The 2022 Commonwealth Games began Thursday in Birmingham with its very own unique mascot – Perry the bull.

Perry is a multi-colored bull who sports hexagonal-colored shapes, a gold medal and a big pair of horns. He is described by the CWG organisers as “a proper Brummie: strong, kind and a little bit cheeky, and he can’t wait to get the party started in 2022 when he’ll be seen by more than a billion people all over the world!”

Perry’s multi-coloured shapes represent all of the different communities at the games, reinforcing that everyone is welcome for “this carnival of sport and culture.”

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Perry is seen wearing blue, red and yellow stripes, like the colour of the Birmingham flag. Perry is accompanied with the motto ‘forward.’

The mascot gets its name from two of Birmingham’s biggest identities. The bull is named after Perry Barr, the area in North of Birmingham where the Alexander Stadium, the venue of the opening ceremony, is located. And the reason the mascot is a bull is because the city is famous for its Bull Ring market.

Perry the Bull has been designed by 10-year old Emma Lou, who won the nationwide competition held in the UK for 5-15 year olds mascot designing for the Commonwealth Games 2022. 

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Emma Lou explained her design choice in a video.

“It has hexagons, because it has three equilateral triangles.” The significance of that geometry? “It means everyone relies on each other.” And the bull? “Because of the famous bullring at Birmingham [the host city],” Lou explains.

She later told the Birmingham Mail, “I am really excited to come to the Commonwealth Games and it will be amazing to see Perry in the Opening Ceremony.”

“I chose a bull because of the Bullring in Birmingham, and I decided to use hexagons because they are the strongest shape and the whole world depends on each other,” Lou said. “I am so excited that my design will be seen by so many people!”