The mascots are based on two bits of molten steel from a girder of the Olympic stadium that have been woven into a fictional story by renowned children's author Michael Morpurgo. Wenlock is named after Much Wenlock in Shropshire which inspired the modern Olympics, and Mandeville after the Stoke-Mandeville hospital which inspired the Paralympic Games
Wenlock and Mandeville strike a Usain Bolt pose with school children. "They look like aliens, but I like aliens, they are more cool than cute," noted 11-year-old Rumman from the St Pauls Whitechapel primary school.
The only noticeable British element to the mascots is a light above the central eye which represents the light above a black taxi cab. The mascots have drawn upon elements of previous Olympic mascots, some of which can be seen in this gallery
Beijing 2008: The Fuwa, two of the five mascots are unveiled. Bejing's five mascots were a giant panda, an Olympic flame, a fish, a Tibetan antelope and a swallow. Each represented an Olympic ring.
Athens 2004: Phevos and Athena, brother and sister.
Sydney 2000: Syd the platypus, Millie the echidna and Olly the kookaburra. The mascots were based on Australian animals and the names came from the words Sydney, millennium and Olympic.
Atlanta 1996: Izzy the mascot walks by spectators during the opening ceremony of the Centennial Olympic park. Izzy was the first computer-generated mascot.
Barcelona 1992: Cobi, a cubist Catalan sheepdog designed by Javier Mariscal.
Seoul 1988: Canadian athlete Ben Johnson with Hodori the tiger cub. Tigers are common in Korean legends.
Los Angeles 1984: Sam the Bald eagle at the Memorial Stadium. The Bald eagle is the symbol of the USA
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