Tokyo 2020 Olympic mascots to be chosen by children

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Images of potential Olympics and Paralympics mascots for Tokyo 2020Image source, Tokyo 2020
Image caption,

The mascots come in pairs, one to represent the Olympics and the other for the Paralympics

Japan has unveiled its final six contenders for the role of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots - and only children are getting the final say.

The organising committee selected three sets of finalists from more than 2,000 entries submitted by the public.

More than 6.5 million schoolchildren across schools in Japan will be taking part in the vote, which begins on 11 December and ends on 22 February. The results will be known by late February, organisers said.

Tokyo 2020 has run into design snafus in the past - it scrapped a Zaha Hadid design for a stadium in favour of a more scaled-down look, and changed its logos after a plagiarism controversy.

This time the organising committee said it is leaving the decision to children, external, as they "represent a future that Tokyo 2020 wants to embody through the Games".

Find out more about the mascots in our quiz below (if you can't see the quiz click here, external)