The 1948 London Olympic Stamp

Here’s an Olympic first: next-day stamps to be issued by the Royal Mail for each Gold Medal won by the Team GB during the London 2012 Olympic Games. The main image of each Gold Medal stamp will, wherever possible, be a photo of the actual athlete or team in action during the medal winning final. When this won’t be possible, the stamp’s image will be of the Gold Medalists’ journey taken from a heat or from their moment receiving their medal on the podium.

This will be the first time a host country has used action shots for stamps “next day” issued during the Games. The issuing of “next day” stamps is also a first for the Royal Mail. Although this is the first time Royal Mail has issued stamps to mark Olympic victories, the company issued its first Olympic Games stamps in 1948, with four stamps bearing the five Olympic Rings. Olympic stamps were not issued to mark the 1908 London Games as Royal Mail stamps then bore images of the reigning monarch only.

Says Moya Greene, Royal Mail Chief Executive:

Royal Mail is proud to be involved in this once in a lifetime event … Our Gold Medal stamps will be unique souvenirs of the Games, marking the great achievements of our talented athletes. They will be a special way for people across the country to celebrate Team GB’s gold medal wins and help mark their amazing achievement … We look forward to issuing many Gold Medal stamps to honor Team GB’s victories. At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Team GB won 19 gold medals. Will the home advantage produce more gold for Great Britain? How many “Gold Medal” stamps will there be?

The Gold Medal stamps will be on sale at 500 selected UK Post Offices by lunchtime the next day and at royalmail.com after each gold medal win by Team GB. They will then be distributed three times during the Games to a further 4,500 Post Offices nationwide. And get this – many of the 500 selected Post Offices will, for the first time, open on Sundays during the Games. The Royal Mail will also be the first postal administration, whose country is hosting the Games, to issue a set of stamps celebrating the start of the Paralympic Games on 29th August.

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photo: footysphere