The 1980 Moscow Olympics and its Mishka flying high into the sky caused such a storm of emotions that no other similar event has ever known before or since. The very moment of flying on balloons of the Olympic symbol and the Bear with a "tear" on the panels that came to life did not leave anyone indifferent. The sight was indeed very touching. Preparations for it took two whole years. How did it all happen and how much did the symbol weigh in reality?
1. How the image was chosen
The competition to create the image of the symbol of the Olympics was announced long before it was held. Three years before these events, many options were sent to the competition - tens of thousands. The victory was won by the image invented by V. Chizhikov, a children's illustrator. By the way, the artist had color blindness, due to which he saw everything in a beige tone with some elements of blue and orange. He did not see the shades of pink, green and red and did not distinguish them, but this did not prevent him from working with a palette of colors. The landmarks were the signatures on the paints.
The sketch brought Chizhikov a reward of 2,000 rubles, which was an impressive amount. Approximately equal to what he earned in a year. Many years later, the artist nevertheless came to the conclusion that he was deceived by the state, since it did not share the proceeds from the sale of the symbols of the Olympics. But the court, which took place in 2010, dismissed the claim for several million against NTV. The artist was a participant in the competition, for the victory in which he received a considerable reward for those times. In addition, it was not he alone who worked on the image of Mishka, but many artists who also fulfilled the state order for the creation of symbols for various sports and a voluminous Olympic mascot.
2. Living panel
One of the most memorable and successful elements of the closing procedure for the Moscow Olympics was a tear rolling down the cheek of an interactive bear from colored shields. This move was not specially conceived or developed. Everything happened quite by accident during the next rehearsal. It's just that the volunteer made a mistake by showing a different color. After the director asked to correct it, the people sitting next to them decided that they were being told this and were shown the same color.
In total, there were 4,500 pre-trained volunteers on this podium. They were mostly soldiers. They had with them shields, scarves, hats and capes of the corresponding color, which helped to create the image. The entire huge stadium saw him well. It was this mistake that instilled in the director's head the thought of a tear rolling down Mishka's cheek. And in the end, the move turned out to be correct, because it was the tear that was remembered by people and caused a sea of emotions.
3. Main participant of the closing ceremony
As conceived by the creators, the Mishka, whose height was as much as eight meters, was to become the main one at the closing of the Olympics. In the course of lengthy disputes and repeated approvals, it was decided that he, waving his paw goodbye, should leave the stadium, but not quite usually - fly away.
4. Making a symbol
The creation of the bear was carried out by employees of the Research Institute of Rubber Products. In general, three products were made, so to speak, just in case. The material for the creation is a thick, dense fabric, rubberized cotton. Life rafts were made from it. The project assumed a weight of 40 kg. This would allow the figure to be filled with helium and it would take off. But in reality, everything turned out differently. The weight of the bear was as much as 70 kg. It required additional reinforcement in different places and higher paint consumption than originally planned. Mishka was brought into the stadium at an angle and this added to the entertainment. A huge bear seemed to appear there by itself out of nowhere.
But such a weight excluded the possibility of the structure flying. In this regard, balloons were used, which were also filled with helium. Of course, the project had a huge risk. Success depended on a number of factors, among which was the weather. And the lighted torch could not be touched in any way.
5. Where did the Bear flew away?
There were many different rumors later about the end point of the flight of the Olympiad symbol. In fact, the flight was tracked by the traffic police, who were specially allocated for this. The figure was supposed to land an hour after launch. It had a valve (it was previously opened). Through it, helium quietly went out. The plan was successful.
After the end of the Olympics, a duplicate of Mishka was exhibited at VDNKh. The launched structure was damaged during landing. But none of the copies survived to our time, since the material itself was not intended for long-term storage.
Continuing the topic, read 10 facts about the Tokyo Olympics that will make it go down in history.