22 June 2023
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The NatWest International Island Games XIX will be held in Guernsey from 8-14 July
Guernsey – the only island to host the event for a third time – will release a set of seven stamps depicting the 14 different sports competing in what is also known as ‘The Friendly Games’.
The Games first began in 1985 when the Isle of Man brought together athletes from 15 small islands around the world for a sporting festival called the ‘Inter-Island Games’. It has since grown to include 24 member islands.
The stamps have different values: GSY, UK, EUR and ROW. They depict football (GSY), triathlon (UK), golf and sailing (UK), badminton and ahtletics (EUR), basketball and shooting (EUR), cycling and table tennis (ROW), and archery and swimming (ROW).
The miniature sheet features Jet the Puffin, the Guernsey 2023 mascot. Every spring, puffins flock back to the sanctuary of the rocky islands of Jethou, Burhou and Herm in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, to breed. The puffin was chosen as the mascot for the Games to reflect its core values: friendship and family. ‘Jet’, short for Jethou, was the name chosen by local primary schoolchildren.
Bridget Yabsley, head of philatelic at Guernsey Post, said: ‘The Games are a significant event in Guernsey’s sporting calendar, which will see the island welcome around 3,500 athletes, coaches and officials, so we are particularly excited to release our stamps as Guernsey hosts the event for a third time.’
Issue date 24 May
www.guernseypost.com