The Sunday News
SPORTS, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa yesterday officially unveiled the African Union Sports Council Region Five Under-20 Youth Games mascot in a fun-filled road show that touched different parts of Bulawayo, the host city.
The launch kicked off at St Patrick’s Hotel on the edge of the city centre in the morning, with Langa saying the mascot will be used to rally the people of Bulawayo and Zimbabwe to back the Games, which will run between 5 and 14 December.
Presenting the mascot to the people of Bulawayo at the hotel, Langa said the Games’ symbol was chosen because it depicted the City’s Coat of Arms but was fashioned in a creative and artistic way.
“The mascot is used to represent all the sporting teams and to bring good luck. The name of the mascot is Jumbo and it was chosen through a competition involving schools and colleges in the city,” he said.
“Jumbo is inspired by indlovu, the elephant which is one of the natural features of Bulawayo and is part of the natural heritage. For those who might not be aware, an elephant is called indlovu in iSiNdebele, tlou in Sotho, ndou in Venda and nzou in Shona.”
Langa said Jumbo was truly inspiring and would certainly capture the attention of the Games’ athletes, teams, spectators and the general public as he was bright and vibrant.
“He (Jumbo) sets the tone for a fun-filled, colourful and energetic display that we all expect to see in December. As a symbol, Jumbo will win several friends all over Zimbabwe. Jumbo is sending an invitation to all young people around the Region Five countries to take part in the Youth Games in various capacities wherever they are,” he said.
Other dignitaries that graced the launch included Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister, Professor Paul Mavima, LOC officials that included chairperson, Khonzani Ncube, marketing director Kennedy Ndebele, Anna Mguni, Kays Kanyangarara, Dan Moyo, Obadiah Moyo and principal director in the Office of the Vice-President, Benson Dube.
After the official launch in the morning at the local hotel, the road show proceeded to the city centre where a stop was made outside Tredgold Buildings where Langa addressed the crowd before Jumbo alongside Iyasa entertained the crowd with various dance routines.
The master of ceremonies, Babongile Sikhonjwa engaged the crowd through a competition that saw several members of the public going away with t-shirts emblazoned with the Region Five logo and messages.
The routine was repeated at the City Hall Car Park, TM Hyper Car Park, Nkulumane Shopping Mall and Sekusile Shopping Centre in Nkulumane where members of the public won T-shirts as part of the publicity campaign to ensure locals are appraised of the Games process.
Jumbo showed sublime dancing skills throughout the road show dancing to various songs while the Region Five Under-20 Youth Games theme songs blared from the show truck throughout the event.
Flyers were distributed in various suburbs as the Local Organising Committee fulfilled its awareness campaign.
Countries expected to take part in the Games include the host country, Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Seychelles, Swaziland and Zambia.
The counties will compete in sporting disciplines that comprise basketball, judo, football, netball, swimming, athletics, boxing and tennis.
