Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat was an unofficial

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

of the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

created by Sydney cartoonist Paul Newell with Roy and HG from the Australian Channel Seven sports/comedy television program '' The Dream with Roy and HG''. Fatso is a

wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are ada ...

with a lazy, cheerful expression and comically pronounced rump. It usually appeared on ''The Dream'' broadcasts, sometimes as a life-size stuffed toy on Roy and HG's desk. Fatso was a spoof of the official Olympic mascots Olly, Millie, and Syd, whom

Roy & HG Roy and HG are an Australian comedy duo, comprising Greig Pickhaver in the role of "H. G. Nelson" and John Doyle as "'Rampaging' Roy Slaven". Their act is an affectionate but irreverent parody of Australia's obsession with sport. Their charac ...

disparaged as "Olly, Millie and Dickhead". He was nicknamed "the battlers' prince" and proved to be more popular among Australian fans of the duo (and some visitors who viewed the program) than the official mascots. Fatso appeared with gold medalists Susie O'Neill,

Grant Hackett Grant George Hackett OAM (born 9 May 1980) is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him to ...

and the Australian men's 4×200-metre relay team on the winners' dais. He consequently appears on an official commemorative

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

of the Australian men's 4×200-metre relay team in the arms of

Michael Klim Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

. During the Olympics, the

Australian Olympic Committee Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

attempted to ban athletes appearing with Fatso to stop him upstaging their official mascots. The ensuing public relations disaster forced the president of the AOC, John Coates, and the director general of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

, Francois Carrard, to distance their organisations from these attempts. In keeping with Fatso's role as a protest against the commercialisation of Olympic mascots, only two Fatsos were officially produced: one for use in the studio and the other for use in the athletes' village. At the end of the Olympics, one of the Fatsos was auctioned for the Olympic Aid charity, selling for A$80,450 to

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

executive chairman

Kerry Stokes Kerry Matthew Stokes (born John Patrick Alford on 13 September 1940) is an Australian businessman. He holds business interests in a diverse range of industries including electronic and print media, property, mining, and construction equipment. ...

. Fatso is currently housed in a glass box in Kerry Stokes' North Sydney office. A number of unofficial Fatso toys and memorabilia were sold by merchants without authorisation from the producers of ''The Dream''. A statue of Fatso appeared as part of an official Olympic memorial outside the Sydney Olympic Stadium, commemorating the volunteers who worked during the Olympics. The Fatso statue was vandalised in late September 2010, then stolen sometime before 8 October 2010.

References

{{Reflist 2000 Summer Olympics Mascots introduced in 2000 Fictional wombats Olympic mascots Animal mascots Australian mascots Fictional people from New South Wales

See also

References