Meet the mascots of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Milan’s Cortina stoats, Tina and Milo

An animal that many people have never heard of, the stoat, is the mascot of the Olympic Games 2026.

The drawings of Tina the stoat, the Olympic mascot, and her brother Milo, the Paralympic mascot, were designed by students from the Taverna Comprehensive Institute, according to the Olympic Games. The adorable pets embody “the Italian spirit that inspires them.”

“They represent the contemporary, vibrant and dynamic Italian spirit,” according to the Olympic website.

Tina and Milo are joined by six snowdrop flowers that the Olympics named “The Flo.”

Meet Tina, Milo and their tinkerbell friends

The official Olympics website describes Tina as creative and down-to-earth. He was born in the mountains of Italy but now “lives” in a city. While the Olympics do not specify which city Tina lives in, her name is a diminutive of Cortina, one of the co-host cities of the Winter Olympics.

“Nature is his home and, although he now lives in the city, he does everything he can to protect it and keep it intact,” according to the Olympic Games.

Tina’s younger brother Milo, born without a leg, is the Paralympic mascot. Milo is described as a dreamer who loves to play in the snow. Its name is the abbreviation of Milan, the other city that will host this year’s Olympic Games.

“Nothing can stop his resilient character. Despite being born without a leg, he has learned to walk using his tail,” according to the Olympic Games. “The phrase that represents it is: ‘Obstacles are springboards.'”

The Olympic Games describe the Flo as “six curious and irresistible little flowers.” “They never leave their friends and love to have fun, even if it sometimes gets them into trouble.”

What stoats and royal bluebells look like

Stoats, also called stoats, are small carnivorous mammals from the weasel family. They can be found in Italy and other countries around the world, including China, the United States, Japan and Ukraine, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The species is “fast and definitely furious”, according to the Woodland Trust, a UK conservation charity.

“The stoat is not afraid to capture prey five times its size,” according to the Woodland Trust. “High in the trees or underground, there are few places this powerful predator won’t go in search of its next meal.”

Their fur turns white in winter, which helps them blend in with snowy environments.

And although most flowers remain dormant in winter, that’s when snowdrops wake up, according to the New York Botanical Garden. The flower faces “the challenge of winter head-on”, according to Jenny Shelton, wildlife expert at The Wildlife Trusts.

“Snowdrops are a sparkle of joy in the winter landscape and, for many, a symbol of triumph and challenge,” Shelton told News themezone in an email. “The natural world is about competition and prosperity against all odds, and in the race for vital resources, bluebells are always in the lead. As one of the first flowers to emerge, they are already absorbing sunlight and attracting pollinating insects before many other flowers have appeared.”

Why stoats and bluebells for the 2026 Winter Games?

The Milano Cortina 2026 Organizing Committee worked with the Italian Ministry of Education to get mascot ideas from students. They received more than 1,600 applications, of which two were shortlisted. After a public survey, they landed on Tina and Milo.

“The Flo” snowdrops were inspired by drawings by students of the Istituto Comprensivo Sabin.

Shelton said he sees both bluebells and stoats as icons of resilience and hope, facing the challenges of winter head-on.

“Nature is integral to our physical and mental health and, when given the space to flourish, can really help improve our well-being, resilience and also our overall mood,” Shelton said. “That’s why it’s so important to help inspirational species like stoats thrive – after all, we only win when nature wins.”

Marco Granata, a biologist and doctoral candidate at the University of Turin, said he believes stoats are a suitable choice for the Winter Olympics because both the animal and the Winter Games are threatened by climate change.

“I often call stoats ‘wild ghosts’ because they are extremely difficult to see and very difficult to study due to their small size, rarity and elusive behavior. The real risk is that they could become ghosts in a literal sense, disappearing from large parts of our territory,” Granata said.

As part of the Ermlin Project, Granata studies mustelids such as stoats and evaluates their conservation status in the Alps. Granata, concerned about the impact of climate change on the land where stoats live, approached the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation and asked that part of the profits go towards a stoat preservation proposal. He said the foundation told him no.

The Milano Curtain 2026 Foundation did not respond to News themezone’ repeated requests for comment.

Past Olympic Mascots

According to the Olympic Games, Olympic and Paralympic mascots are considered ambassadors who embody the spirit of the games.

“They have the task of giving concrete form to the Olympic spirit, disseminating the values ​​highlighted in each edition of the Games; promoting the history and culture of the host city; and giving the event a festive atmosphere,” according to the Olympic Games.

While today’s mascots are designed and chosen well in advance, Aline Lafargue, the designer of the first Olympic mascot, only had one night to prepare a proposal. Lafargue’s design of a little man on skis, named Schuss, was presented for the 1968 Winter Games held in Grenoble, France.

Several years later, in 1972, the Summer Olympics had their first mascot, a dachshund named Waldi who represented the Munich Games.

In the decades that followed, there were Schneemandl the snowman, Amik the beaver, Sam the eagle, Hodori the tiger and Bing Dwen Dwen, among other characters. More recently, the 2024 Summer Games were represented by the Phrygian cap, a symbol of freedom in French history.