Olympic Memories of London 2012

Oct. 4, 2012 - PRLog -- The four stamps went on sale from September 27 and includes images of the Olympics closing ceremony, the Paralympics Opening Ceremony, the games makers and athletes from the British Paralympic team.

Royal Mail have also issued stamps to celebrate each of TeamGB's gold medal-winning Olympians and Paralympians from this year's Games.  It is the first time any country has issued stamps in celebration of its Paralympic winners as well as its Olympic champions since the Paralympic movement began in 1948.

Andrew Hammond, Royal Mail's managing director of stamps and collectibles, said: 'We have been delighted to mark the build up to the Games and the successes of TeamGB and ParalympicGBs' gold-medal winning athletes with a series of stamp issues.  We want these new stamps to remind people of the truly iconic moments of the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.  It is fitting that we mark some of the stand-out memories that helped make London 2012 one of the most successful ever.'

Philatelists or to me and you the people who study stamps, postal history and other related items have greeted the multiple releases of olympic stamps with a mixture of excitement and cynicism regarding the cost of so many stamps.

With over 70,000 people volunteering to help the millions of visitors who flocked to London during the summer, the Games Makers are also commemorated on a stamp featuring an image of a group of volunteers, in their distinctive purple and red uniforms, with the famous London 2012 Olympic stadium in the background.   The much-praised Games Makers were an army of volunteers who are credited with helping make London 2012 so successful.

Sir Seb Coe, chair of the London 2012 organising committee said: 'The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games produced some truly remarkable performances in a magnificent display of sporting endeavour and achievement.’

The other memories featured on the stamps released last week include the spectacular fireworks display during the Paralympic Opening Ceremony and a First Class stamp (http://www.simply-postcode-lookup.com/for_web.htm) shows the ParalympicsGB team entering the stadium to conclude the procession of the participating athletes.  The final stamp shows a scene from the Olympic Closing Ceremony, in which athletes and officials of all the countries (http://www.simply-postcode-lookup.com/geographic_data.htm) formed a human version of the Union Flag in the Olympic Stadium.

All of the stamps (http://www.simply-postcode-lookup.com/index.htm) are printed within a miniature sheet, the border of which features a quote from Lord Coe, reflecting on the success of both Games.