Cobi and Petra

Cobi
Mascot of the 1992 Summer Olympics (Barcelona)
Creator	Javier Mariscal
Significance	Catalan Sheepdog in Cubist style

Petra
Mascot of the 1992 Summer Paralympics (Barcelona)
Creator	Javier Mariscal
Significance	Armless girl

The Cobi Troupe
Genre	Sports, Comedy, Musical
Music by	Xavier Capellas
No. of episodes	26
Production
Producer	Olivia Borricon
Production company	BRB Internacional
Original release
Network	Televisión Española
Release	Spring 1992 – Summer 1992

Cobi was the official mascot of the 1992 Summer Olympics and Petra was the official mascot of the 1992 Summer Paralympics, both held in Barcelona, Spain.

Cobi is a Catalan Sheepdog in Cubist style designed by Javier Mariscal and inspired by the interpretations of Picasso of a masterpiece from Velázquez, Las Meninas. He was unveiled to the public in 1987. His name was derived from the Barcelona Olympic Organising Committee (COOB).

For the Paralympic Games, COOB subsequently requested Mariscal for the creation of a new mascot along the creative lines of Cobi. He created Petra, an armless girl that is supposed to convey positivity, extrovertism, independence, energy and bravery.

Before and during the Games, Cobi and Petra were shown in a variety of advertisements for Olympic and Paralympic sponsors such as Coca-Cola, Brother Industries and Danone. They even had their own television series, The Cobi Troupe which was sold to over 24 broadcasters worldwide. They also appeared on an extensive range of souvenirs, dubbed Cobiana, which proved to be a lucrative source of income. During the Games an inflatable Cobi and Petra was tethered to the Barcelona waterfront.

References

• "Cobi the pooch: not your average Olympic mascot", Anchorage Daily News, quoted in Robert E Rinehart (1998), Players All: Performances in Contemporary Sport, Indiana University, p137, ISBN 0-253-21223-5
• Donald McNeill (1999), Urban Change and the European Left, Routledge (UK), p47-8, ISBN 0-415-17062-1