Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics Mascot ‘Vučko’

The 1984 Olympic Winter Games were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina), and in the neighbouring mountain range of the Dinaric Alps. Readers of local newspapers and magazines voted on the Games’ mascot, choosing between six candidates. Slovenian painter and caricaturist Jože Trobec (b. 1948) created Vučko the wolf, seen here, who won easily.

Wolves are commonly found in the region’s forests and appear frequently in local fables, symbolising courage and the winter.

Vučko’s rather friendly look contradicts the widespread perception of the ‘bad’ animal, and he remains a symbol for the city of Sarajevo today.