Meet Tina and Milo, the mascots for Milano Cortina 2026
Milano Cortina 2026 has revealed the mascots for the next Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Tina, the Olympic mascot, and Milo, the Paralympic mascot, are a brother and sister pair of Italian stoats who are on a mission to spread playfulness and curiosity throughout the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Milo and Tina are named after the host cities that they are excited to welcome athletes and fans to–Cortina and Milano. Never heard of a stoat before? They are small mammals similar in appearance to a weasel or a ferret.
Milano Cortina 2026 took a bit of a different approach to mascot selection, enlisting the help of the public by running a school contest in which students could submit their drawings for a chance to be selected as the official mascot for the Olympic Games. The organizing committee received 1600 drawings from children all over Italy from ages 6 to 14. The drawings were then voted on, with the stoats created by students at the Istituto Comprensivo Taverna winning 53 per cent of the vote.
The students who designed the stoats noted that that they are a symbol of innocence and purity, they are dynamic (in a way that they likened Leonardo da Vinci), and their two colours represent duality and diversity.
According to the Milano Cortina 2026 Organizing Committee, Tina and Milo are the “first openly Gen Z mascots” deemed so because “they have an active and proactive character, an ingenious and inventive attitude, a vital and resilient spirit. Their innate problem-solving skills enable them to face challenges with confidence and optimism, eager to assert their role as protagonists in the world to come.”
Tina is the mascot for the Olympic Games and her backstory involves being born in the mountains of Italy, but since moving into the city. She values differences, is a reflective dreamer and is attracted to novelty.
Milo, the official mascot of the Paralympic Games, lives in the mountains. He is an energetic inventor who is passionate about protecting the mountains he calls home. Milo was born without a leg, but has adapted to use his tail to help him get around.
Milo and Tina aren’t flying completely solo in their mascot duties though. They are helped out by six little flower friends, known as “the Flo.”
The Flo were drawn from the runner-up design in the school contest. Students at the Istituto Comprensivo Sabin di Segrate put forth a design called “The Flowers” which received 47 per cent of the popular vote.
The Snowdrop flower is one that blossoms from the snow in winter, signalling the hopefulness and resilience.
