OREANDA-NEWS. The Organising Committee of the 12th South Asian Games, 2016 (OC-SAG) today unveiled the logo and mascot of the Games in a ceremony held at the ITA Cultural Center Machkhowa, Guwahati, Assam. Beautiful North Eastern cities of Guwahati and Shillong would jointly host the Games from February 6-16, 2016.

Chief Minister of Assam Shri Tarun Gogoi, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge) Shri Sarbananda Sonowal and Sports Minister of Meghalaya Shri Zenith Sangma were present on the occasion.

At the launch ceremony the OC-SAG also kicked-off its Volunteers Programme which is open to the general public. After the unveiling ceremony, the mascot of the Games travelled around the city with the bikers from the Assam Bikers Group. Artists from Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra, Guwahati performed at the event.

About 4500 sport persons and officials from 8 countries are expected to participate in 23 events from 6th February to 16 February 2016 in 12th South Asian Games.

? Earlier in July this year, the OC-SAG held an open design contest to invite logo and mascot designs for the 12th edition of the bi-annual international multi-sport event. The Logo and the Mascot of the Games were selected from around 450 entries each. Kolhapur’s Anant Khasbardar and Abhijeet Krishna of NIFT Patna won the mascot and logo designing contests respectively.

About The Logo

The logo has eight petals representing the countries participating in the 12th South Asian Games. The petals are seen to be moving in a clockwise direction showing the positive spirit of the games.

The look also resembles a head gear that was given to the winners of games during the ancient times in Europe .The Orchid represents the flavor of the region and a welcome stem to all participants of the Games. The traditional Gamosa has been introduced to promote the tradition of the region and to connect the Games with the local people. The logo has been designed to capture the essence of games which is Peace, Prosperity and Progress. Peace is symbolized with the similarity given to all petals in terms of shape and size. Prosperity is continuation amongst petals representing the various countries and the unity within. The Orchid symbolizes the blooming of the synergy between these eight great nations. Progress is the clockwise movement of the petals.

About The Mascot

The name of the Mascot for the Games is TIKHOR, who is the Brand Ambassador of the 12th South Asian Games, 2016. TIKHOR is someone who is sharp, naughty, sporty and modern. He is all-rounder, active, energetic and popular among kids. With traditional and sporty costumes, he is playing all games and welcoming every new idea in sports. He is motivator, friend and familiar to sports lovers of the region. Here he is a bugler with new harmony and new perspective. He is carrying the message/aspiration of peace, stability, amity and progress in the South Asian region.