It’s Olympics szn once again, and besides all the news about the stunning USA gymnastics team leotards, Coco Gauff becoming the youngest U.S. flag bearer, and of course the actual Games, one important thing everyone is talking about is the new Summer 2024 Olympics mascots — the two cutest Phryges, or Phrygian caps, you’ve ever seen.
In the weeks and days leading up to the opening ceremony on July 26, the French mascots had been taking over social media, so if you haven’t seen them yet, you’re about to. If you hop on TikTok and start scrolling, you are sure to find a pop-up in the left corner of your screen of the 2024 mascot. If you click on it, you’ll get a page of all the Olympic TikTok content, from commentators to the athletes themselves. You can even take part in a card game — completing tasks and earning prizes from July 24 through Aug. 11 — to really get into that Olympic spirit.
For those not super familiar with French fashion, history and culture, you might’ve seen the new mascot and thought it looked like something else entirely. A red triangle? A bird? Nope. The Phryges are hats. Paris is known to be a very stylish city, of course, so in true French fashion, the mascots of the Paris games are pieces of headwear. (And no, they’re not berets.)
A Phrygian cap is a symbol of French freedom. This hat originated during the time of the French Revolution. According to NBC Olympics, photos taken during the building of the Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower show people wearing Phrygian caps, which makes the fashion piece a timeless fashion staple.
The two mascots look similar, but have one identifiable difference. One Phryge, wearing a set of sneakers, represents the Olympics. The other Phryge, with a prosthetic and a boot on the other leg, represents the Paralympics.
Are you like me, and are surprised there are Olympic mascots? Olympic mascots have actually been a thing in the Games since 1968, and they are pretty important to the host city. The official Olympics website says, “They’re tasked with giving concrete form to the Olympic spirit, spreading the values highlighted at each edition of the Games; promoting the history and culture of the host city; and giving the event a festive atmosphere.”There have been a variety of previous mascots all highlighting something significant to the host city’s culture. There have been versions of cartoon athletes and many different animals, but there has never been a hat before.
Although a hat is definitely a new addition to the long list of previous Olympic mascots, this isn’t the first time France has created an out-of-the-box mascot. The Albertville, France 1992 Olympic mascot, Magique, was described as a “little imp in the shape of a star,” which is arguably just as cute as the Phryge. I guess you can say it’s part of French culture to create an adorable and unique Olympic mascot.
There has been plenty of discourse online on whether we love or hate the Phryge. One X user said, “The Paris Olympics mascot looks so stupid, I love it.” Because of the Phryge’s unique shape, many people have compared the mascot to other things it could possibly look like. One said it’s “literally a red poop emoji.” Another user described the mascot as “a flaming hot cheeto tortilla chip.” I don’t know about you, but I can definitely agree with that.
The Phryge is arguably the star of the Olympic games this year, and is definitely being treated as such. This red hat even got its own boat ride through the Seine River to celebrate the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics. So whether you love the Paris mascot or still just don’t get it, the Phryge is going to be everywhere for the next few weeks.