Fans cheer in the stands ahead of the CFL's 102nd Grey Cup football championship between the Calgary Stampeders and the Hamilton Tiger Cats in Vancouver, British Columbia, November 30, 2014. (Photo by Todd Korol/Reuters)

A picture taken on October 5, 2018, shows a general view of Migingo island which is densely populated by residents fishing mainly for Nile perch in Lake Victoria, the continent's largest lake, on the border of Uganda and Kenya. More than 500 people live on the island, which is barely 2,000-square-metres. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

Sports have the ability to transform groups of strangers into a united community. In the celebratory spirit surrounding the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Sony and the World Photography Organisation present UNITED – a contest honouring the passion of football fans around the world. Seven inspirational photographers have been selected by Sony and WPO to capture the atmosphere and celebration of the World Cup across the globe. Photo: France – French fans cheering for their team. (Photo by Anthony Lepinay)

A volunteer poses for a photograph with a snowman depicting the Beijing Winter Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen at National Biathlon Centre in Zhangjiakou, China on February 13, 2022. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

A Midshipmen from the Naval Academy eyes the Navy mascot behind her before the first half of the the 125th Army-Navy game at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, on December 14, 2024. (Photo by Danny Wild/USA TODAY Sports)

A participant rides a bicycle carrying an orangutan mascot costume as he attends an awareness action calling for the protection of orangutans, organised by local environmental NGO Satya Bumi to mark World Orangutan Day, observed on August 19, during Car Free Day in Jakarta on August 24, 2025. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

France's Alice Finot celebrates next to the mascot winning silver in the Women's 3000m final at the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun on March 5, 2021. (Photo by Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters)

Colleen Kelley, of Iowa City, Iowa, fixes the hat on her dog Bruce during judging at the 35th annual Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest, Monday, April 21, 2014, in Des Moines, Iowa. The pageant kicks off the Drake Relays festivities at Drake University where a bulldog is the mascot. (Photo by Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)