Commonwealth Games and sports stamps: Ten stamps with a 'Games' theme

On 17 July 2014, Royal Mail issue a set of stamps for the XX Commonwealth Games, held in Glasgow.

The six stamps were created by the dutch illustrator Nanette Hoogslag using dynamic imagery from award-winning sports photographer Andy Hooper, and celebrate the skill and energy of six of the sports to be competed in Glasgow including para-athlete cycling.

It will be the third time Scotland has hosted the Games after 1970 and 1986. The four home nations of the uK send separate teams and a total of 71 national teams will compete. Read more about the stamps in the August 2014 issue of Stamp & Coin Mart.

To mark the holding of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, stamp collecting expert Adrian Keppel reveals his ten stamps with a 'Games' theme…
 

1. Of all the multi-national sporting games, it is of course the Olympics which are the largest and most famous. A collection of Olympic stamps will fill several bookcases because most participating countries issue stamps every time the Olympics are held, such as this 2012 Monaco stamp for the London 2012 Games.	2. …but it is surprising how many lesser-known multi-sport, multi-national games there are. Had you ever heard of the Asian Beach Games? They have been held every other year since 2008, with the Sultanate of Oman hosting the second Games in 2010.
3. The Games of the Small States of Europe were introduced in 1985 by the Republic of San Marino. Participating countries all have a population of less than a million, although Cyprus has since exceeded that number but is still allowed to participate. Last year, Luxembourg hosted the Games.	4. The Pacific Games (formerly known as South Pacific Games) have been held every four years since 1963 among the countries around the South Pacific. The 2011 Games were held in New Caledonia. Although plans have been made for the Games of 2015, the future of the Games is in doubt due to their soaring costs.
5. The Pan American Games are a huge sporting event in the Americas, with both summer and winter sports being organised. They have been held since 1951 and are always organised in the year before the Summer Olympics. In 2011, Mexico hosted the Games with many other countries, such as Ecuador, issuing stamps to mark the event.	6. The Mediterranean Games were also initiated in 1951. Its broad aim is to give youth from Europe, Asia and Africa a chance to get to know each other in a peaceful, sporting environment. The Games are always held in coastal cities, with the last Games being held in Mersin, Turkey.
7. Southeast Asia got their own Games in 1959. Although they were first peninsular Games, in the 1970s they changed to their current format, thereby also allowing countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia, who issued this 2007 stamp when Thailand hosted the Games.	8. The Southeast Asia Games are a spin-off of the Asian Games which have been held since 1951. Not without political, religious and financial crises, the Games have survived and are held every four years, though in future they will avoid any clashes with the Olympic Games. Overall medal champion, China, hosted the Games in 2010.
9. The Arab Games have also suffered from (political) turmoil during their existence. But the tenth Games, which were supposed to be held in Algeria in 2003, hence the 2003 stamp issue, had to be postponed for an altogether different reason: the Boumerdès Earthquake caused so much damage that the Games had to be postponed until the following year.	10. Algeria also hosted the All Africa Games, in 2007. These Games started in 1965, and more recently a Paralympic version has been held. The man behind the modern Olympics also thought up the idea of an African Games, way back in 1920, but it was feared the African population might become too strong when thus united and demand their independence!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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