News and press releases

We’ve worked in collaboration with the British Paralympic Association on our Paralympics gold medal stamps and post boxes. Please see their statement on the BPA website.

Royal Mail will feature every ParalympicsGB Gold Medal winner in the London 2012 Paralympic Games, to be included in a set of stamps available after the Games.  A donation of £200,000 has also been given which will be divided equally between Gold medallists.

Tim Cowen of Royal Mail said today:

“We’re honoured to be celebrating the achievements of ParalympicsGB. We will be doing more than any other postal administration in history to celebrate the Paralympic Games and Paralympic Athletes. For the first time ever, all Gold Medal winning Paralympic athletes will be asked to appear on Royal Mail’s Paralympics GB Gold Medal winners stamps. The special issue of 6 stamps, featuring groups of Gold Medal winning Paralympians, will be issued on 27 September 2012, in conjunction with the British Paralympic Association.”

Every ParalympicsGB Gold Medallist will also be honoured with a Gold Post Box in their home town. This is another first for the Paralympic Games.

On 29th August, Royal Mail will also become the first host-country postal administration to issue a set of stamps to celebrate the start of the Paralympic Games.

Ahead of London 2012, Royal Mail has released three Olympic and Paralympic Special Stamp issues. These feature 9 Paralympic events, including Wheelchair Tennis, Paralympic Sailing, Boccia, and Goalball. Of the four definitive stamps issued for the Games, two are Paralympic Games stamps.

We have an excellent relationship with the British Paralympic Association.

Royal Mail is honoured to be supporting the ParalympicsGB campaign in conjunction with the British Paralympic Association. We hope the country unites behind our Paralympic team to make this the greatest ever Paralympic Games.

Royal Mail and the BPA agreed not to produce individual stamp for each ParalympicsGB Gold medallist because the phenomenal success of the ParalympicsGB team makes this logistically impossible. They are hoping to better their tally of 42 Gold in Beijing – which could mean upwards of 10 Gold medals on some of the most successful days. Tim Cowen commented: “It is this phenomenal success which has driven our approach to the Paralympics series, which we hope will help Royal Mail join support celebrations for what we expect to be a very successful Games for ParalympicsGB.”

The British Paralympics Association said today: “In Beijing, ParalympicsGB won 42 gold medals over 10 days of competition, including nine in one day, and we are expecting a similarly world-class level of performance from our athletes this time around. As a result, it is logistically and practically impossible for Royal Mail to produce an individual stamp for every one of the gold medallists for ParalympicsGB.”

When Royal Mail announced the plan in July, BPA chief executive Tim Hollingsworth: “Commemorating our gold medallists’ achievements on a set of stamps is a first in the history of the Paralympic Games. It is a fitting tribute which demonstrates how far the movement has come in recent times. Royal Mail has been a friend of the BPA for a long time. We are grateful to them for their significant contribution of £200,000 to help support all of our Paralympians gold medal winners.”

For more information please contact:

Tim Cowen
Email: Tim.cowen@royalmail.com
Mobile: 07720412143