If you’ve been tuning into the figure skating at this year’s Winter Olympics, you may have noticed that many of the dancers often have a stuffed toy near to hand.
These toys have been making regular appearances in the ‘kiss and cry’ area, where the athletes learn their scores after their performances.
Kazakhstan’s triumphant Mikhail Shaidorov held aloft a stuffed panda when learning that he would be taking home the gold medal in the men’s single figure skating event.
While the toys might seem like a cute Olympic tradition, former Olympian Mariah Bell of the United States has revealed there’s a more practical – and slightly less charming – reason behind them..
‘An interesting fact about stuffed animals is often they are actually tissue boxes,’ Bell explained.
‘It’s a stuffed animal with a hole in the top and inside it is a tissue box. We always need tissue when we’re on the ice. Lots of crying, just kidding, not really!
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‘The venue is really cold, obviously being that it’s figure skating on the ice.
‘Also with the velocity of the spins and the rotations that we’re doing, it’s really common for snot to make its way out as we’re skating so we’re constantly blowing our nose. So often those stuffed animals will double as tissue boxes.’
The temperatures on an ice rink, particularly nearer the ice itself, can be incredibly chilly, with temperatures often ranging between between 4-10C.
There has also been a growing trend of turning even the most mundane items – like tissue boxes – into advertising space for sponsors.
Historically, the Olympic Games have stood apart from most global sporting competitions for their relative absence of on-course advertising on the tracks, rinks, and slopes.
But since the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris – where French luxury brand LVMH prominently showcased its Louis Vuitton brand during the opening ceremony – the door appears to have opened for sponsors to get in on the action.
‘We continue to open up those opportunities for partners,’ International Olympic Committee marketing director Anne-Sophie Voumard said on Wednesday, noting sponsor products can now ‘organically be present’ more widely.
From Powerade-branded coolers to Puffs tissue boxes, the heightened visibility of corporate logos is becoming increasingly noticeable in Northern Italy.
