Lyo and Merly were the official mascots of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore. Lyo is an anthropomorphic red male lion whose name stands for "Lion of the Youth Olympics", while Merly is an anthropomorphic blue female Merlion whose name combines "mer" (meaning "sea") with "liveliness" and "youthfulness". The duo represent several Olympic values (such as excellence) and traits of Singapore (known as the Lion City). Cubix International designed the mascots, while another local company, Mascots and Puppets Specialists, developed their costumes. Before and during the Youth Olympics, Lyo and Merly appeared in school events, launches and roadshows. They also participated in pre-National Day Parade activities, were displayed at competition venues and were featured in Youth Olympics memorabilia. Background The first official Olympics mascot was Waldi, introduced at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Games mascots have varied between being animals native to the area where the Games take place, humans, and imaginary creatures. They often reflect the culture and history of the hosting region, and have traits chosen to embody the ideals of Olympism and the Paralympic movement. The introduction of a mascot or mascots is often highlighted in the lead-up to the Games, to help build event anticipation, with a focus placed on them in contemporary Olympics. The first ever Summer Youth Olympics, Singapore's organizing committee extended the tradition of having mascots to this new event. Development In early 2009, seven shortlisted mascot design proposals were submitted to the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC). Amongst the seven, the proposal of Cubix International, a company specialising in branding, animation and character development, was eventually selected. Cubix initially sought to develop robot mascots, intending to showcase Singapore as a "technologically advanced country". However, research on Olympic mascots prompted them to move away from the robot theme and focus on animal mascots. The company stated it wanted to develop a pair of mascots "who had contrasting yet complementary personalities". Mascots and Puppets Specialists, led by creative director Frankie Malachi Yeo, was hired to transform the mascots from designs to actual three dimensional forms. Designing the mascots took about six months. There were issues over the materials used to build the mascot suits. Eventually, foam was selected as the main material. The mascot suits are heavy, with Lyo's head weighing and Merly's weighing . The heads are strapped on to a harness donned by the mascot wearer.