinese people, inviting people from all countries to gather in China to celebrate the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
The successful holding of this mascot release ceremony has become an important opportunity to kick off the 500-day countdown to the event, marking that the event's preparatory work has entered a full-scale stage. In the next 500 days, the organizing committee of the event will continue to join hands with FIBA, with a meticulous attitude and effective measures, to fully complete all the preparatory work, fulfill the solemn commitment made to the international community, and present a "wonderful and outstanding" Basketball World Cup to the world!
